Lal Bahadur Shastri death anniversary: Why was his death so mysterious?
11th January is remembered as the Lal Bahadur death anniversary who was India’s second Prime Minister. Let us take a look at his life journey. How did he start his political career & why was he one of the most loved leaders in India?
Who was he?
Born to a Kayastha Hindu family, Shastri gave up his caste-named surname early. He was a massive follower of Gandhi and was influenced by him, and he joined Congress Party as a volunteer. He studied at Kashi Vidyapith in Banaras and graduated with a philosophy and ethics degree.
He was also a Servants of the People Society member and worked extensively with Harijans. Also known as Lok Sevak Mandal, this social service organization was founded by Lala Lajpat Rai and was later headed by Shastri.
How did he start his Political Career?
With the Independence of India and Jawaharlal Nehru as the First Prime Minister of Independent India, Shastri was the Minister of Police and Transport in Uttar Pradesh.
He introduced some noteworthy changes during his tenure, like appointing women conductors and using water to disperse crowds rather than lathis.
He became the General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee in 1951. In 1952 when Nehru formed his cabinet, Shastri was given a place in it as Minister of Railways. He had resigned from this post after a significant railway accident and had taken moral responsibility for it. He was then made the Minister of Commerce and Industry in 1959.
A major turning point in India’s and Shastri’s political life came with the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964. After Nehru’s death, the clear choice for PM was Shastri and K.Kamraj (the President of the Congress Party at that time) had a considerable role in ensuring it.
1. The first is that of a major food crisis. India was recovering from the China War and faced major monsoon failure and drought.
2. The 1965 war with Pakistan.
A slogan that Shastri gave, which has become iconic and tried to address both these issues, were- Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.
He was a huge promoter of the White Revolution and supported the formation of Amul and the National Dairy Development Board. He also supported the Green Revolution and stressed its importance in boosting food production in the country.
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His Death Controversy
His death is one of the most controversial and a mystery until now. Shastri had gone to Tashkent, USSR (currently the capital of Uzbekistan) to meet General Ayub Khan of Pakistan to conclude the war. It was there that he mysteriously died. He died of a very suspicious heart attack. A lot of theories, such as poisoning, had also surfaced. However, the entire truth was never discovered, and we still don’t know how our beloved Prime Minister passed away.
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