Lal Bahadur Shastri

October 2, 1904 1904- January 11, 1966

Biography

Lal Bahadur Shastri was India's second Prime Minister. He was born in 1904, in a humble family. He was very laborious since his childhood. His honesty and simplicity was appreciated by people. He actively took part in the freedom struggle. He was a down-to-earth leader. After the Independence of India, Shastri became the Finance Minister in Nehru's Ministry. In 1964, Shastri succeeded Nehru as the Prime Minister of lndia.

He had not been in power long when Pakistan sent armed raiders into Jammu and Kashmir. Shastri promised to meet force with force and soon the second Indo-Pakistan war commenced. He gave the slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'. The Indian army reached the outskirts of Lahore. The United Nations intervened and a cease-fire was declared. In 1966, the Russian Prime Minister, Alek Sei Kosygin, invited Shastri and Agha Khan for a summit in Tashkent where Shastri suffered a fatal heart attack.