LalBahadurShastriBiography

LalBahadurShastriwasthesecondPrimeMinisteroffreeIndiaand was also a prominent leader of the Indian NationalCongress. This biography offers detailed information on hischildhood,politicalcareer,achievements,lifeandtimeline.

QuickFacts

Famousas FormerPrimeMinisterofIndia

Nationality Indian

Religion Hinduism

Politicalideology

Socialist

Bornon 02October1904AD

ZodiacSign Libra

BorninRamnagar,Varanasi,UnitedProvinces,BritishRaj

Diedon 11January1966AD

Placeofdeath Tashkent,SovietUnion(nowinUzbekistan)

Father SharadaPrasadSrivastava

Mother RamdulariDevi

Spouse: LalitaDevi

ChildrenKusum,HariKrishna,Suman,Anil,SunilandAshok

Awards BharatRatna

Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian political leader who servedas the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India.Influenced by prominent Indian national leaders like MahatmaGandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, he plunged into the Indianindependence movement in early 1920s. Before becoming thePrime Minister of India, he served in a number of otherdepartments like the railway ministry and the home ministry.Withhispoliciesofnonalignmentandsocialismand influencesof Nehruvian socialism in his political thinking, Shastri becameone of the most loved political leaders of all times. He coinedthe famous slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” during the Indo-Pakistanwarof1965.Hisdeath isstillconsideredasamysteryfor nobody knows under what circumstances he died. He diedwhilehewas in theprocessofsigning theTashkentAgreementon10January1966 - the formaldeclarationof theendof Indo-Pak war. He is the only Indian Prime Minister to have died inoffice overseas. He was the first person to be posthumouslyawardedtheIndia'shighestcivilianaward,BharatRatna.

Childhood&Early LifeShastri was born in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to SharadaPrasad andRamdulariDevi.His fatherwas a clerk in theRevenue Office of Allahbad but died when Shastri wasonly a year old. Hewas raised alongwith his two sistersbyhismother.

He studied at the East Central Railway Inter College inVaranasi and later graduated from Kashi Vidyapeeth in

1926. Soon after, he joined the Servants of the PeopleSociety which was founded by a prominent nationalistleaderofthattime-LalaLajpathRai.

CareerShastri became a part of Indian independencemovementin1920sandwasdrivenbytheideasofMahatmaGandhi.He joined Gandhi’s famous Salt Satyagraha in 1930, forwhichhewassenttotheprisonfortwoandahalfyears.

That did not deter him from working as the OrganizingSecretary of theParliamentary Board of U.P. in 1937.Hewasagainsent toprison forayear forbeingapartof thenationalistSatyagrahamovement.

He was again imprisoned in 1942 for joining MahatmaGandhi’s Quit India Movement and instructing freedomfighters from Jawaharlal Nehru’s house.He wasimprisonedthistimefor4years.

In 1947, Shastri was appointed as the Police andTransportministerofUttarPradesh.

He was made the General Secretary of the All-IndiaCongress Committee in 1951. Later next year, he waselected to Rajya Sabha and was made the Minister ofRailwaysandTransport.

Although the Railways and Transport of India flourishedunder him but he resigned from the post in 1952, takingresponsibilityforarailwayaccidentinTamilNaduinwhichapproximately112peopledied.

In 1957, he was again elected to the cabinet as theCommerce and Industry minister and within 4 years hewaschosenfortheprestigiouspostofHomeMinister.

WhenJawaharLalNehru,thethenPrimeMinisterofIndia,died in office in 1964, the Congress Party President K.Kamaraj put Shastri’s name forward for the post of thePrimeMinister.HewaselectedthePrimeMinisterof Indiathesameyear.

Under his tenure as the Prime Minister, Shastri lead the

country during India-Pakistan war in 1965 and it wasduring this war that he coined the slogan “Jai Jawan JaiKishan” .Itsoonbeganthenationalslogan.

AftertheceasefirewithPakistanwasdeclaredin1965,heattended a summit in Tashkent with the PakistaniPresident Muhammad Ayub Khan. Later next year, boththeleaderssignedtheTashkentDeclaration.

MajorWorksShastri dealt withmany basic problems during his tenurein various ministries - food shortage, unemployment andpoverty.Toovercometheacutefoodshortage,hedeviseda long-term strategy - "Green Revolution".Apart from theGreenRevolution, he also helped in promoting theWhiteRevolution.

Awards&AchievementsShastri was the first person to be posthumously awardedIndia'shighestcivilianaward,BharatRatna.

PersonalLife &LegacyShastrimarriedLalitaDevifromMirzapur,UttarPradeshin1928.Hehadsix childrenwithher—Kusum,HariKrishna,Suman,Anil,SunilandAshok.Thefamily lostAshokwhenhewasonly37yearsold.

He died in Tashkent in 1966, the day after signing theTashkentDeclaration,reportedlyduetoaheartattack,buthisdeathremainsamystery.

Triv iaThe National Dairy Development Board was formed in1965duringShastrireignasPrimeMinister.

VaranasiInternationalAirportisnamedafterhim.