Lal Bahadur Shastri shares B'day with Gandhi

India celebrates Oct 2 as Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of the father of the nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. But the day reminds not only about Gandhi but also another legend, Lal Bahadur Shrivastav Shastri, the second Prime Minister of free India. Shastri shared the birthday with Gandhi on Oct 2.



Shastri lost his father at a very early age and went to Varanasi for higher studies. There he dropped his middle name 'Shrivastav' as it indicated his caste and he was an anti-caste system.

Shastri was a great follower of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter and after hearing a speech of Mahatma Gandhi in Varanasi in 1915, he dedicated his life to the service of the country.

Shastri in India's freedom struggle:

During Gandhi's non-cooperation movement in 1921, he joined processions in defiance of the prohibitory order. He was arrested but let off as he was a minor. He finally dedicated his life to country's freedom fighting movemnet in 1930 during Mahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha. He was imprisoned for two and a half years.

Later, as he joined the Parliamentary Board of UP as the Organizing Secretary of in 1937. In 1940, he was sent to prison for one year, for offering individual Satyagraha support to the freedom movement. On 8 Aug 1942, Mahatma Gandhi issued the Quit India speech, demanding that the British leave India. Shastri, who had just then come out after a year in prison, traveled to Allahabad. For a week, he sent instructions to the freedom fighters from Jawaharlal Nehru's hometown, Anand Bhavan. A few days later, he was arrested and imprisoned until 1946.

Shastri after India's independence:

Following India's independence, Shastri was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in his home state, Uttar Pradesh. In 1951, he was made the General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister.

In 1951, Nehru nominated him to the Rajya Sabha. He served as the Minister of Railways and Transport in the Central Cabinet from 1951 to 1956. In 1961, he became the Union Home Minister of India.

After the sudden death of Jawaharlal Nehru on May 27 in 1964, Shastri was nominated as the second Prime Minister of freed India on Jun 9, 1964.

Lal Bahadur Shastri as Prime Minister:

During his short tenure as PM, Shastri struggled in dealing with the economic crisis and food shortage in the nation. However, he commanded a great deal of respect in the Indian populace, and he used it to gain advantage in pushing the Green Revolution in India.

The creater of the slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), Shastri emphasised the need to boost India's food production during the war with Pakistan in 1965.

After the declaration of ceasefire on 23 Sep 23, 1965, Shastri and Pakistani President, Muhammad Ayub Khan attended a summit in Tashkent and signed the Tashkent Declaration on Jan 10, 1966.

On the cery next day (Jan 11, 1966), Shastri, who had suffered two heart attacks earlier, died supposedly of a heart attack. He was the only Indian Prime Minister, and indeed probably one of the few heads of government, to have died in office overseas.

Shastri was known for his madness and comedian. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna after his death and a memorial "Vijay Ghat" was built for him in Delhi.

In India, there are several educational institutes like Shashtri National Academy of Administration (Mussorie) is after his name these were some examples. The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute was named after Shastri due to his role in promoting scholarly activity between India and Canada.

In 2005, the Government of India created a chair in his honour in the field of democracy and governance at Delhi University.

The award after his name, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for 2010, was awarded to renowned social activist, Aruna Roy at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Oct 1, 2010.

But the sadness is that despite of his strong contribution in India's freedom struggle and progress, Lal Bahadur Shastri heardly received such attention what other freedom fighters or politicians grabbed in India.

While celebrating Gandhi Jayanti on Oct 2, most of the people in the country do not remember his name as he has been overshadowed by Gandhi's fame and popularity.

As CNN-IBN editor in-chief, Rajdeep Sardesai mentioned in his Tweet, "sad in a way that Lal Bahadur Shastri shares his bday with Gandhi, tough to live in shadow of the mahatma."

OneIndia News