Lal Bahadur Shastri Facts:
2nd Prime Minister of India:
In office: From 9th June 1964 to 11th January 1966
President: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Preceded by: Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by: Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
Minister of External Affairs:
In office: From 9th June 1964 to 18th July 1964
Preceded by: Gulzarilal Nanda
Succeeded by: Sardar Swaran Singh
Minister of Home Affairs:
In office: From 4th April 1961 to 29th August 1963
Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by: Govind Ballabh Pant
Succeeded by: Gulzarilal Nanda
Personal details:
Birthday: 2nd October in the year 1904 at Mughalsarai, United Provinces, British India (currently in Uttar Pradesh, India)
Death: 11th January in the year 1966 at the age of 61 at Tashkent, Soviet Union (currently in Uzbekistan)
Political party: Indian National Congress
Family:
Spouse: Lalita Devi from Mirzapur
Father: Sharada Srivastava Prasad
Mother: Ramdulari Devi
Sisters: 2
Grandson: Adarsh Shastri (son of Anil Shastri) has joined Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 after leaving his job at Apple.
Eldest Daughter: Kusum
Son:
- Hari Krishna Shastri
- Anil Shastri
- Sunil Shastri
- Ashok Shastri
Education:
- East Central Railway Inter college
- Graduation from the Kashi Vidyapeeth
Residence: 10 Janpath, New Delhi
Profession:
- Academic
- Activist
Religion: Hinduism
Award: Bharat Ratna by the President of India
Biography of Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri was born at 2nd October in 1904 at Mughalsarai (seven miles away from Kashi), Uttar Pradesh in a simple family and died on 10th January in 1966. His father name was Mr. Sharada Prasad and mother name was Mrs. Ramdulari Devi. His father died when he was only a year old. He was Srivastava but he never added it as his surname because he did not want to point out his caste. His father was a school teacher followed by a clerk in the Revenue Office of Allahabad.
His mother lost him when he was just three months old. She went to bathe in the Ganga with him and in the crowed she lost her child as he slipped away from her arms into the cowherd’s basket. She was very sorrow and made a complaint with the police. Finally, police traced the child. Cowherd wept resentfully in returning the child.
One of another incident of his childhood (when he was six years old) taught him an important lesson of his life. Once upon a time he was returning with friends from his school and went to an orchard which was on the way to home. His friends climbed on a mango tree in order to get mangos and he was stand below the tree. In the meantime, the gardener reached there and started to beat him by mistake. He begged too much to gardener in order to get free from him and told that he was an orphan. Gardener said to Lal Bahadur Shastri that as you are an orphan, it is most important for you that you have to learn much better manners.” That event impressed him deeply and he decided to behave better in his future.
He got his education from the East Central Railway Inter College in the Mughalsarai, Varanasi. He had completed his graduation from the Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi in the year 1926 and awarded with the title of Shastri (“Scholar”). He was much influenced by the great Indian leaders such as the Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He became the father of six children including Hari Krishna Shastri, Anil Shastri, Sunil Shastri who became politician in the Congress party and Ashok Shastri who became a BJP politician.
He joined the Servants of the People Society as a life member (working for the development of the Harijans) and became the Society President.
His Career
Marriage
He got married to the Lalitha Devi of Mirzapur on 16th of May in 1928 and took a charkha and few yards of Khadi as a marriage gift.
Non-cooperation movement
Till the age ten he stayed at his grandfather’s home and had passed the 6th standard. He has completed his higher education from Varanasi. He had joined the non-cooperation movement against British Government in 1921 by Mahatma Gandhi when he was only seventeen years old. Even he was arrested during that movement but he was firm in his decision. He took part in that movement even after advice from his mother and relatives to not to do so.
The servants of the people society
He joined the Kashi Vidya Peeth after his release and completed his philosophy study. He got the degree of Shastri in 1926 and after leaving Kashi Vidya Peeth he had joined the “The Servants of the People Society” started by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1921. The aim of the “The Servants of the People Society” was to aware youths about their responsibilities towards country.
Civil Disobedience Movement
In 1930, he joined the Civil Disobedience Movement as there was call to him from Gandhi Ji. He was called to join that movement in order to encourage people to oppose to pay land profits and taxes to the government. He had to go in jail for two and half years. He got familiar with all the works of western philosophers, revolutionaries as well as social reformers in the jail.
