October 2 is observed as the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was the second Prime Minister of India, every year. On Saturday, leaders from across the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, paid floral tributes to Shastri. His son, Anil Shastri, was also seen paying tributes at Vijay Sthal.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, in the Mughalsarai district of Uttar Pradesh. Being involved with politics at a very young age, Shastri played an important role in India’s freedom struggle from the British Raj. Shastri, who was regarded as a secularist who rejected the mixing of politics and religion, also emphasised fighting for the country’s poor population.
He was appointed as the Prime Minister in 1964 after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s death and held charge of the top post till 1966. He led India during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’. He also promoted the White Revolution and Green Revolution in India.
Shastri died in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on January 11, 1966, a day after he signed a peace treaty to end the 1965 war with Pakistan. Even though it is officially said that Shastri passed away due to a heart attack, his wife Lalita alleged that he was poisoned.