January 11 marks the death anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second prime minister of India. One of the greatest leaders in the history of India, Shastri is remembered as a man of the people. Here are seven points about the statesman:
Shastri was born on October 2, 1904 in Uttar Pradesh’s Mughalsarai town. His father, Sharada Prasad Srivastava, was a school teacher. He died when Shastri was just one-and-a-half-years-old. After his death, Shastri’s mother moved to her father’s house with him and his two siblings.
Shastri was sent to Varanasi to live with an uncle so he could attend high school. He would walk to the school, which was several miles away, without shoes.
The former prime minister was inspired by a teacher at his school to participate in the freedom struggle. Just three months before his Class 10 exam in 1921, Shastri attended a meeting in Varanasi, where Mahatma Gandhi urged students to join the non-cooperation movement. Shastri dropped out of school and joined the Congress Party as a volunteer and participated in anti-government protests. Shastri was arrested but released from jail soon as he was a minor.
Shastri went to on to occupy important positions in the Congress. After India’s independence, he held key portfolios in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet.
Shastri became the prime minister after Nehru’s death in 1964. He is credited with promoting the White Revolution (a national campaign to boost milk production) as well as the Green Revolution, which helped boost the production of foodgrains. Shastri gave the slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”. Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer.
Shastri led India during its war with Pakistan in 1965. The war came to end with the Tashkent Agreement on January 10, 1966. Shastri was in the Uzbek capital at that time. He died the on January 11, reportedly because of a cardiac arrest. The cause of his death is disputed.
Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, posthumously in 1966.
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