Lal Bahadur Shastri Biography: Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of India. He played a significant role in the country’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule and later in shaping its post-independence destiny.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Biography: Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the second prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as the sixth home minister of India from 1961 to 1963. His simplicity, integrity and great leadership during the Indo-Pak War of 1965 earned him the nation’s respect.
The leader known for his slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” emphasized the importance of both soldiers and farmers to build and develop a nation. This biography on the life of Lal Bahadur Shashti will shed light on his personal life, political career, achievements and legacy.
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Lal Bahadur Shastri Biography
On October 2, 1904, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri was born in Mughalsarai, a small railway town in Uttar Pradesh that is located seven miles from Varanasi. Lal Bahadur Shastri’s father was a teacher who passed away when he was just one and a half years old. His mother, who was still in her twenties, moved to her father’s house with her three kids.
Name | Lal Bahadur Shashtri |
Father’s Name | Sharada Prasad Srivastav |
Mother’s Name | Ram Dulari Devi |
Date of Birth | 2 October, 1904 |
Place of Birth | Mughalsarai |
Nickname | Nanhe |
Nationality | Indian |
Spouse | Lalita Shastri |
Children | 6 |
Profession | Politician |
Political Party | Indian National Congress |
Designation | 2nd Prime Minister of India 3rd Minister of External Affairs 6th Minister of Home Affairs 3rd Minister of Railways |
Death | 11 January 1966 |
Monuments | Vijay Ghat |
Awards | Bharat Ratna (1966) |
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Lal Bahadur Shastri: Political Career
Lal Bahadur Shastri joined the freedom struggle after being motivated by his teacher, Nishkameshwar Prasad Mishra. Shastri attended a public gathering in Benares that was held by Gandhi and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in January 1921 while he was in the 10th standard and three months away from his final exams. As a volunteer for the Congress Party, he was a part of the non-cooperation movement.
He discontinued his studies and joined the independence movement. In accordance with Gandhi’s teachings, he fought to improve the lives of Harijans as a member of Lala Lajpat Rai’s Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal).
Shastri joined the Lala Lajpat Rai-founded Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal) as a life member and started working in Muzaffarpur under Gandhi’s guidance to improve the lives of the Harijans. Later, he rose to the position of Society President.
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Political Career
State Minister
In his native Uttar Pradesh, Shastri was chosen to be the Parliamentary Secretary. On August 15, 1947, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai left to become a minister at the centre, and he was appointed the Minister of Police and Transport under Govind Ballabh Pant’s Chief Ministership. He was the first to appoint female conductors in his capacity as Minister of Transportation. He gave instructions to the police to utilize water jets rather than lathis to disperse disorderly crowds while serving as the minister in charge of the Police Department. During his time as police minister (or home minister, as it was known before 1950), communal disturbances in 1947 were successfully put down, as were mass migration and refugee resettlement.
Cabinet Minister
Shastri was appointed general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee in 1951 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the head of state. He was crucial to the Congress Party’s resounding victories in the Indian General Elections in 1952, 1957, and 1962. He successfully ran for the UP Vidhansabha in 1952 from the Soraon North/Phulpur West constituency and won with more than 69% of the vote. Thought to be keeping his position as UP’s home minister, Nehru unexpectedly called him to the centre as a minister. On May 13, 1952, Shastri was appointed Minister of Railways and Transport in the First Cabinet of the Indian Republic.
In 1959, he was Minister of Commerce and Industry, and in 1961, he was Minister of Home Affairs. Shastri founded Mangalore Port in 1964 while serving as a minister without a specific portfolio.
Prime Minister
Nehru passed away on May 27, 1964, while still in power. Shastri became prime minister on June 9 under Congress Party president K. Kamaraj. Shastri was a Nehruvian socialist who was mild-mannered and soft-spoken, which made him appealing to those hoping to stop conservative right-winger Morarji Desai from winning office.
In his first broadcast as prime minister, on 11 June 1964, Shastri stated:
“There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the crossroads 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.”
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Shastri married Lalita Devi on May 16, 1928. The couple had four boys and two daughters, including Kusum Shastri, Hari Krishna Shastri, who was the oldest daughter, and Suman Shastri, who was the oldest son. Shastri, who was 5 feet 2 inches tall, always wore a dhoti. The only time he wore pyjamas was for a 1961 banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan in honour of the Queen of the United Kingdom.
On January 11, 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then the Soviet Union), just one day after agreeing to a peace accord that put an end to the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. He was honoured as a national hero, and the Vijay Ghat memorial was built in his honour. He also received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
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