India’s second Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri was also born on October 2, in 1904. His father died when he was 18 months old and he grew up at his grandfather’s house. Since he was very slightly built his grandpa affectionately called him ‘Nanhe’. One day Nanhe and his friends were raiding a mango tree when they were surprised by the gardener. The gardener caught Nanhe and slapped him. “Why did you slap me?” asked the boy. “Don’t you know I have no father?”
“That means you’ll have to look after your mother and how can a thief do that?” asked the gardener.
The gardener’s words made the boy aware of his responsibilities and a change came over him. He grew up to be one of the leaders of our country.
Shastriji became Prime Minister at a time of turmoil. Pandit Nehru had just died and war erupted with Pakistan in 1965. The country was reeling under a drought. Quite a tough task for a new Prime Minister to handle.
But he took it all in his stride. He inspired the people with his slogan: ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan!’. The Indo – Pak war would have continued, but Russia intervened and both India and Pakistan agreed to sign the Tashkent Agreement on January 11, 1966. Just a few hours after signing the agreement, Shastriji died of a massive heart attack.
He was awarded the ‘Bharat Ratna’ posthumously. His memorial ‘Vijayghat’ in Delhi is a constant reminder of a great administrator and a fantastic human being.