Sahildeep Singh Raina
Lal Bahadur Shastri was the Prime Minister of independent India. He took oath after the sudden demise of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister. Relatively new to the high office, he led the country successfully through Indo-Pakistan War in 1965. He popularized the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’, recognizing the need for self-sustenance and self-reliance as the pillars to build a strong nation. He was a man of exceptional will power that was belied by his small frail stature and soft-spoken manner.
Political Career
Young Lal Bahadur, inspired with the stories and speeches of national leaders, developed a desire to participate in the Indian nationalist movement. He would also spend time by reading foreign authors like Marx, Russell and Lenin. In 1915, a speech of Mahatma Gandhi changed the course of his life and decided to actively participate in India’s freedom struggle.
In order to participate actively in the freedom movement, Lal Bahadur compromised even with his studies. In 1921, during the non-cooperation movement, Lal Bahadur was arrested for demonstrating defiance against the prohibitory order. Since he was a minor then, the authorities had to release him.
He played a crucial role during the Gandhi’s ‘Salt Satyagraha’. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi marched to the sea beach at Dandi and broke the imperial salt law. The symbolic gesture set the whole country ablaze. Lal Bahadur Shastri threw himself into the struggle for freedom with feverish energy. He led many defiant campaigns and spent a total of seven years in British jails. It was in the fire of this struggle that his steel was tempered and he grew into maturity. He led a door-to-door campaign, urging people not to pay land revenue and taxes to the British. Shastri was among the prominent Congress leaders who were imprisoned by the British Government in 1942. During the long span in confinement, Lal Bahadur utilized the time in reading the social reformers and western philosophers. In 1937, he was elected to the UP Legislative Assembly.
Post-independence
Lal Bahadur Shastri had served in various positions before being elected the Prime Minister of India. After Independence, he became the Minister of police in the Ministry of Govind Vallabh Panth in Uttar Pradesh. His recommendations included the directions for using “water-jets” instead of lathis to disperse the unruly mob. Impressed with his efforts in reforming the state police department, Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Shastri to join the Union cabinet as Minister for Railways. He was widely known for his ethics and morality. In 1956, Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned from his post, following a train accident that killed around 150 passengers near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu. Nehru, had once said, “No one could wish for a better comrade than Lal Bahadur, a man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas”.
Lal Bahadur Shastri returned to the Cabinet in 1957, first as the Minister for Transport and Communications, and then as the Minister of Commerce and Industry. In 1961, he became the Minister for Home and formed the “Committee on Prevention of Corruption” headed by of K. Santhanam.
As Prime Minister of India
Jawaharlal Nehru was succeeded by a mild-mannered and soft-spoken Lal Bahadur Shastri on 9 June, 1964. Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.
Shastri tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage, Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous “Green Revolution”. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastri’s stint as Prime Minister.
After the Chinese aggression of 1962, India faced another aggression from Pakistan in 1965 during Shastri’s tenure. Shastri showing his mettle, made it very clear that India would not sit and watch. While granting liberty to the Security Forces to retaliate, he said, “Force will be met with force”.
The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 after the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The Russian Prime Minister, Kosygin, offered to mediate and on 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.
Death
Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966. He is the only incumbent Indian Prime Minister to have died overseas. Lal Bahadur Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award posthumously in 1966.
More than thirty years of dedicated service were behind Lal Bahadur Shastri. In the course of this period, he came to be known as a man of great integrity and competence. Humble, tolerant, with great inner strength and resoluteness, he was a man of the people who understood their language. He was also a man of vision who led the country towards progress.
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