2nd October was also the birth anniversary of another great Indian politician and freedom fighter Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was the second prime minister of India. Unfortunately, he was on that post only for a little more than a year because of his untimely death, but even that time was also enough for him to leave his permanent mark on Indian history. Coincidentally, his and Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversaries are on the same day. One can easily notice the huge popularity of Gandhi and other politicians (like Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bose, Ambedkar, etc.) but compared to most of them Shastri seems to have a limited following. It's not because of a lack of achievements or character, actually, he is one of the best ministers and politicians India ever had. He was a very honest person (a very rare quality in today's politicians), Gandhian by heart, he followed Gadhi's principles of nonviolence and literally lived a very simple life (another rare quality). He came from a very modest background and never forgot his roots and his people. For Shastri politics was not a profession, not a way to earn his livelihood and make arrangements for his future generations, to him politics was a way to serve people and his country and he did this with total conviction and honesty till his last breath.
Today we see many big political leaders in India, entering Indian politics, and surviving in that mess is not easy. Becoming a minister in the state cabinet is a very big deal, and if one can become a central govt minister, then nothing like that. People try whatever means they can to get these things. All these big leaders and ministers have very loyal fan followers, and they also have big muscle and money power that help them win elections and manage their political parties. They make special efforts to create this facade. In today's political world 'honesty' is not the quality that people associate with any political leader or party. It is assumed that all of them are engaged in some sort of corruption and only to what extent is the matter of question. These leaders also try to make sure that their children or relatives continue their so-called legacy in politics and do everything to make sure that they also get elected so that they can also have some power in their hands. If one takes a look at the life of Shastri then one can see a sharp contrast between his political and personal life and the life of today's politicians. I think maybe this is the reason why he is not that popular today. No one can understand him or relate to him, his values and lifestyle look so alien to most of us. Most of us believe that it's impossible to live like him and survive in today's world. When was the last time we heard that minister resigned immediately after something wrong happened within his ministry. On September 1956, he offered his resignation after a railway accident at Mahbubnagar but prime minister Nehru did not accept his resignation. Three months later, he resigned accepting moral and constitutional responsibility for a railway accident at Ariyalur that resulted in 144 deaths. In Parliament while speaking on the incident, Nehru stated that he was accepting the resignation because it would set an example in constitutional propriety and not because Shastri was in any way responsible for the accident.
Gandhi was a charismatic leader and considered as a huge brand even today. This is the situation with most of leaders and iconic figures which we see current politicians and political parties use for their benefit. That's is why even though there are not many people and politicians who believe in their ideas and principles but still they keep that brand alive as they can exploit it for their own benefit. But even for them Shastri don't have any brand value. This is why history has forgotten this giant, it's really sad and unfortunate but that's what it is.
For me Lal Bahadur Shastri is symbol of person who served selflessly to his country and his people without expecting anything in return. He is an ideal example how a politicians should conduct themselves. He was a politician who never played dirty politics just to survive in political world. We need many more people like him in public life. To me he is a hero, source of inspiration and a giant personality, I salute him.
Today we see many big political leaders in India, entering Indian politics, and surviving in that mess is not easy. Becoming a minister in the state cabinet is a very big deal, and if one can become a central govt minister, then nothing like that. People try whatever means they can to get these things. All these big leaders and ministers have very loyal fan followers, and they also have big muscle and money power that help them win elections and manage their political parties. They make special efforts to create this facade. In today's political world 'honesty' is not the quality that people associate with any political leader or party. It is assumed that all of them are engaged in some sort of corruption and only to what extent is the matter of question. These leaders also try to make sure that their children or relatives continue their so-called legacy in politics and do everything to make sure that they also get elected so that they can also have some power in their hands. If one takes a look at the life of Shastri then one can see a sharp contrast between his political and personal life and the life of today's politicians. I think maybe this is the reason why he is not that popular today. No one can understand him or relate to him, his values and lifestyle look so alien to most of us. Most of us believe that it's impossible to live like him and survive in today's world. When was the last time we heard that minister resigned immediately after something wrong happened within his ministry. On September 1956, he offered his resignation after a railway accident at Mahbubnagar but prime minister Nehru did not accept his resignation. Three months later, he resigned accepting moral and constitutional responsibility for a railway accident at Ariyalur that resulted in 144 deaths. In Parliament while speaking on the incident, Nehru stated that he was accepting the resignation because it would set an example in constitutional propriety and not because Shastri was in any way responsible for the accident.
Gandhi was a charismatic leader and considered as a huge brand even today. This is the situation with most of leaders and iconic figures which we see current politicians and political parties use for their benefit. That's is why even though there are not many people and politicians who believe in their ideas and principles but still they keep that brand alive as they can exploit it for their own benefit. But even for them Shastri don't have any brand value. This is why history has forgotten this giant, it's really sad and unfortunate but that's what it is.
For me Lal Bahadur Shastri is symbol of person who served selflessly to his country and his people without expecting anything in return. He is an ideal example how a politicians should conduct themselves. He was a politician who never played dirty politics just to survive in political world. We need many more people like him in public life. To me he is a hero, source of inspiration and a giant personality, I salute him.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)
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