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| 1966. Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister of India (1904-1966) |
Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister of India 1904-1966
Text :
Condition : Ø =
used/cancelled
| Stamp Issue Date | : | 26/01/1966 |
| Postage Stamp Denomination | : | 0.15 |
| Postal Stamp Serial Number | : | 0528 |
| Postal Stamp Name | : | L. B. SHASTRI |
| Stamp Currency | : | P |
| Stamp Type | : | COMMEMORATIVE |
| Stamp Language | : | English |
| Indian Stamp's Color | : | Multicolour |
Yvert number:
| 201 |
|---|
THIS ISSUE MOURNS THE PASSING AWAY OF LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI (1904-1966) SECOND PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA. HE WAS A GREAT LEADER AND STATESMAN. THE STAMP FEATURES HIS PORTRAIT.
Mr Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of
independent India. He was a man of great courage and will. He successfully led
country during the 1965 war with Pakistan. To mobilize the support of country
during the war he coined the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan". Lal
Bahadur Shastri also played a key role in India´s freedom struggle. He led his
life with great simplicity and honesty and was a great source of inspiration
for all the countrymen. Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister of India
Lal Bahadur Shastri created the slogan of "Jai Jawan
Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), underlining
the need to boost India´s food production.
Lal Bahadur Shastri (pronounced [laːl bəˈɦaːd̪ʊr ˈʃaːst̪ri]; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Indiaand a leader of the Indian National Congress party.
Shastri joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. Deeply impressed and influenced by Congress leader Mahatma Gandhi, he became a loyal follower, first of Gandhi, and then of Jawaharlal Nehru. Following independence in 1947, he joined the latter's government and became one of Prime Minister Nehru's principal lieutenants, first as Railways Minister (1951–56), and then in a variety of other functions, including Home Minister. Shastri was chosen as Nehru's successor owing to his adherence of Nehruvian socialism after Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi turned down Congress President K. Kamaraj's offer of premiership.
Shastri as Prime Minister continued Nehru's policies of non-alignment and socialism. He became a national hero following the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") became very popular during the war and is remembered even today.[2]The war was formally ended in the Tashkent Agreement of 10 January 1966; he died the following day, still in Tashkent, of a heart attack.
Prime minister of India (1964-66)
Main article: Premiership of Lal Bahadur Shastri
Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a void.[16] Then Congress Party President K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making Shastri Prime Minister on 9 June. Shastri, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus held appeal to those wishing to prevent the ascent of conservative right-winger Morarji Desai.
In his first broadcast as Prime Minister, on 11 June 1964, Shastri stated:[17]
"There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the cross-roads of history and must choose which way to go. But for us there need be no difficulty or hesitation, no looking to right or left. Our way is straight and clear—the building up of a socialist democracy at home with freedom and prosperity for all, and the maintenance of world peace and friendship with all nations."
Domestic policies
Shastri retained many members of Nehru's Council of Ministers. T. T. Krishnamachari was retained as the Finance Minister of India, as was Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan. He appointedSwaran Singh to succeed him as External Affairs Minister. He also appointed Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and former Congress President, as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Gulzarilal Nanda continued as the Minister of Home Affairs.
Shastri's tenure witnessed the Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. The government of India had for a long time made an effort to establish Hindi as the sole national language of India. This was resisted by the non-Hindi speaking states particularly Madras State. To calm the situation, Shastri took the advice of Indira Gandhi and gave assurances that English would continue to be used as the official language as long the non-Hindi speaking states wanted. The riots subsided after Shastri's assurance, as did the student agitation.
Economic policies
Shastri continued Nehru's socialist economic policies with central planning. He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy Development Board.[2] While speaking on the chronic food shortages across the country, Shastri urged people to voluntarily give up one meal so that the saved food could be distributed to the affected populace. During the 22-day war with Pakistan in 1965, Shastri created the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), underlining the need to boost India's food production. Shastri also promoted the Green Revolution. Though he was a socialist, Shastri stated that India cannot have a regimented type of economy.[2]
Foreign policies
Shastri continued Nehru's policy of non-alignment but also built closer relations with the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the formation of military ties between theChinese People's Republic and Pakistan, Shastri's government decided to expand the defence budget of India's armed forces.
In 1964, Shastri signed an accord with the Sri Lankan Prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike regarding the status of Indian Tamils in the then Ceylon.[18] This agreement is also known as the Srimavo-Shastri Pact or the Bandaranaike-Shastri pact.[19]
Under the terms of this agreement, 600,000 Indian Tamils were to be repatriated, while 375,000 were to be granted Sri Lankan citizenship. This settlement was to be done by 31 October 1981. However, after Shastri's death, by 1981, India had taken only 300,000 Tamils as repatriates, while Sri Lanka had granted citizenship to only 185,000 citizens (plus another 62,000 born after 1964). Later, India declined to consider any further applications for citizenship, stating that the 1964 agreement had lapsed.[18]
Laying claim to half the Kutch peninsula, the Pakistani army skirmished with Indian forces in August, 1965. In his report to the Lok Sabha on the confrontation in Kutch, Shastri stated[17]:
In the utilization of our limited resources, we have always given primacy to plans and projects for economic development. It would, therefore, be obvious for anyone who is prepared to look at things objectively that India can have no possible interest in provoking border incidents or in building up an atmosphere of strife... In these circumstances, the duty of Government is quite clear and this duty will be discharged fully and effectively... We would prefer to live in poverty for as long as necessary but we shall not allow our freedom to be subverted.
Under a scheme proposed in June 1965 by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Pakistan obtained 10%, in place of their original claim of 50% of the territory. But Pakistan's aggressive intentions were also focused on Kashmir. When armed infiltrators from Pakistan began entering the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Shastri made it clear to Pakistan that force would be met with force. 29[20]In September 1965, major incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers began, hoping not only to break down the government but incite a sympathetic revolt. The revolt did not happen, and India sent its forces across the Ceasefire Line (now Line of Control) and threatened Pakistan by crossing the International Border near Lahore as war broke out on a general scale. Massive tank battles occurred in the Punjab, and while the Pakistani forces made some gains, Indian forces captured the key post at Haji Pir, in Kashmir, and brought the Pakistani city of Lahore under artillery and mortar fire.
On 17 September 1965, while the Indo-Pak war was on, India received a letter from China alleging that the Indian army had set up army equipment in Chinese territory, and India would face China's wrath, unless the equipment was pulled down. In spite of the threat of aggression from China, Shastri declared "China's allegation is untrue. If China attacks India it is our firm resolve to fight for our freedom. The might of China will not deter us from defending our territorial integrity."[21] The Chinese did not respond, but the Indo-Pak war resulted in some 3–4,000 casualties on each side and significant loss of material.
The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 with a United Nations-mandated ceasefire. In a broadcast to the nation on the day the of ceasefire, Shastri stated:[17]
"While the conflict between the armed forces of the two countries has come to an end, the more important thing for the United Nations and all those who stand for peace is to bring to an end the deeper conflict.... How can this be brought about? In our view, the only answer lies in peaceful coexistence. India has stood for the principle of coexistence and championed it all over the world. Peaceful coexistence is possible among nations no matter how deep the differences between them, how far apart they are in their political and economic systems, no matter how intense the issues that divide them."
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Shastri visited many countries including Russia, Yugoslavia, England, Canada and Burma.[7] After the declaration of ceasefire with Pakistan in 1965, Shastri and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan attended a summit in Tashkent (former USSR, now in modern Uzbekistan), organised by Alexei Kosygin. On 10 January 1966, Shastri and Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.
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