Individual Satyagraha
Individual Satyagraha was launched by the Congress in 1940 in order to demand freedom just after the Second World War in 1939. He got arrested for one year during that Individual Satyagraha as well. He again got a call from Gandhi Ji on August 8, 1942 for Quit India Movement. He took part very actively and got arrested for long. He met with the Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant and got good comments for his hard work throughout the 1946 provincial elections. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary of Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant (when Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant became the Chief Minister of UP). He became the Police and Transport Minister in Pant’s Cabinet in 1947.
He became the Congress Party’s General Secretary as soon as India became Republic. He again appointed as the Minister of Railways and Transport in the Central Cabinet in 1952 by Jawahar Lal Nehru. His contribution for travelers in third class compartments is unforgettable because he had deducted the huge difference between the Railways first class and third class. He resigned from Railways in 1956 after a railway accident.
Again, when Congress came into the power, he became the Transport and Communications Minister and later Commerce and Industry Minister. In 1961, after the death of the Govind Vallabh Pant, he became the Home Minister. He had well maintained the internal security of the country in the India-China war in 1962.
He was respected the Bal Gangadhar Tilak too much and used to see him for long as well as hear his speech. Once Bal Gangadhar Tilak visited Varanasi and Lal Bahadur Shastri was fifty miles away from Varanasi in a village. He took some money from his friend and traveled in a train to see and hear the speech of Tilak. Tilak’s speech ringed in his ears always and had great effect on his life. The greatest effect on his life was that of Mahatma Gandhi and he devoted his life to the country.
Political Career of Lal Bahadur Shastri
As a State Minister
After the independence of India, he was selected as the Parliamentary Secretary in his own state, Uttar Pradesh. On 15th of August in the year 1947, he allotted as the Minister of Police and Transport under the Chief Ministership of the Govind Ballabh Pant. He was the first Transport Minister who employed women conductors and Minister of Police who ordered to use jets of water in place of lathis to the police to scatter the public crowds.
As a Cabinet Minister
He was selected as the General Secretary of All-India Congress Committee in the year 1951 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister. As a General Secretary, he was in charge for the candidates selection and all the activities related to the election. On 3rd of April in 1952, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from UP and appointed as the Railways and Transport Minister in the Central Cabinet from 13th of May, 1952 to 7th of December, 1956. After a railways accident at Mahbubnagar in the month of September in 1956, he resigned from the Railways and Transport Ministership which was rejected by the Nehru. After a second railway accident at Ariyalur in the Tamil Nadu, he again resigned from the Railways and Transport Ministership.
He returned to the Cabinet in the year 1957 as a Minister for Transport and Communications and then Minister of Commerce and Industry. He also became the Union Home Minister in the year 1961 and worked on the Prevention of Corruption in the India.
As a Prime Minister of India
In 1964, after the death of the Jawaharlal Nehru, he became the second Prime Minister of India and led India to get success in the war from the Pakistan in 1965. That was very difficult time for the country and everyone were facing huge challenges. Country was facing food shortage and Pakistan had attacked India. He was a man of great valor and will and he has given a slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” in order to assemble the support of country throughout the war. His leadership was admired all across the world. He lived his life with the immense simplicity and truthfulness and was a great source of motivation to all the Indians.
During his Prime Ministership lots of good and bad events have occurred including Indo-Pak war and his mysterious death. Details of some of the events are mentioned below:
His Contribution in the Domestic Policies through solving the Madras anti-Hindi agitation
When he was assigned as a Prime Minister of the India after the death of the former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on 27th of May in 1964, he retained various earlier members from the Council of Jawaharlal Nehru such as Yashwantrao Chavan as a Defence Minister of India, Swaran Singh as an External Affairs Minister, Indira Gandhi as a Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Gulzarilal Nanda as a Minister of Home Affairs of India, T. T. Krishnamachari as a Finance Minister of India and etc.
He also has involved in solving the Madras anti-Hindi agitation in the year 1965. As Indian mother tongue (sole national language) is Hindi, it was opposed by some of the Indian states talking non-Hindi language like English. In order to handle that situation, he decided in his meeting with Indira Gandhi to continue the English as an official language by the non-Hindi speaking states of the India. After his positive assurance the riots was settled to calm.
