Lal Bahadur Shastri
- Born:
- October 2, 1904, Mughalsarai, India
- Died:
- January 11, 1966, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, U.S.S.R. (aged 61)
- Title / Office:
- prime minister (1964-1966), India
- Political Affiliation:
- Indian National Congress
Lal Bahadur Shastri (born October 2, 1904, Mughalsarai, India—died January 11, 1966, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, U.S.S.R.) was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the second prime minister of India (1964–66), after Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, and the interim prime minister Gulzarilal Nanda. A prominent member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), he originated the nationalist slogan “Jai jawan, jai kisan” (“Hail the soldier, hail the farmer”). He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1966.
Early life and family
Shastri was born to Sharda Prasad, a schoolteacher, and Ram Dulari Devi. Although Shastri was not his family name, he eventually used it to indicate his scholarship of Hindu scriptures. Following the death of Sharda Prasad in 1906, Ram Dulari left her husband’s residence in Allahabad (now Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh) and moved back to her family’s home in the city of Mughalsarai (now also in Uttar Pradesh), where Shastri spent much of his childhood.
In 1917 Shastri enrolled in Harish Chandra High School in Benares (now Varanasi), where he was deeply influenced by Nishkameshwar Misra, one of the teachers. Misra’s support of the ongoing Indian Independence Movement inspired nationalist ideals in the young Shastri.
Early political activities
In 1921 Shastri left school in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s call to join the noncooperation movement, which, among other things, urged all Indians to boycott educational institutions backed by the colonial government. Shastri subsequently became a volunteer with the Congress Party. During this time he was briefly imprisoned for his nationalist activities. Upon release he studied at the Kashi Vidyapith, a nationalist university, where he graduated with the title of shastri (“learned in the scriptures”). He had already dropped his caste-indicative family name and, after graduation, used Shastri. He joined the Servants of the People Society (a social work organization founded by Lajpat Rai) and devoted himself to the service of those marginalized by the caste system.
In 1928 he married Lalita Devi. In the following years Shastri continued with his social and political work, was imprisoned several more times, and gradually rose through the ranks of the Congress Party.
Political career
Offices and portfolios before and after 1947
Shastri was elected to the legislature of the United Provinces in 1937 and 1946. After Indian independence in 1947, he became the state minister for police and transport in the United Provinces and initiated progressive measures, including starting the recruitment of women as bus conductors.
Between 1952 and 1963 Shastri held critical portfolios such as railways in Nehru’s cabinet in the national government. In 1961 he was appointed the minister of home affairs. His focus on administrative reforms led to the creation of the Santhanam Committee, a panel responsible for identifying corruption in various government departments and proposing relevant solutions.
Following Nehru’s health crisis in 1964, Shastri was appointed minister without portfolio. Nehru died in May, and after Nanda’s brief tenure as interim prime minister, Shastri was sworn in as India’s second prime minister in June.
Premiership (1964–66)
Shastri’s premiership was brief, but he faced some of the most critical challenges in India’s political history. His first task was tackling the nationwide food crisis. Postindependence prioritization of heavy industries had put the agricultural sector on the back burner—Shastri ensured that it was given due attention in the five-year plans (national development programs). Fair-price shops were set up, and a commission to oversee food prices was established. Shastri supported the measures initiated by Chidambaram Subramaniam, the minister for agriculture (1964–66). Subramaniam’s policies established the Green Revolution in India in the late 1960s. Shastri’s policies also helped bring about the White Revolution, which was launched in 1970 and transformed India’s milk production.
In 1965 India and Pakistan fought a war over the disputed Kashmir region. Shastri’s firm leadership and adoption of an offensive stance during the war have been acknowledged as the highlight of his premiership. During this period he coined the slogan “Jai jawan, jai kisan,” which is still popularly used. The war ended with the signing of the Tashkent Declaration on January 10, 1966.
Death and legacy
The day after the Tashkent Declaration was signed, Shastri died unexpectedly of a heart attack, although some believe that foul play might have been involved. He was taken back to India the same day. Nanda became the interim prime minister, following which Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter, assumed the position.
Shastri is popularly remembered as a man of integrity and an equanimous administrator. The Vijay Ghat memorial in Delhi was built in tribute to the statesman. The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, an institution that trains the top-tier civil servants of India, was named for him. His last residence in New Delhi was transformed into the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial, which opened to the public in 2005.