Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci

The grit and determination that characterized Lal Bahadur Shastri was best displayed uring the Indo-Pak war of 1965. He gave the nation the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ and exhorted people to make all sacrifices in the hour of adversity. He triumphed over Pakistan, but unfortunately died on 11 th January ,1966 at Tashkent, the day he signed the agreement with Pakistan.

Lal Bahadur Shastri left an indelible mark in the minds of his countrymen, though his tenure as Prime Minister was only a little over one year. This was because his entire life had been a saga of high moral conduct, simplicity of behaviour, sacrifice, politeness and firm determination. He was a giant amongst the generation that fought for freedom. We may not see person of his high ideals in the days to come.

He was born in an ordinary family on October 2, 1904, at Mughal Sarai in Uttar Pradesh. His childhood was spent in want and penury. But, he was a man full of honesty, humanism and straightforwardness. After education at Kashi Vidyapeeth, he devoted his time to social service under ‘Servants of People Society’ founded by Lala Lajpat Rai.

That was the time when the freedom movement was at peak. Shastri plunged into freedom struggle. He was several times imprisoned by the British Rulers before independence. At first, he got into U.P politics. Pt. Nehru took him to the Centre. He was general secretary of the congress party and later became the union Minister for Railways. He resigned from the Cabinet owning moral responsibility for a railway accident, thus setting a rare example for politicians. He was elected the third Prime Minister of India after Pt. Nehru’s death in 1964. He was posthumously awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his incredible services to the country. A memorial was set up at Vijay Ghat, Delhi, which shall always remind us about this Great Son of India.