Shastry.LB.

Lal Bahadur Shastry. (1904-66)
Prime Minister of India.

Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2nd, 1904 at Ram Nagar near Benares in the U.P. state in a middle class family, as the son of Sri. Sharada Prasad, a teacher and Smt. Ramdulari Devi, a house wife. His father passed away when he was barely one and a half years old. He had gone to Varanasi and stayed with a teacher Sri.Mishraji to pursue his studies. Mishraji’s stories about the freedom struggle inspired little Lal Bahadur to
Join the freedom movement.
In 1916, Gandhiji came to Benares Hindu University, for its foundation ceremony. Gandhiji’s speech came as a bolt from the blue. It raised many eyebrows. Gandhiji dwelled on his ‘Non-violence and Satyagraha’ policy.

He said “No amount of speeches will make us fit for self rule ever. Only our conduct will enable us to become fit for that, if I found it necessary for the salvation of India that aliens should be driven out, I would declare without any hesitation that they would have to go, and I hope I would be prepared to die in defence of that belief”.

A mightily impressed Lal Bahadurji had prepared himself for a future freedom fighter. Eventually he became a congressman and emerged as a greatest Gandhian
After Independence the first general elections were held in 1952. Sri. Lal Bahadur Shastri has devoted his entire energy for the organization and election work. The Congress Party won the election with a huge majority.
Shastriji entered the parliament through Rajya Sabha. He became a cabinet minister, as Railways and Transport in 1952. On May 27th , 1964 Prime Minister. Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru passed away. Nehru left with a void, because he was a towering personality not only in India but also the entire world. Shastri was the most trusted leader, with a proven track record has emerged as the choice for the top job.
In April-May 1965 Pakistani army, has crossed over into the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. In September 1965, it became a full blown war, on the western borders. The American’s were hand in hand with the Pakistanis, and threatened to cut of the grain supplies to India. Shastriji countered this move through great vigour, and extraordinary leadership qualities, calling up the farmers of this country to cultivate every piece of available land, and miss a meal every week, for the sake of our ‘Mother land’. He gave the great and everlasting slogan for the nation ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’.

After the cease-fire called by the U.N security council, a meeting was held on January 4th 1966, in Tashkent on the invitation of Russian (USSR) premier Kosygin, between Lal Bahadur Shastriji and General Ayub Khan, to work out a peace treaty. The joint declaration was signed on 10th January, 1966. He died the same night at 1 o’clock. The ‘Vijay Ghat’ his memorial in Delhi, remaining as a great hope of simplicity, honesty and loyalty that will lift the spirits of the fellow countrymen, in our beloved Motherland

A member of Mahatma Gandhi's Non-cooperation Movement against British government in India, he was imprisoned for a short time (1921). Upon release he studied in the Kashi Vidyapitha, a nationalist university, where he graduated with the title of shastri ("learned in the scriptures"). He then returned to politics as a follower of Gandhi, was imprisoned several times, and attained influential positions in the Congress Party of the state of the United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh. Shastri was elected to the legislature of the United Provinces in 1937 and 1946. After Indian independence, Shastri gained experience as minister for home affairs and transport in Uttar Pradesh. He was elected to the central Indian legislature in 1952 and became union minister for railways and transport. He gained a reputation as a skilful mediator after his appointment to the influential post of minister for home affairs in 1961. Three years later, on Jawaharlal Nehru's illness, he was appointed minister without portfolio, and after Nehru's death he became prime minister in June 1964.

Shastri was criticized for failing to deal effectively with India's economic problems, but he won great popularity for his firmness on the outbreak of hostilities with neighbouring Pakistan. He died of a heart attack after signing a "no-war" agreement with President Ayub Khan of Pakistan.

He was also responsible for referring the Chad Bet dispute with Pakistan to the UNO
Arbitration committee. Ultimately we had to hand over Chad Bet to Pakistan in 1968.



Though it appeared that Nehru was grooming Indira as his successor, he had denied any such intention, and his party instead chose Lal Bahadur Shastri, as India's second prime minister. Shastri had devoted his life to party affairs and had served Nehru well both inside and outside his Cabinet. His modesty and simplicity, moreover, appealed to most Indians.

Along the Yamuna riverfront, memorial set in flowering gardens has been built for Lal Bahadur Shastri (Vijay Ghat). Jai Jawan. Jai Kisan.