Every year on October 2, the nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri who served as the second Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966. Shastri, born in 1904 in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh, was an exemplary leader and a man of vision. Shastri’s leadership style and humble personality have inspired Indians for many years, even before he became Prime Minister.
Enthralling facts about his life:-
– Shastri was born on 2 October 1904 to a Kayastha family at the home of his maternal grandparents. Shastri’s paternal ancestors were zamindars of Ramnagar near Banaras, and Shastri lived there for the first year of his life. Sharada Prasad Srivastava, Shastri’s father, was a school teacher who later became a clerk in the revenue office at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.
– Lal Bahadur Shastri served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and the 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963.
– He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat, and by creating the National Dairy Development Board.
– As a child, Lal Bahadur used to walk many miles to his school barefoot, even when the streets burned in the summer heat. He was referred to as ‘Nanhe’ at home and he used to be able to easily cross the river Ganga with a bag and cloth on his head during his early days.
– In Varanasi, Lal Bahadur joined the Kashi Vidyapeeth. He was awarded the title Shastri at the Vidyapeeth in recognition of his scholarly success.
– When Shastri was the Minister of Police and Transport in Uttar Pradesh, he used jets of water instead of lathi charges to disperse crowds. The initiative to appoint women as conductors was taken during his tenure.
– The Green Revolution was promoted by Lal Bahadur Shastri to boost food production in the country. He played a key role in the White Revolution to make India self-sufficient in milk production. In 1965, he created the National Dairy Development Board.
– A famous controversy about him is that He was irked after his son got a promotion in his job. Shastri then released an order ordering the reversal of his son’s promotion.
– The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 was led by him. Severe drought faced the country after the war. Shastri urged the people of India to fast for a day and coined the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’.
– In 1966, Shastri was awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. He became the first recipient to be honored posthumously.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Death Mystery:-
Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then Soviet Union) on 11 January 1966, a day after signing a peace treaty with Pakistan to end the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Speculations of a conspiracy and debate abound on the cause of his death.
