Lal Bahadur Shastri

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Lal Bahadur "Shastri" Shrivastav

3rd Prime Minister of India

In office
9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966

President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Preceded by Gulzarilal Nanda

Succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda

2 October 1904
Born Mughalsarai, United Provinces, British
India

11 January 1966 (aged 61)

Died
Tashkent, Uzbek SSR

Birth name Lal Bahadur Srivastava

Political party Indian National Congress

Spouse(s) Lalita Devi

Occupation Academic, Activist

Religion Hindu

Lal Bahadur "Shastri" Shrivastav (Hindi: लालबहादरु शास्त्री, pronounced [laːl bəˈhaːdʊr
ˈʃaːstriː]; 2 October 1904 - 11 January 1966) was the third Prime Minister of the Republic of
India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.
Contents
[hide]

 1 Early life
 2 In government
 3 Prime minister
o 3.1 War with Pakistan
o 3.2 Death at Tashkent
o 3.3 Mystery of Shastri's Death
o 3.4 Memorial
 4 Personal life
 5 Quotes
 6 References
 7 Further reading
 8 External links

[edit] Early life

Lal Bahadur was born on 2 October in the year 1904 in Ram Nagar,Ahmedabad Mughalsarai,
United Provinces, British India as Lal Bahadur Shrivastav. His father Sharada Shrivastav
Prasad was a poor school teacher, who later became a clerk in the Revenue Office at
Allahabad[1]. When Lal Bahadur was three months old, he slipped out of his mother's arms into a
cowherder's basket at the ghats of the Ganges. The cowherder, who had no children, took the
child as a gift from God and took him home. Lal Bahadur's parents lodged a complaint with the
police, who traced the child, and returned him to his parents[2].

Lal Bahadur's father died when he was only a year and a half old. His mother Ramdulari Devi
took him and his two sisters to her father's house and settled down there[3]. Lal Bahadur stayed at
his grandfather Hazari Lal's house till he was ten. Since there was no high school in their town,
he was sent to Varanasi where he stayed with his maternal uncle and joined the Harischandra
High School. While in Varanasi, Shastri once went with his friends to see a fair on the other bank
of the Ganges. On the way back he had no money for the boat fare. Instead of borrowing from
his friends, he jumped into the river and swam to the other bank[4].

As a boy, Lal Bahadur loved reading books and was fond of Guru Nanak's verses. He revered
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter. After hearing a
speech of Mahatma Gandhi at Varanasi in 1915, he dedicated his life to the service of the
country[5]. He also dropped his surname Shrivastav, as it indicated his caste and he was against
the caste system[1]. During the non-cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, he
joined processions in defiance of the prohibitory order. He was arrested but let off as he was a
minor[6]. He then enrolled at the nationalist Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi. During his four years
there, he was greatly influenced by the lectures of Dr. Bhagawandas on philosophy. Upon
completion of his course at Kashi Vidyapeeth in 1926, he was given the title Shastri ("Scholar").
The title was a bachelor's degree awarded by the Vidya Peeth, but it stuck as part of his name[3].
He also enrolled himself as a life member of the Servants of the People Society and began to
work for the upliftment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur[7]. Later he became the President of the
Society[8].

In 1927, Shastri married Lalita Devi of Mirzapur. In spite of the prevailing hefty dowry tradition,
Shastri accepted only a charkha and a few yards of khadi as dowry. In 1930, he threw himself
into the freedom struggle during Mahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha. He was imprisoned for two
and a half years[9]. Once, while he was in prison, one of his daughters fell seriously ill. He was
released for fifteen days, on the condition that he not take part in the freedom movement.
However, his daughter died before he reached home. After performing the funeral rites, he
voluntarily returned to prison, even before the expiration of the period[10]. A year later, he asked
for permission to go home for a week, as his son had contracted influenza. The permission was
given, but his son's illness was not cured in a week. In spite of his family's pleadings, he kept his
promise to the jail officers and returned to the prison[10].

Later, he worked as the Organizing Secretary of the Parliamentary Board of U.P. in 1937[11]. In
1940, he was sent to prison for one year, for offering individual Satyagraha support to the
freedom movement[12]. On 8 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi issued the Quit India speech at
Gowalia Tank in Mumbai, 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[12]. Shastri spent almost nine years in jail in total[13]. During
his stay in prison, he spent time reading books and became familiar with the works of western
philosophers, revolutionaries and social reformers. He also translated the autobiography of Marie
Curie into Hindi language[9].

