Lal Bahadur Shastri

LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second 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. He wished to be remembered by his work rather than well-rehearsed speeches proclaiming lofty promises.

Early Life and Education

Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, to Ramdulari Devi and Sharada Prasad Shrivastava, in Mughalsarai, United Provinces (modern day Uttar Pradesh). He shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. Lal Bahadur was against the prevailing caste system and therefore decided to drop his surname. The title "Shastri" was given after the completion of his graduation at Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi in 1925. The title "Shastri" refers to a "scholar" or a person, adept in the "Holy Scriptures".

His father Sharada Prasad, a schoolteacher by profession, passed away when Lal Bahadur was barely two years old. His mother Ramdulari Devi took him and his two sisters to their maternal grandfather, HazariLal's house. Lal Bahadur acquired virtues like boldness, love of adventure, patience, self-control, courtesy, and selflessness in his childhood. After completing his primary education at Mirzapur, Lal Bahadur was sent to Varanasi, where he stayed with his maternal uncle. In 1928, Lal Bahadur Shastri married Lalita Devi, the youngest daughter of Ganesh Prasad. He was against the prevailing "dowry system" and so refused to accept dowry. However, on the repeated urging of his father-in-law, he agreed to accept only five yards of khadi (cotton, usually handspun) cloth as dowry. The couple had 6 children.

POLITICAL CAREER

Following India's independence, Shastri was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in his home state, Uttar Pradesh. He became the Minister of Police and Transport under Govind Ballabh Pant's Chief Ministership on 15 August 1947 following Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's departure to become minister at centre. As the Transport Minister, he was the first to appoint women conductors. As the minister in charge of the Police Department, he ordered that police use jets of water instead of lathis to disperse unruly crowds. His tenure as police minister (As Home Minister was called prior to 1950) saw successful curbing of communal riots in 1947, mass migration and resettlement of refugees.

Prime Minister Of India (1964–66)

Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a void.[citation needed] Then Congress Party chief Minister K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister on 9 June. Shastri, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus held appeal to those wishing to prevent the ascent of conservative right-winger Morarji Desai.
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.

SLOGAN OF JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN

लाल बहादुर शास्त्री एक ऐसी हस्ती थे जिन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री के रूप में देश को न सिर्फ सैन्य गौरव का तोहफा दिया बल्कि हरित क्रांति और औद्योगीकरण की राह भी दिखाई. शास्त्री जी किसानों को जहां देश का अन्नदाता मानते थे, वहीं देश के सीमा प्रहरियों के प्रति भी उनके मन में अगाध प्रेम था जिसके चलते उन्होंने जय जवान जय किसान का नारा दिया.
पाकिस्तान ने 1965 में यह सोचकर भारत पर हमला किया कि 1962 में चीन से लड़ाई के बाद भारत की ताकत कमजोर हो गई होगी, लेकिन शास्त्रीजी के कुशल नेतृत्व ने पाक के नापाक इरादों को नाकाम कर दिया और उसे करारी शिकस्त भी दी.

INDEPENDENCE ACTIVISM

1 9 28 में शास्त्री गांधीजी के आह्वान पर कांग्रेस के सक्रिय और परिपक्व सदस्य बन गए। शास्त्री ने 1 9 30 में नमक सत्याग्रह में भाग लिया। उन्हें साढ़े सालों तक कैद किया गया। बाद में, उन्होंने यूपी के संसदीय बोर्ड के आयोजन सचिव के रूप में काम किया। 1 9 37 में, स्वतंत्रता आंदोलन के लिए व्यक्तिगत सत्याग्रह समर्थन की पेशकश के लिए उन्हें 1 साल तक जेल भेजा गया था।
8 अगस्त 1 9 42 को, महात्मा गांधी ने मुंबई में गोवालिया टैंक में भारत छोड़ो भाषण जारी किया, मांग की कि अंग्रेजों ने भारत छोड़ दिया है। शास्त्री, जो एक साल बाद जेल में आए थे, इलाहाबाद गए थे। एक हफ्ते तक, उन्होंने जवाहरलाल नेहरू के घर, आनंद भवन से स्वतंत्रता कार्यकर्ताओं को निर्देश भेजे। कुछ दिनों बाद, उन्हें गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया और 1 9 46 तक कैद कर दिया गया। [14] शास्त्री ने लगभग नौ साल जेल में बिताए। [15] जेल में रहने के दौरान, उन्होंने किताबें पढ़ने में समय बिताया और पश्चिमी दार्शनिकों, क्रांतिकारियों और सामाजिक सुधारकों के कार्यों से परिचित हो गए।

Memorial

All his lifetime, Shastri was known for honesty and humility. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, and a memorial "Vijay Ghat" was built for him in Delhi. Several educational institutes, Shashtri National Academy of Administration (Mussorie) is after his name these were some examples. The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute was named after Shastri due to his role in promoting scholarly activity between India and Canada..