On October 2, the nation celebrates Gandhi Jayanti on account of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday but somehow we forget to mention the man who contributed towards the growth of India.
Yes, we are talking about the second Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri.?
Lal Bahadur Shastri's contribution to India¡¯s growth is unparallel, despite his party Congress never giving him credit for it? Shastri shares the birthday with the father of the nation and many also call it his ill fate that his birthday doesn¡¯t get celebrated because Gandhi¡¯s legacy overshadows it.
But the man who resurrected a nation¡¯s broken self-confidence after the defeat against China in 1962? and led it to victory in 1965 war against Pakistan deserves to be remembered with respect.
Victory in the war wasn¡¯t his only achievement, but revolutions like Green Revolution and White Revolution which made India a food deficit country to a food surplus one certainly deserve more than what he gets.
Here are some facts about Lal Bahadur Shastri, a tiny man who dwarfed the arrogant army general Ayub Khan in Tashkent and died by leaving only one dhoti-kurta and few books as property for his family.
1. Lal Bahadur got the title ¡®Shastri¡¯ in Kashi Vidyapeeth university in 1926 as a mark of scholarly success. In fact, it was a degree.
2. Shastri¡¯s mother had lost him while taking bath in the Ganges when he was just 3 months old. But following a FIR, a cowherd who had no children unwillingly returned him to his mother.
3. In school days, Shastri would swim across the Ganges twice a day with his book tied on top of his head since he didn¡¯t have enough money to take the boat.
Reuters
4.? As Minister of police in Uttar Pradesh, Shastri was the first person who used jets of water to disperse crowd instead of a lathi charge
5.? On the occasion of his wedding, Shastri took a khadi cloth and a spinning wheel as part of the dowry.
6.? Nehru had once called him half civilised because Shastri would frequently appear on dhoti-kurta.
7.? During freedom struggle when he was in jail, Shastri¡¯s wife would get a pension of Rs 50 per month. Shastri¡¯s wife once informed him that she saved rs 10 from the money. Irked with her, Shastri asked the Servants of People¡¯s Society to reduce his pension and give Rs 10 to some needy.
8. When his son was given an undue promotion at a department, Shastri had it reversed immediately.
9. On the occasion of his birth centenary in 2004, the RBI issued a Rs.100 coin with his portrait on it, commemorating his life. The coin is non-circulating and is available on order alone.
10. Shastri died on 11 January 1966 in the then USSR¡¯s Tashkent due to heart failure, but his death is always seen with suspicion.?