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Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 Oct 1904 - 11 Jan 1966)
Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of independent India.
Though diminutive in physical stature he was a man of great courage and will. He
successfully led the country during the 1965 war with Pakistan. To mobilize the
support of country during the war he coined the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan".
Lal Bahadur Sastri also played a key role in India's freedom struggle. He led
his life with great simplicity and honesty and was a great source of inspiration
for all the countrymen.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904 at Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh.
His parents were Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi. Lal Bahadur's surname was
Srivastava but he dropped it as he did not want to indicate his caste. Lal
Bahadur's father was a school teacher and later on he became a clerk in the
Revenue Office at Allahabad. Though Sharada Prasad was poor, he lived a life of
honesty and integrity. Lal Bahadur lost his father when he was only one.
Ramdulari Devi raised Lal Bahadur and her two daughters at her father's house.
There is a very famous incident regarding Lal Bahadur Shastri's childhood which
took place when he was six years old. One day, while returning from school, Lal
Bahadur and his friends went to an orchard that was on the way to home. Lal
Bahadur Shastri was standing below while his friends climbed the trees to pluck
mangoes. Meanwhile, the gardener came and caught hold of Lalbahadur Shastri. He
scolded Lal Bahadur Shastri and started beating him. Lal Bahadur Shastri pleaded
to gardener to leave him as he was orphan. Taking pity on Lal Bahadur, the
gardener said, "Because you are an orphan, it is all the more important that you
must learn better behavior." These words left a deep imprint on Lal Bahadur
Shastri and he swore to behave better in the future.
Lal Bahadur stayed at his grandfather's house till he was ten. By that time he
had passed the sixth standard examination. He went to Varanasi for higher
education. In 1921 when Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement
against British Government, Lal Bahadur Shastri, was only seventeen years old.
When Mahatma Gandhi gave a call to the youth to come out of Government schools
and colleges, offices and courts and to sacrifice everything for the sake of
freedom, Lal Bahadur came out of his school. Though his mother and relatives
advised him not to do so, he was firm in his decision. Lal Bahadur was arrested
during the Non-cooperation movement but as he was too young he was let off.
After his release Lal Bahadur joined Kashi Vidya Peeth and for four years he
studied philosophy. In 1926, Lal Bahadur earned the degree of "Shastri" After
leaving Kashi Vidya Peeth, Lal Bahadur Shastri joined "The Servants of the
People Society", which Lala Lajpat Rai had started in 1921. The aim of the
Society was to train youths that were prepared to dedicate their lives in the
service of the country. In 1927, Lal Bahadur Shastri married Lalitha Devi. The
marriage ceremony was very simple and Shastriji took only a charkha (spinning
wheel) and few yards of Khadi in dowry.
In 1930, Gandhiji gave the call for Civil Disobedience Movement. Lal Bahadur
Shastri joined the movement and encouraged people not to pay land revenue and
taxes to the government. He was arrested and put in jail for two and a half
years. In jail Shastriji became familiar with the works of western philosophers,
revolutionaries and social reformers. Lal Bahadur Shastri had great self
respect. Once when he was in prison, one of his daughters fell seriously ill.
The officers agreed to release him out for a short time but on condition that he
should agree in writing not to take part in the freedom 'movement during this
period. Lal Bahadur did not wish to participate in the freedom movement during
his temporary release from prison; but he said that he would not give it in
writing. He thought that it was against his self-respect to give it in writing.
After Second World War started in 1939, Congress launched "Individual
Satyagraha" in 1940 to demand freedom. Lal Bahadur Shastri was arrested during
Individual Satyagraha and released after one year. On August 8, 1942, Gandhiji
gave the call for Quit India Movement. Lal Bahadur actively participated in the
movement. He went underground but was later arrested. Lal Bahadur Shastri was
released in 1945 along with other major leaders. He earned the praise of Pandit
Govind Vallabh Pant by his hard work during the 1946 provincial elections. Lal
Bahadur's administrative ability and organization skills came to the fore during
this time. When Govind Vallabh Pant became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
he appointed Lal Bahadur Shastri as his Parliamentary Secretary. In 1947, Lal
Bahadur Shastri became the Minister of Police and Transport in Pant's Cabinet.
Lal Bahadur Sastri was the General Secretary of the Congress Party when the
first general elections were held after India became Republic. Congress Party
returned to power with a huge majority. In 1952, Jawahar Lal Nehru appointed Lal
Bahadur Shastri as the Railways and Transport Minister in the Central Cabinet.
Lal Bahadur Shastri's contribution in providing more facilities to travelers in
third class compartments cannot be forgotten. He reduced the vast disparity
between the first class and third class in the Railways. Lal Bahadur Shastri
resigned from Railways in 1956, owning moral responsibility for a railway
accident. Jawaharlal Nehru tried to persuade Shastriji but Lal Bahadur Shastri
refused to budge from his stand. By his action Lal Bahadur Shastri set new
standards of morality in public life.
In the next general elections when Congress returned to power, Lal Bahadur
Shastri became the Minister for Transport and Communications and later the
Minister for Commerce and Industry. He became the Home Minister in 1961, after
the death of Govind Vallabh Pant. In the 1962 India-China war Shastriji played a
key role in maintaining internal security of the country.
After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri was unanimously
elected as the Prime Minister of India. It was a difficult time and the country
was facing huge challenges. There was food shortage in the country and on the
security front Pakistan was creating problems. In 1965, Pakistan tried to take
advantage of India's vulnerability and attacked India. Mild-mannered Lal Bahadur
Shastri rose to the occasion and led the country ably. To enthuse soldiers and
farmers he coined the slogan of "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". Pakistan lost the war
and Shastriji's leadership was praised all over the world.
In January 1966, to broker peace between India and Pakistan, Russia mediated a
meeting between Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan in Tashkent, Russia. India and
Pakistan signed the joint declaration under Russian mediation. Under the treaty
India agreed to return to Pakistan all the territories occupied by it during the
war. The joint declaration was signed on January 10, 1966 and Lal Bahadur
Shastri died of heart attack on the same night.