Lal Bahadur Shastri Biography: The 118th birth anniversary of the country’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri is being celebrated on 2 October. Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri were born on the same day and the birth anniversary of both of them is celebrated on 2nd October. Both of them dedicated their whole life for this country. Shastri was born on October 2, 1904 in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh to Sharda Prasad and Ramdulari Devi. Lal Bahadur Shastri has a special contribution in the independence of the country.
In the year 1920, Shastri ji had joined the freedom struggle of India and in which movements he played an important role in the freedom struggle. Notable among these are the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921, the Dandi March of 1930 and the Quit India Movement of 1942. It was Shastri who gave the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ to the country.
Interesting Facts (Facts Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Due to the death of his father in his childhood, he went to Mirzapur with his mother at Nana’s place. It was here that he had his primary education. He got his education in difficult circumstances. It is said that he used to go to school everyday by swimming in the river. Because at that time very few villages had schools.
- In 1917, at the age of 12, he dropped his surname ‘Srivastava’, protesting the deeply rooted caste-system in India. After completing his graduation, he was given the title of ‘Shastri’, which means scholar.
On 15 August 1947, he became the Minister of Police and Transport. Women conductors were appointed for the first time during her tenure. It was he who suggested the use of water jets instead of sticks to disperse the unruly crowd.
- He had a Chevrolet Impala car for official use. Once his son used the car for drive. When Shastri came to know about this, he told his driver how far the car was used for personal use and later the money was deposited in the government account.
- He became the Railway Minister in 1952, but resigned from his post in 1956 after a train accident in Tamil Nadu killed around 150 passengers. At the same time, he promoted the White Revolution, underlining the importance of increasing the production and supply of milk. At the same time, he promoted the Green Revolution to boost India’s food production.
- After Lal Bahadur Shastri became the Prime Minister, there was a war of Indo-Pakistan in 1965 in which Shastri ji kept the country under difficult circumstances. He also gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ to convey the importance of the soldiers and farmers.
- After independence, he moved to New Delhi in 1951 and took charge of several departments of the Union Cabinet. He was Minister of Railways, Minister of Transport and Communication, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister without portfolio during Nehru ji’s illness.
- When he was the Prime Minister, his family asked him to buy a car. The Fiat car he bought was for Rs 12,000. Since he had only Rs 7,000 in his bank account, he applied for a bank loan of Rs 5,000 from Punjab National Bank. The car has been kept at Shastri Memorial in New Delhi today.
- During the Indo-Pakistani War, there was a shortage of food in the country. The country was going through the problem of starvation. During this crisis, Lal Bahadur Shastri stopped taking his salary and appealed to the people of the country to observe a fast once a week. His appeal received a good response and on Monday evening, eateries closed their shutters and soon people started calling it ‘Shastri Vrat’.
- Lal Bahadur Shastri ji breathed his last in Tashkent on January 10, 1966, just 12 hours after the agreement on peace agreement with Pakistan (January 11). His death is still considered a mystery today. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
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