The Tashkent Files: Here's all you need to know about the mysterious death of Dr Lal Bahadur Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away on January 11, 1966. He was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where he signed the peace agreement between India and Pakistan named The Tashkent Declaration. After signing the treaty, Shastri mysteriously passed away in Tashkent. It was said that he passed away due to a heart attack.

However, many believed that Shastri didn't die of a heart attack, but he was poisoned. 

Kuldip Nayar, in his column for Outlook India magazine, wrote, "When I returned from Tashkent, Lalita Shastri asked me why Shastri’s body had turned blue. I replied: “I am told that when bodies are embalmed, they turn blue.” She then inquired about “certain cuts” on Shastri’s body. I did not know about those because I had not seen the body. Even so, her remark that no post-mortem had been conducted either at Tashkent or Delhi startled me. It was indeed unusual. Apparently, she and others in the family suspected foul play. A few days later, I heard that Lalita Shastri was angry with the two personal assistants who had accompanied Shastri because they had refused to sign a statement which alleged that Shastri did not die a natural death."

An RTI by Kuldip for a document on Shastri's death was also reportedly declined by Prime Minister's Office.

In his column, Kuldip Nayar also gave out details about the aftermath of Lal Bahadur Shastri's mysterious death. He revealed that Shastri's family members were convinced there was a foul play in his death.

He wrote, "As days passed, the Shastri family became increasingly convinced that he had been poisoned. In 1970, on October 2 (Shastri’s birthday), Lalita Shastri asked for a probe into her husband’s death. The family seemed to be upset that Jan Mohammed, T.N. Kaul’s cook at the time, had cooked the food, not Ram Nath, his own personal servant. This was strange as the same Jan Mohammed had prepared food for Shastri when he visited Moscow in 1965."

Nayar further wrote about how after many years, he asked Morarji Desai about his take on Shastri's death. Nayar wrote, "Following newspaper reports, the old guard Congress party supported the demand for a probe into Shastri’s death. I asked Morarji Desai towards the end of October 1970 whether he really believed that Shastri did not die a natural death. Desai said: “That is all politics. I am sure there was no foul play. He died of a heart attack. I have checked with the doctor and his secretary, C.P. Srivastava, who accompanied him to Tashkent.”"

During an interaction with PTI, Vivek Agnihotri spoke at length about his most-anticipated project. He revealed details about the efforts he took for the research before the film went on floors. 

Vivek stated, "On January 10, 1966, Shastri had signed the Tashkent Agreement and hours later he died. A death mystery unsolved to date. Was it a heart attack or poison? The truth of the biggest coverup has been denied to his family and us. Immediately after his death, the family members of Shastri officially requested a post-mortem to the then acting Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda, but to no avail, Vivek said. The family also had requested former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi but was not heeded to once again. This issue has been raised in Parliament for the last 50 years and yet, we are trying to find out the truth. I picked up the gauntlet and tried finding the truth, and hence I filed RTIs, but I was shattered."

(All photos tweeted by Vivek Agnihotri)