[edit] In government
Following India's independence, Shastri was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in his home
state, Uttar Pradesh. He became the Minister of Police and Transport under Govind Ballabh
Pant's Chief Ministership. As the Transport Minister, he was the first to appoint women
conductors. As the minister in charge of the Police Department, he ordered that Police use jets of
water instead of lathis to disperse unruly crowds[14].

In 1951, he was made the General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, with
Jawaharlal Nehru as the President. He was directly responsible for the selection of candidates
and the direction of publicity and electioneering activities. He played an important role in the
landslide successes of the Congress Party in the Indian General Elections of 1952, 1957 and
1962.

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 1956, he offered his resignation after a
railway accident at Mahbubnagar it led to 112 deaths. However, Nehru did not accept his
resignation[15]. Three months later, he resigned accepting moral and constitutional responsibility
for a railway accident at Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu that resulted in 144 deaths. While speaking in
the Parliament on the incident, the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, stated that he was
accepting the resignation because it would set an example in constitutional propriety and not
because Shastri was in any way responsible for the accident[3]. Shastri's unprecedented gesture
was greatly appreciated by the citizens.

In 1957, Shastri returned to the Cabinet following the General Elections, first as the Minister for
Transport and Communications, and then as the Minister of Commerce and Industry[7]. In 1961,
he became Minister for Home[3]. As Union Home Minister he was instrumental in appointing the
Committee on Prevention of Corruption under the Chairmanship of K. Santhanam[16].

[edit] Prime minister

Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a void. The then Congress Party
President K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making and installing Shastri as Prime Minister on 9
June. Shastri, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus held
appeal to those wishing to prevent the ascent of conservative right-winger Morarji Desai.

In his first broadcast as Prime Minister, on 11 June 1964, Shastri stated[17]:

There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the cross-roads of
“ history and must choose which way to go. But for us there need be no difficulty or
hesitation, no looking to right or left. Our way is straight and clear – the building up
of a socialist democracy at home with freedom and prosperity for all, and the
maintenance of world peace and friendship with all nations. ”
Shastri worked by his natural characteristics to obtain compromises between opposing
viewpoints, but in his short tenure he was ineffectual 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; which
directly led to India becoming a food-surplus nation, although he did not live to see it. During the
22-day war with Pakistan, Lal Bahadur Shastri created the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail
the soldier, Hail the farmer"), underlining the need to boost India's food production. Apart from
emphasizing the Green Revolution, he was instrumental in promoting the White Revolution[16].
Greatly impressed by a visit to the Kaira district in October 1964, he urged the rest of the country
to learn from the successful experiment at Anand. The National Dairy Development Board was
formed in 1965 during his tenure as Prime Minister.

Though he was Socialist, Shastri stated that India cannot have a regimented type of economy[16].
During his tenure as Prime Minister, he visited Russia, Yugoslavia, England, Canada and Burma
in 1965[7].

[edit] War with Pakistan

See Also: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

The problem for Shastri's administration was Pakistan. Laying claim to half of the Kutch
peninsula, Pakistan sent incursion forces in August 1965, which skirmished with Indian tank
divisions. In his report to the Lok Sabha on the confrontation in Kutch, Shastri stated[17]:

In the utilization of our limited resources, we have always given primacy to plans
“ and projects for economic development. It would, therefore, be obvious for anyone
who is prepared to look at things objectively that India can have no possible interest
in provoking border incidents or in building up an atmosphere of strife... In these
circumstances, the duty of Government is quite clear and this duty will be discharged
fully and effectively... We would prefer to live in poverty for as long as necessary but
we shall not allow our freedom to be subverted. ”
Under a scheme proposed by the British PM, Pakistan obtained 10%, in place of their original
claim of 50% of the territory. But Pakistan's aggressive intentions were also focused on Kashmir.
When armed infiltrators from Pakistan began entering the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Shastri
made it clear to Pakistan that force would be met with force[18]. Just in September 1965, major
incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers began, hoping not only to break-down the
government but incite a sympathetic revolt. The revolt did not happen, and India sent its forces
across the Ceasefire Line (now Line of Control) and threatened Pakistan by crossing the
International Border near Lahore as war broke out on a general scale. Massive tank battles
occurred in the Punjab, and while Pakistani forces made some gains, Indian forces captured the
key post at Haji Pir, in Kashmir, and brought the Pakistani city of Lahore under artillery and
mortar fire.

