The birth anniversary of the second Prime Minister of independent India, Lal Bahadur Shastri, is celebrated on October 2. Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, to Sharada Prasad Srivastava and Ramdulari Devi in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh. Lal Bahadur Shastri lived a life of simplicity. This character of Shastri is something that a student should learn from. Another takeaway from Lal Bahadur Shastri's life could be to learn to remain composed even in drastic situations.
Before assuming the office of the third Prime Minister of independent India between 1964 and 1966, Shastri was made Minister of Railways and Transport in the first cabinet of India on May 13, 1952. Lal Bahadur Shastri also served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry in 1959 and the Minister of Home Affairs in 1961. He became the Prime Minster on June 1964 after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru died in office in May 1964.
Here are five interesting facts about Lal Bahadur Shastri
It was Shastri who gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' at the time of the Indo-China war in 1965 when the country was facing scarcity of food grains. To instil confidence in soldiers and to encourage farmers to increase food grain production, Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan.
Shastri was known for his honesty and humility throughout his life. Lal Bahadur Shastri was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in1966 and a memorial Vijay Ghat was built for him in Delhi.
Shastri is not Lal Bahadur Shastri's real surname. It was in Kashi Vidya Peeth, Varanasi, the bachelor's degree award ‘Shastri' was presented to him.
In his capacity as the Prime Minister, Shastri stopped drawing his salary during the India-Pakistan War in 1965 when the country was facing a food shortage.
An important role was played by Shastri in White Revolution to make India self-reliant in milk production. Lal Bahadur Shastri also set up the National Dairy Development Board and backed the Amul milk co-operative in Anand, Gujarat.