Born on 2nd October 1904, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of independent India. Interestingly, Lal Bahadur Shastri shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1920, Lal Bahadur Shastri joined the Indian Independence Movement. He also participated in the non-cooperation movement. In 1930, he participated in the Salt Satyagraha, for which he was imprisoned for more than two years. He became a loyal follower, first of Gandhi, and then of Jawaharlal Nehru.
He became Prime Minister in 1964 post-Jawaharlal Nehru’s demise and led India during the Indo-Pak war in 1965. A Nehruvian Socialist and lifelong Congressman, Shastri continues to inspire India’s farmers and soldiers as he is the man behind the iconic slogan of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”.
Noted by many to be a soft-spoken and humble, Lal Bahadur Shastri was an important figure during the freedom struggle and rose to prominence after Independence. One of the most humble prime ministers of India, it is his modesty that continues to define him.
Here are a few inspiring quotes Lal Bahadur Shastri:
- The basic idea of governance, as I see it, is to hold the society together so that it can develop and march towards certain goals.
- Discipline and united action are the real sources of strength for the nation.
- I had always been feeling uncomfortable in my mind about giving advice to others and not acting upon it myself.
- True democracy or the swaraj of the masses can never come through untruthful and violent means!
- India will have to hang down her head in shame if even one person is left who is said in any way to be untouchable.
- As a nation, we must fight for peace as we fought in a war.
- Discipline and united action are the real sources of strength for the nation.
- We believe in peace and peaceful development, not only for ourselves but for people all over the world.
- True democracy or the swaraj of the masses can never come through untruthful and violent means, for the simple reason that the natural corollary to their use would be to remove all opposition through the suppression or extermination of the antagonist.
- The economic issues are most vital for us and it is of the highest importance that we should fight our biggest enemies – Poverty, unemployment.
Source: Free Press Journal
