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Lal
Bahdur Shastri |
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Lal Bahadur Shastri was born
in 1905 in Prayag. His father Sharada Prasad,
a schoolteacher at the local school, passed away
when Lal Bahadur was barely a year and a half.
Growing up without a father forced Lal Bahadur
to accept responsibility at an early age. He was
sent by his uncle to Varanasi to pursue his studies.
After a short stay with a family that treated
him unkindly, Lal Bahadur stayed with a teacher,
Mishraji. Mishraji often sat and told stories
about how India lost her freedom to the British
to young Lal Bahadur. These conversations later
inspired Lal Bahadur to join the struggle for
Indian freedom. At about this time Gandhiji came
to Varanasi and spoke of his non-cooperation movement.
Lal Bahadur took a keen interest in the growing
movement and when the time came to boycott the
schools, he did so by not appearing for his examinations.
With just one year left for his graduation, the
news was not taken well at home. Neither his Uncle
nor Mishraji supported Lal Bahadur’s action,
but his mother who had complete faith in him,
supported his decision as long as he promised
not to renege from the task later.
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With
his mother’s blessings, he became fully involved
in the non-cooperation movement. He was arrested
for taking part in banned processions but released
since it was his first offense. This was to be
the first of many arrests for Lal Bahadur. He
worked during the evenings in a khadi shop and
studied while studying for the degree of Shastri
(Bachelor) in Philosophy. Lal Bahadur graduated
at the head of his class.
He then went on to do social work among the Harijans,
working to make their lives better. Two years
later he married Lalita Devi. Lal Bahadur and
Lalita moved to Allahabad where Lal Bahadur served
as secretary of the District Congress Committee.
He attended the 1929 Lahore session of the Congress,
and upon his return to Allahabad actively spoke
out against the British Raj and for "Purna
Swaraj". As protests continued more and more
people were arrested for participating in the
struggle. When Lalita Devi mentioned to Lal Bahadur
that the jails were full, he replied in his characteristic
fashion, "Yes, but there is still room for
me."
He was arrested a few days later. During his stay
in jail his wife gave birth to their first child
Kusum. He had two other children, Hari and Suman.
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total commitment to Gandhiji and the non-cooperation
movement resulted in many jail terms. Since the
Congress party was banned by the British Government,
Lal Bahadur and his associates spent their time
travelling around India spreading Gandhiji’s
message. He was soon arrested for these activities,
and jailed for seven months at an unknown location.
Eighteen months later Lalita Devi was granted permission
to meet her husband |
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Lal
Bahadur was finally released from prison in 1946.
On August 15, 1947 India gained independence.
Lal Bahadur was appointed Minister of Police in
Nehru’s cabinet. In 1951 Jawaharlal Nehru
was re-elected Prime Minister for a second term,
and Lal Bahadur was appointed General Secretary
of the Lok Sabha. While in Nehru’s cabinet,
Lal Bahadur was entrusted with portfolios for
Minister of Railways, Minister of Communications
and later Home Minister. He served as Nehru’s
right hand. On May 27, 1964 Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru died. May of that year Lal Bahadur Shastri
became India’s second Prime Minister. His
term is best known for introducing measures to
make India self-sufficient in food production.
In 1965 Pakistan attacked India on the Kashmiri
front and Lal Bahadur Shastri responded in kind
by punching toward Lahore.
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In 1966 a cease-fire was issued as a result of
international pressure. Lal Bahadur Shastri went
to Tashkent to hold talks with Ayub Khan and an
agreement was soon signed.
Lal
Bahadur passed away in Tashkent before returning
home. He was posthumously conferred with the Bharat
Ratna Award.
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