We observed the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October. Indeed, Mahatma was a "one-man army" who made the British Empire yield and obtained freedom for India. It is believed that Mahatma is the most "read about" and "talked about" person in the contemporary world.
However, the importance of 2nd October remains incomplete if we do not remember another great son of India - Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was born on the same date.
In my humble way, I would like to pay my tributes to Shastri ji by recalling a few facts of his life:
- His parents were quite poor. During his school days, LBS used to go across the river Ganga (near Varanasi) to attend his classes. He did not have enough money to pay for a boat; hence, he used to swim across, keeping the bag of books on his head.
- When he was the Minister of Railways, a major train accident took place. Shastri ji owned up to the moral responsibility and resigned. Despite requests for reconsideration from Pt JL Nehru, he did not budge.
- When he was a Minister without a portfolio, Nehru ji asked him to go to Kashmir on the issue of holy relics. It was peak winter, and Shastri ji did not have enough woolen clothes. Pt Nehru gave his own overcoat to Shastri ji.
- When Shastri ji was Prime Minister, India faced a shortage of food grains. He appealed to all the Indians to skip evening meals every Monday. Such was the magic of his appeal that all restaurants, bakeries, etc., used to remain closed on Monday evenings in most cities.
- When he was Prime Minister, Shastri ji took a loan to buy an Ambassador Car for his personal use. When he died, some part of the loan was still outstanding.
- It is still a mystery as to how Shastri ji died suddenly when he was attending the Indo-Pak summit in Tashkent (erstwhile USSR). It is to the honor of this pint-sized titan that the President Ayub Khan of Pakistan and Prime Minister Alexie Kosygin of USSR volunteered to be the pall-bearers of the mortal remains of Shastri ji when it was being taken out of the venue of the summit meet.
My purpose of writing this mail is twofold:
- To remind all of us about this great man, Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- To let the younger generation feel proud of being in the same country where such great men were born.
From India, Hyderabad
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68However, the importance of 2nd October remains incomplete if we do not remember another great son of India - Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was born on the same date.
In my humble way, I would like to pay my tributes to Shastri ji by recalling a few facts of his life:
- His parents were quite poor. During his school days, LBS used to go across the river Ganga (near Varanasi) to attend his classes. He did not have enough money to pay for a boat; hence, he used to swim across, keeping the bag of books on his head.
- When he was the Minister of Railways, a major train accident took place. Shastri ji owned up to the moral responsibility and resigned. Despite requests for reconsideration from Pt JL Nehru, he did not budge.
- When he was a Minister without a portfolio, Nehru ji asked him to go to Kashmir on the issue of holy relics. It was peak winter, and Shastri ji did not have enough woolen clothes. Pt Nehru gave his own overcoat to Shastri ji.
- When Shastri ji was Prime Minister, India faced a shortage of food grains. He appealed to all the Indians to skip evening meals every Monday. Such was the magic of his appeal that all restaurants, bakeries, etc., used to remain closed on Monday evenings in most cities.
- When he was Prime Minister, Shastri ji took a loan to buy an Ambassador Car for his personal use. When he died, some part of the loan was still outstanding.
- It is still a mystery as to how Shastri ji died suddenly when he was attending the Indo-Pak summit in Tashkent (erstwhile USSR). It is to the honor of this pint-sized titan that the President Ayub Khan of Pakistan and Prime Minister Alexie Kosygin of USSR volunteered to be the pall-bearers of the mortal remains of Shastri ji when it was being taken out of the venue of the summit meet.
My purpose of writing this mail is twofold:
- To remind all of us about this great man, Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- To let the younger generation feel proud of being in the same country where such great men were born.
From India, Hyderabad
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Hi Kiran,
Thank you for your wonderful post. Indeed, it is ironic that everyone remembers Mahatma Gandhiji on 2nd October, but there is only a small mention of Lal Bahadur Shastriji. While Mahatma Gandhi is undoubtedly a great son of India, Shastriji is no less significant! There may still be a few people who accuse Gandhiji of playing a role in the creation of Pakistan, but nobody speaks negatively about Shastriji. I distinctly remember, as a school child, when I heard about his death in Tashkent, I wept. He is truly a role model.
- Srinaren
From India, Bangalore
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Thank you for your wonderful post. Indeed, it is ironic that everyone remembers Mahatma Gandhiji on 2nd October, but there is only a small mention of Lal Bahadur Shastriji. While Mahatma Gandhi is undoubtedly a great son of India, Shastriji is no less significant! There may still be a few people who accuse Gandhiji of playing a role in the creation of Pakistan, but nobody speaks negatively about Shastriji. I distinctly remember, as a school child, when I heard about his death in Tashkent, I wept. He is truly a role model.
- Srinaren
From India, Bangalore
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