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From Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan to White Revolution: Remembering Lal Bahadur Shastri on his death anniversary
Shastri took over as the second prime minister of the country after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1964.
January 11 marks the death anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri, one of the greatest Indian statesmen and second prime minister of the country. Shastri was elected to the legislature from the United Provinces, erstwhile Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states, and held key cabinet positions of transport and home ministry. Shastri took over as the second prime minister of the country after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1964.
Here is remembering Lal Bahadur Shastri and the inspiration he was:
1. Shastri joined Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement against the British when he was 16. He joined the fight against colonial rule immediately after Gandhi called upon the countrymen to unite and fight for independence.
2. As the prime minister, he stopped drawing his salary during the war between India and Pakistan in 1965, when the country was facing a food shortage.
3. He played a key role in the White Revolution to make India self-reliant in milk production. Lal Bahadur Shastri created the National Dairy Development Board and backed the Amul milk co-operative in Gujarat's Anand.
4.Shastri gave the famous slogan 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' during the 1965 India-Pakistan war to boost the morale of soldiers and the farmers in the backdrop of the crucial war and food paucity.
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5. Shastri was deeply concerned for the agriculture of India and was critical of the lack of contact between the peasants and the elites, as per Gilbert Etienne's book Indian Villages. He also promoted the Green Revolution with the aim of farmers' prosperity and to make India self-reliant in foodgrain production. Green Revolution remains the model operation in India that benefited states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
6. Shastri's tenure was the prime minister was only for 19 months as he died in Tashkent on January 11, 1966. He was succeeded by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi.
7. "India will have to hang down her head in shame if even one person is left who is said in any way to be untouchable," was one among many inspirational quotes given by him.
