26th January, 15th August and 2nd October are holidays which no Indian would ever miss. These are dates which are embossed in the collective memory of the nation and are the only three national holidays which have a fixed place in the calendar of any organization, public or private, in any part of the country. There are a few other national holidays but the dates of them vary from state to state or from year to year. But these 3 dates are never ever contested.
Tomorrow is 2nd October and the entire nation remembers 'Father of the Nation' Mahatma Gandhi on this day. In the recent past there have been many counter views towards the contributions and role of the Mahatma; even some have gone to the extent of questioning his basic principles and character. But for a person who has grown up in India of the 1980s and 1990s Mahatma Gandhi's saintly picture is almost indelibly etched into the mind. He was omnipresent everywhere starting from the content of the school text books to the name of the streets in the city, everything had a bit of Gandhi about it.
But under the shadow of Mahatma Gandhi's presence we seldom remember that October 2nd is also the birth anniversary of the second Prime Minister this country had. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the Prime Minister for just 18 months but within this short span of time he left an indelible mark with his upright decision making abilities.
After the death of Nehru there were obviously many contenders for the top post but the influential Congress President K Kamraj chose for him the post. Lal Bahadur was a Gandhian by principle and was a close follower of Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant. Prior to becoming a Prime Minister Lal Bahadur had served the freedom movement following the principles of Gandhi. And later was a part of Nehru's cabinet.
The most notable event of Lal Bahadur Shastri’ s tenure was the Indo-Pak war of 1965 in which ended in India's favor. He also promoted the Green Revolution and White Revolution to take the country towards self - sufficiency in agriculture and dairy. His legendary slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' during the 1965 war is still fresh in the collective memory of the country. And was later borrowed by another legendary leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee who extended it further to 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan'. He also had plans to make India a nuclear power and in achieving that he had with him the champion scientist Homi Jehangir Bhabha. However that dream was cut short when both these stalwarts met their sudden end within few days of each other in January, 1966.
What happened in Tashkent with the second PM of India is shrouded in mystery. He went there on the invite of Soviet government to sign an agreement with President of Pakistan General Ayub Khan. As like Netaji's case successive governments have not made any attempts to declassify any files related to the PM's demise. But his family maintains the position that he was poisoned to death; official version is cardiac failure. However there are few questions which are unanswered.
Unfortunately subsequent governments and generations have not cared about him and given him his due respect. Even a war victory over eternal rivals Pakistan didn't help. Today many activists like Anuj Dhar (his recent book on the subject would be worth reading) are working hard to get the facts out through RTI or other channels. And hope someday meaningful answers would be received to end all the conspiracy theories.
Till that time this 2nd October let's remember two greats sons of India Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri in the same breath.
References:
Tomorrow is 2nd October and the entire nation remembers 'Father of the Nation' Mahatma Gandhi on this day. In the recent past there have been many counter views towards the contributions and role of the Mahatma; even some have gone to the extent of questioning his basic principles and character. But for a person who has grown up in India of the 1980s and 1990s Mahatma Gandhi's saintly picture is almost indelibly etched into the mind. He was omnipresent everywhere starting from the content of the school text books to the name of the streets in the city, everything had a bit of Gandhi about it.
After the death of Nehru there were obviously many contenders for the top post but the influential Congress President K Kamraj chose for him the post. Lal Bahadur was a Gandhian by principle and was a close follower of Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant. Prior to becoming a Prime Minister Lal Bahadur had served the freedom movement following the principles of Gandhi. And later was a part of Nehru's cabinet.
The most notable event of Lal Bahadur Shastri’ s tenure was the Indo-Pak war of 1965 in which ended in India's favor. He also promoted the Green Revolution and White Revolution to take the country towards self - sufficiency in agriculture and dairy. His legendary slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' during the 1965 war is still fresh in the collective memory of the country. And was later borrowed by another legendary leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee who extended it further to 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan'. He also had plans to make India a nuclear power and in achieving that he had with him the champion scientist Homi Jehangir Bhabha. However that dream was cut short when both these stalwarts met their sudden end within few days of each other in January, 1966.
What happened in Tashkent with the second PM of India is shrouded in mystery. He went there on the invite of Soviet government to sign an agreement with President of Pakistan General Ayub Khan. As like Netaji's case successive governments have not made any attempts to declassify any files related to the PM's demise. But his family maintains the position that he was poisoned to death; official version is cardiac failure. However there are few questions which are unanswered.
- The PM was lodged in a hotel which was quite far from the venue of the summit and was provided with a room with no phone or calling bell facility. Quite unlikely treatment for a head of state who has been invited for a high level summit.
- The PM was veg and had his personal cook Ram Nath travelling along with him. But his last dinner came from the residence of the Indian Ambassador to Russia T.N. Kaul where it was cooked by a cook named Jan Mohammed. The PM's family members when they arrived in Tashkent had demanded to speak to the cook but were not allowed to by Soviet authorities. It is alleged that Jan Mohammed went to Pakistan where he continued to enjoy a pension from Indian government.
- After initial suspicions of poisoning Soviet authorities had arrested a Russian cook who was later released. However in spite of the suspicions a postmortem was never performed.
- During the tour the PM was accompanied by two close aides; his doctor R.N. Chugh and his cook Ram Nath. After the end of India Gandhi's Emergency period when the Janata Party government came to power the Raj Narain Inquiry committee was set up. The committee both Dr. Chugh and Ram Nath to appear before them and record their statements. However, Dr. Chugh was killed in a road accident while on his way to appear before the committee. Ram Nath met another road accident in which he lost his memory along with both of his legs.
- In another twist a CIA operative Robert Crowley claimed in a recorded interview that it was CIA who eliminated both Lal Bahadur Shastri and Homi Bhabha (who died in an Air India plane crash in the Alps in January, 1966). It was CIA's attempt to derail India's nuclear plan.
Unfortunately subsequent governments and generations have not cared about him and given him his due respect. Even a war victory over eternal rivals Pakistan didn't help. Today many activists like Anuj Dhar (his recent book on the subject would be worth reading) are working hard to get the facts out through RTI or other channels. And hope someday meaningful answers would be received to end all the conspiracy theories.
Till that time this 2nd October let's remember two greats sons of India Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri in the same breath.
References:
- http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/2008-October/000400.html
- https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/tashkent-whodunit-an-enduring-tale/281537
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