Freedom fighter and India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri shared his birthday with Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Shastriji was known for his understanding of the significance of soldiers and farmers in India who coined the term 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'.
Born on October 2, 1902, Lal Bahadur Shastri filled a large vacuum in the history of Indian Politics after the demise of first PM Jawahar Lal Nehru. Shastri took birth at Mughalsarai, a small railway town near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He lost his father at an early age and his mother along with her three children went to settle down at her father's place.
Shashtri from a very young age was interested in the country's freedom struggle from the foreign invaders. Greatly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Shastri was called upon to join the non-cooperation movement at an early age of 16.
Lal Bahadur Shastri immediately gave up on his studies to serve the nation. His mother did not like the idea of quitting his studies, but there was no looking back for Shahstri ji.
Shastri joined one of the national institutions set up in defiance of British Rule in India, Kashi Vidya Peeth in Varanasi.
He not only resurrected the nation's broken confidence after the defeat against China in 1962 but also aggressively worked on the Green Revolution and White revolution. He was known for turning India from a food deficit nation to food surplus nation.
Here are six lesser-known facts about the former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri:
1. Shastri at the age of 12 opposed the caste-system in India and gave up his surname. He was given the title 'Shastri' by the Kashi Vidya Peeth in Varanasi after he completed his graduation. Shastri means 'scholar' and was degree that marked his scholarly success. "India will have to hang down her head in shame if even one person is left who is said in any way to be untouchable" - Shastri said once.
2. Do you know that the former PM used to swim across the Ganges to reach his school? Shastri used to swim across the Ganges to and fro from school as he could not afford a ferry ride due to poor financial conditions.
3. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first one to use jets of water instead of lathi charge to disperse crowd as the Minister of Police in Uttar Pradesh. "Those who govern must see how the people react to administration. Ultimately, the people are the final arbiters" - Shastri once said.
4. India won the India-Pakistan war in 1965 under the leadership of Lal Bahadur Shahstri. He lead the country and took the decision for army to take a bold action.
"If Pakistan has any ideas of annexing any part of our territories by force, she should think afresh. I want to state categorically that force will be met with force and aggression against us will never be allowed to succeed," Shastri had said then.
5. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first person to be awarded the India's Highest Civilian Award, Bharat Ratna.
6. After signing the Tashkent Declaration on 11th January, 1996 he took his last breath. According to the reports he died of a cardiac arrest but the cause of his death still remains a great mystery as many controversies were involved. Even today the real reason of his death remains a mystery.
