Lal Bahadur Shastri: nineteen months that mattered.
Nineteen months as Prime Minister. A war, a famine and the start of the Green Revolution, ended by his death at Tashkent.
From Mughalsarai to Tashkent.
- Born
- 2 October 1904 in Mughalsarai. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Education
- Left school in 1921 to join Non-Cooperation. Graduated from Kashi Vidyapith in 1925; the title Shastri became his name. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Freedom movement
- Nearly nine years in prison across the freedom movement, including Quit India. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Offices
- Railways Minister from 1952. He resigned in 1956 after the Ariyalur rail accident. Home Minister 1961–63. Prime Minister from 9 Jun 1964 until his death on 11 Jan 1966. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
What was done in nineteen months.
- 1965 · Language settled (vijay). He calmed the anti-Hindi agitation in Madras with an assurance that English would stay as long as non-Hindi states wished. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- 1964–1966 · Food crisis (anubhav). India lived on American PL-480 wheat. He asked citizens to skip one meal a week and began in his own home. A country that cannot feed itself cannot fully choose its foreign policy. Review of Agrarian Studies · US State Department, FRUS 1964–68 vol. XXV · Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- 1965 · Green and White Revolutions begin (vijay). He put C. Subramaniam at Agriculture, who backed high-yielding seeds with M. S. Swaminathan. The National Dairy Development Board was set up at Anand under Verghese Kurien. Wikipedia (C. Subramaniam) · ICAR, Swaminathan’s account · Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Aug–Sep 1965 · War with Pakistan (vijay). Pakistan’s infiltration into Kashmir was met with a counter-attack towards Lahore. A UN ceasefire came on 23 Sep. Independent estimates give India about 1,840 sq km of Pakistani land against 540 lost. Wikipedia (1965 war) · MP-IDSA, 21 Sep 2015
- Oct 1965 · Jai Jawan Jai Kisan (vijay). The slogan joined the soldier and the farmer at a moment when India needed both. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- Jan 1966 · Tashkent (anubhav). Both sides withdrew to their pre-war positions and renounced force. India returned Haji Pir. There was no agreement on Kashmir. What is won on the ground can be given back at the table. Tashkent Declaration text · Wikipedia (Tashkent Declaration)
- 11 Jan 1966 · Death at Tashkent. He died the night after signing, officially of a heart attack. No post-mortem was done. His family has questioned the cause and nothing has been established. The Wire, 16 May 2018
What each side says.
- Admirers. Ramachandra Guha calls him an excellent delegator whose choices at Defence and Agriculture paid off in 1965 and in wheat. Ramachandra Guha, The Telegraph, 9 Jan 2016
- Critics. Critics at the time called the Tashkent Declaration too weak, with no no-war pact and Haji Pir handed back. Wikipedia (Tashkent Declaration)
Two lines he is known for.
- “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”. Hail the soldier, hail the farmer. Urwa, Allahabad, 19 Oct 1965. Wikipedia (Lal Bahadur Shastri)
- “…stands at the cross-roads of history”. His first broadcast as Prime Minister, June 1964. Wikipedia (Premiership of Shastri)