His Contribution in the Economic Policies through his White Revolution and Green Revolution Campaign
During his Prime Ministership, he had involved in maintaining as well as enhancing the Indian economy through his great policies. He made his own policies for enhancing the Indian economy as well as continued the socialist economic policies of the former prime minister. He had promoted the most famous national campaign of increasing the supply and production of milk called White Revolution through supporting various dairy companies like Amul milk co-operative of Anand of Gujarat and setting up the National Dairy Development Board.
His great involvement to the management of chronic food shortage all over the India can never be forgotten. He had requested to the Indian people to give up their one meal of the day on their own will in order to save some food for the people living in the affected area of food shortage. He had promoted the Green Revolution campaign (by creating his slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”) all over the India in order to boost up the food production all across the India during the food shortage during 22 days long Indo-Pak war of 1965.
His Contribution to the Country through his Slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”
He was a great Prime Minister of India as he had given his outstanding supports and efforts in making the country a developed country. He is remembered all over the country by the people at his birthday anniversary and death anniversary each year. Even after being an ordinary Indian person he worked so great like an extraordinary man to lead his country.
He became a successful Prime Minister of the India as he led the India during its most disastrous conditions like Indo-Pak war, food shortage and tec. He had created his own slogan of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan to solve the problem of food shortage all over the India during the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
His Contribution in the Foreign Policies
He had paid great involvement in the foreign policies to enhance the country defense budget by increasing the closer relationship with the Soviet Union after the disastrous condition of the country of Sino-Indian War in 1962. He had decided to increase the defense budget of armed forces of the country after the military ties of Chinese People’s Republic and Pakistan.
He also had signed the agreement of Srimavo-Shastri Pact (Bandaranaike-Shastri pact) in 1964 with the Prime minister of Sri Lanka (Sirimavo Bandaranaike) considering the Indian Tamils status in the then Ceylon. During this agreement sign up a big settlement was done between India and Sri Lanka, around 600,000 Indian Tamils were freed up and around 375,000 were granted citizenship of Sri Lanka. However, on 31st of October in 1981, this settlement was lapsed by India due to the death of the Lal Bahadur Shastri and only 300,000 Indian Tamils were repatriated and only 185,000 were granted citizenship by the Sri Lanka.
Indo-Pak War
He was a great warrior who led the India to get victory in the Indo-Pak War in the year 1965. He had said in his statement that during the economic development of the country, we would favor to be alive in the poverty for long time according to the necessity but we never let our freedom to be threatened. The purpose of Pakistan was Kashmir during the Indo-Pak War, however, Lal Bahadur Shashtri made them clear that force would be answered only with force. After a long period of time, the Indo-Pak war finished on 23rd of September in the year 1965 with the involvement of United Nation to ceasefire peaceful coexistence.
After the end of war between India and Pakistan, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan went for a meeting in the Tashkent where both of them had signed the Tashkent Declaration on 10th of January in the year 1966.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Death Mystery
He endured a fatal heart attack some hours after signing a treaty on 10th of January in 1966, in which India and Pakistan have the same opinion to not to interfere in each other internal affairs as well as never force or settle disputes between them by the peaceful means. He died on 11th of January in the year 1966.
Great achievements:
He played a great and leading role for the freedom of India. He became the Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant’s Parliamentary Secretary followed by the chief minister of UP. In the Pant’s Cabinet he became the Minister of Police as well as Transport and allotted as the Minister of the Railways and Transport in the Central Cabinet. He also apprehended the assortments of Commerce and Industry, Transport and Communications, as well as the Home Ministry in the Central cabinet.
Bharat Ratna
He was a dazzling star of an Indian history. The President of India bestowed him the award of “Bharat Ratna” after his death.
Lal Bahadur Shashtri Quotes
- “True democracy or the swaraj of the masses can never come through untruthful and violent means, for the simple reason that the natural corollary to their use would be to remove all opposition through the suppression or extermination of the antagonists”.
- “That loyalty to the country comes ahead of all other loyalties. And this is an absolute loyalty, since one cannot weight it in terms of what one receives”.
- “Those who govern must see how the people react to administration. Ultimately, the people are the final arbiters.”
- “Success in science and scientific work come not through the provision of unlimited or big resources, but in the wise and careful selection of problems and objectives. Above all, what is required is hard sustained work and dedication”.
- “We believe in peace and peaceful development, not only for ourselves but for people all over the world. Our main preoccupation is with economic and social development at home and peace and friendship abroad”.
