Today marks the 56th anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri's passing. He served as India's second prime minister. Lal Bahadur Shastri, a great freedom fighter and statesman captured the true spirit of India in the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan," which continues to be an inspiration to Indians of all ages.
The legacy of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the public figure he was, will live on forever in India. His ability to speak to and understand the average person set him apart. During the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, when food was scarce, he did not collect his salary. When he was a minister in charge of railways, he resigned after he felt personally responsible for a fatal train wreck.
After Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in May 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri, a modest, soft-spoken, but powerful leader, became Prime Minister. Later, he held important positions in the first cabinet of independent India, including those of home affairs and railways.
When Mahatma Gandhi rallied his countrymen to the Non-Cooperation Movement, Lal Bahadur Shastri was only 16 years old. On hearing Mahatma Gandhi's appeal, Lal Bahadur Shastri immediately stepped forward to help.
Lal Bahadur Shastri led a nationwide initiative called the White Revolution to boost India's milk output. He established the National Dairy Development Board and backed the Amul milk co-op in Gujarat's Anand.
In 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri promoted the Green Revolution in India, which increased food grain production across the country, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
In recognition of his academic achievements, the honorific "Shastri" was bestowed upon him in 1926 by Kashi Vidyapeeth University.
Shastri swam the Ganges twice a day to attend school and tied books on the top of his head because he didn't have enough money at that time to take a boat.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to use water jets rather than a lathi charge to disperse the crowd when he served as Uttar Pradesh's minister.
After independence, he became minister of transportation and implemented the hiring of female conductors and drivers for public transportation.
He signed the Tashkent Declaration on January 10, 1966, with Pakistan President, Muhammad Ayub Khan to end the 1965 war.
His tenure as the Prime Minister was only 19 months. He died in Tashkent on January 11, 1966.
