e's the man who looked simple, lived a humble life but his exemplary leadership pulled india

through tough times like war and food shortage of 1965.

Here are ten things you should know about him.

1. Lal Bahadur Shastri was born in Ramnagar in Varanasi in a Kayastha family, but as Shastriji
didn’t believe in caste discrimination, he dropped his surname. Later, when he graduated at
Kashi Vidyapeeth, he was given the title of Shastri (scholar).

2. Lal Bahadur Shastri was influenced by Bal Gangadhar (Lokmanya) Tilak in his early days.

3. Shastri spent almost nine years in jail in total during India’s Independence activism.

4. Not many know that the credit of appointing women conductors in transportation facilities go
to Lal Bahadur Shastri. As a transport minister post-independence, Shastri achieved this feat.

5. Another little known fact about Lal Bahadur Shastri is that it was him who ordered using jets
of water instead of lathis to disperse the crowd; during his charge as a minister of Police
Department.

6. Owing moral responsibility to a railway accident in Mahbubnagar in 1956, Lal Bahadur

Shastri had resigned as the Railway Minister – setting new standards of morality in public life.

7. The credit of first appointing the committee on Prevention of Corruption also goes to Lal
Bahadur Shastri during his tenure as Union Home Minister.

8. It is a little known fact that after Nehru died, Indira Gandhi was first offered the post of Prime
Ministership. Only after she declined, Lal Bahadur Shastri was made the PM.

9. In 1965, The three military chiefs visited him to inform him that the Pakistan army had
crossed the international border with 100 battle tanks in the Chamb sector of Jammu. Without
losing time he asked for the opening of a new front including Lahore & Retaliation with full
force. The historic meeting lasted less than five minutes.

10. During 1965 Indo-Pak war, India was facing food grains shortage, so much that we had to
look towards USA for grains import. To overcome the problem and to boost the morale of
soldiers & rest of the nation, he coined the slogan- Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. He appointed a team led
by scientists to solve agriculture related issues. This triggered the Green Revolution which made
India self sufficient in grains within a decade!!