- “The emphasis on religion as a basis of defining majorities and minorities in a secular state is quite misplaced and contradiction in terms. You all understand, I am sure, that religion does not aim at dividing. On the other hand, all true religions have a basic unity”.
- “In this vast country of ours, people profess different religions, speak different languages, dress differently and observe different customs; but we are one nation; the history of our struggle for independence and our faith in our future development are our common bonds”.
- “Sampling out corruption is a very tough job, but I say so in all seriousness that we would be failing in our duty if we do not tackle this problem seriously and with determination”.
- “India will have to hang down her head in shame if even one person is left who is said in any way to be untouchable”.
- “If Pakistan has any ideas of annexing any part of our territories by force, she should think afresh. I want to state categorically that force will be met with force and aggression against us will never be allowed to succeed.”
Monuments of Lal Bahadur Shastri in India
Lal Bahadur Shastri is a famous person all over the India for his great Prime Ministership and outstanding efforts towards the country. For his big achievements and great job he has been honored with the honorable Indian award called Bharat Ratna. There are various memorials has been made all over the country by the government of India behind him in order to commemorate him and his outstanding supports for the country. Some of the memorials made behind him are listed below:
- Vijay Ghat in Delhi.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussorie, Uttarakhand
- Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.
- It has been declared by the government of India in 2011to make a biographical museum at this ancestral house in Ramnagar, Varanasi.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Babatpur, Varanasi (Varanasi International Airport).
- Lal Bahadur Shastri National Memorial Trust at 10 Janpath, Motilal Nehru Place, New Delhi.
- A Street in the Tashkent, Uzbekistan is named after him.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar (Almatti Dam), Northern Karnataka.
- A Cargo Ship is named as MV Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- Five rupee coins, having image of Lal Bahadur Shastri and written his name as “LALBAHADUR SHASTRI BIRTH CENTENARY”, were released by the RBI at his 100th birth anniversary in 2004.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Timeline
1904: Born on 2nd of October in Mughalsarai, India.
1926: Completed Graduation in 1st class honor from the Kashi Vidyapeeth and awarded with the title of Shastri (“Scholar”).
1921: He had joined Indian Independence Movement.
1928: Got married to the Lalita Devi from Mirzapur on 16th of May.
1930: Started participating in the Salt Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi.
1937: Chosen as organizing secretary of the Parliamentary Board of U.P.
1940: went to the jail for one year because of his active participation to the Indian freedom movement.
1942: Went to the jail for years till 1946 for his active participation in the Quit-India Movement.
1947: He was selected as the Parliamentary Secretary in Uttar Pradesh and on 15th of August he became Home Minister of the Uttar Pradesh state.
1951: He was selected as the General Secretary of All-India Congress Committee in the Prime Ministership of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
1952: He entered to Rajya Sabha after getting elected from U.P. and became Railway and Transport minister.
1956: In the month of September he resigned from the post of Railway ministry after a big accident which was unaccepted by the Pt. Nehru.
1956: In the month of December he again resigned from the same post after another railway accident in the Tamil Nadu however that was accepted.
1957: He entered again into the Cabinet.
1961: He again elected as the Home Minister.
1964: On 9th of June, he became the most honorable Prime Minister of India.
1964: on 11th of June, he had given his first speech as a Prime Minister of India.
1964: He signed an agreement with the Prime minister of Sri Lanka (Sirimavo Bandaranaike) regarding the status of Indian Tamils.
1965: He solved the Madras anti-Hindi agitation by assuring people about the continuation of English language as an official language.
1965: He had supported the Amul and White Revolution in order to create a National Dairy Development Board in India as well as requested people to skip at least one meal a day to deal with the food shortage in country.
1965: In the month of August and September, he courageously faced the War with Pakistan and encouraged Indian people by giving the slogan of “Jai Jawan – Jai Kisan”.
1965: On 23rd of September, the war with Pakistan was ended in his Prime Ministership with the ceasefire mandated by UN.
1966: On 10th of January, He signed the Tashkent Declaration with the Ayub Khan of Pakistan.
1966: On 11th of January, He died in Tashkent because of the Heart Attack
1966: He became the first person of India to be awarded with the Bharat Ratna.
1966: In the honor of him, the National Academy of Administration of India was renamed as “Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration”.
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