On 17 September 1965, while the Indo-Pak war was on, India received a letter from China. In the
letter, China alleged that the Indian army had set up army equipment in Chinese territory, and
India would face China's wrath, unless the equipment was pulled down. In spite of the threat of
aggression from China, Shastri declared "China's allegation is untrue. If China attacks India it is
our firm resolve to fight for our freedom. The might of China will not deter us from defending
our territorial integrity."[19]. The Chinese did not respond, but the Indo-Pak war resulted in great
personnel and material casualties for both Pakistan and India.

The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 with a United Nations-mandated ceasefire. In a
broadcast to the nation on the day the of ceasefire, Shastri stated[17]:

While the conflict between the armed forces of the two countries has come to an end,
“ the more important thing for the United Nations and all those who stand for peace is
to bring to an end the deeper conflict... How can this be brought about? In our view,
the only answer lies in peaceful coexistence. India has stood for the principle of
coexistence and championed it all over the world. Peaceful coexistence is possible
among nations no matter how deep the differences between them, how far apart they
are in their political and economic systems, no matter how intense the issues that
divide them. ”
[edit] Death at Tashkent

Shastri statue in Mumbai

the name is seen in the plaque in Mumbai in Maharashtra, India

After the declaration of ceasefire, Shastri and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan
attended a summit in Tashkent (former USSR, now in modern Uzbekistan), organised by
Kosygin. On 10 January 1966, Shastri and Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.

The next day Shastri, who had suffered two heart attacks earlier, died supposedly of a heart
attack at 1:32 AM.[7]. He was the only Indian Prime Minister, and indeed probably one of the few
heads of government, to have died in office overseas.[20]

[edit] Mystery of Shastri's Death

Although officially it was maintained that Shastri died of heart attack, his widow, Lalita Shastri
kept alleging that her husband was poisoned. Many believed that Shastri's body turning blue was
an evidence of his poisoning. Indeed a Russian butler attending to him was arrested on suspicion
of poisoning Shastri, but was later absolved of charges.[21]

In 2009, when Anuj Dhar, author of CIA's Eye on South Asia, asked the Prime Minister's Office
under an RTI plea (Right to Information Act), that Shastri's cause of death be made public, the
PMO refused to oblige, citing that this could lead to harming of foreign relations, cause
disruption in the country and cause breach of parliamentary privileges.[21]

The PMO did inform however that it had in its possession one document related to Shastri's
death, but refused to declassify it. The government also admitted that no postmortem
examination had been conducted on him in USSR, but it did have a report of a medical
investigation conducted by Shastri's personal physician Dr. R.N. Chugh and some Russian
doctors. Furthermore, the PMO revealed that there was no record of any destruction, or loss, of
documents in the PMO having a bearing on Shastri's death. As of July 2009, the home ministry is
yet to respond to queries whether India conducted a postmortem and if the government had
investigated allegations of foul play.[21]

Circumstances of Shastri's death do indeed make a case for close inquiry. On the night of
January 11, Shastri was awakened by a severe coughing fit. Dr. R.N. Chugh came to his aid.
Shastri was unable to speak and pointed to a flask kept nearby. A staffer brought some water
which Shastri sipped. Shortly afterward, Shastri became unconscious and attempts to revive him
proved futile.

A cold case forensic enquiry which keeps these facts in consideration, could point to three causes
- in order of probability.

(i) Myocardial Infarction (ordinarily known as Heart Attack)

(ii) Café Coronary (impaction of food in windpipe - in this case, drops of water)

(iii) Poisoning by some very quick acting poison, say cyanide although its probability is minimal.

[edit] Memorial

All his lifetime, Shastri was known for honesty and humility. He was the first person to be
posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, and a memorial "Vijay Ghat" was built for him in
Delhi. Several educational institutes, 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.[22]

In 2005, the Government of India in Delhi University[23].