Lal Bahadur Shastri

2nd Prime Minister of India

In office

9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966

President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Preceded by Gulzarilal Nanda

Succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda

Minister of External Affairs

In office

9 June 1964 – 18 July 1964

Preceded by Gulzarilal Nanda

Succeeded by Sardar Swaran Singh

Minister of Home Affairs

In office

4 April 1961 – 29 August 1963

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

Preceded by Govind Ballabh Pant

Succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda

Personal details

Born Lal Bahadur Varma

2 October 1904

Varanasi, United Provinces, British Raj

(now in Uttar Pradesh, India)

Died 11 January 1966 (aged 61)

Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union

(now in Uzbekistan)

Political party Indian National Congress

Spouse(s) Lalita Devi

Residence 10 Janpath, New Delhi[1]

Alma mater Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth

Profession Academic

Activist

Religion Hinduism

Awards Bharat Ratna 1966 (Posthumous)

Lal Bahadur Shastri (Hindustani: [laːl bəˈɦaːd̪ʊr ˈʃaːst̪ri], About this sound listen (help·info), 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a leader of the Indian National Congress party.

Shastri joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. Deeply impressed and influenced by 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 to 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 led the country during 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. The war formally ended with the Tashkent Agreement of 10 January 1966; he died of a heart attack the following day, still in Tashkent.