Lal Bahadur Shastri..... An Unsung Hero

On 2nd October, everyone of us remembers the Mahatma - a person who showed that truth, love and non violence are needed for a happy life.

 But most of us forget an unsung hero - a person who was born on the same date as Gandhiji and a lot influenced by him - Lal Bahadur Shastri.

He was a person who was never seen without a smile on his face. He was kind, gentle and honest. 

There are a lot of political secrets in India, and Lal Bahadur Shastriji's death is one among them. But this mystery holds a special place. The reason being - as the rumours go - this might be the work of CIA or KGB or even the Indian National Congress itself! 

Shastriji was elected as India's second Prime minister in 1964 and led our country in the 1965 Indo - Pak war. To end the enmity between India and Pakistan, a treaty was organised in Tashkent, Uzbekistan - then Soviet Union. The meeting continued for several days between president Ayub Khan of Pakistan and Shastriji, before Shastriji died in Tashkent on 11Jan 1966 - allegedly reported of a cardiac arrest. 

According to some sources, Shastriji's death was not a cardiac arrest but was posed as so. 

There are a number of evidences leading to this suspicion. 

Shastriji's wife Lalita, said that the body was blue (which is an indication of poisoning! ) and that there were cuts on his body and his cap and dhoti were covered in blood. A body turns blue as a result of embalming. If there was no post mortem conducted, then these indications wouldn't have been there. And if it was really conducted, then where are the reports? 

And the plea to conduct repost mortem in India by Shastriji's family was rejected by the then govt. 

His personal doctor, RN Chugh, reportedly said that Shastriji was in perfect health, so, a heart attack was highly unlikely. 

After signing the Tashkent accord, around 4pm on 10th Jan, Prime minister Shastriji reached his villa. Late in the evening, he had a light meal prepared by Jan Mohammad, who was not the regural cook of Shastriji.

 

Why was his regular cook not allowed to cook that day? The reasons are unknown.

 

There were two witnesses - who could have really revealed the facts - the night Shastriji died. One was RN Chugh, and he was hit by a truck when he was on his way to testify in front of the committe. The other one was Shastriji's servent Ram Nath. He was also hit by a car. His legs had to be amputated and he lost his memory. 

Did these accidents happen to conceal the secrets...?

When RTI was filed to know the facts, the Home Ministry referred the matter to Delhi police and the national archives for retrieving any documents or information based on the incident. All the RTI filings were rejected, saying this would lead to harming of foreign relations, cause disruption in the country and cause breach of parliamentary privileges. To quote the CPIO, ' No such record related to the death of the former Prime minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri is available in this district'. 

This sure looks like a conspiracy. 

 A lot theories and evidence points to Indira Gandhi as one of the key members in this conspiracy along with KGB, the Russian intelligence. 

At the time of Shastriji, India neither supported the USSR nor the USA in the cold war, but after the death of Shastriji, the Indira Gandhi govt. supported the USSR. This points out as the major evidence to suspect Indira and KGB. 

  What happened that night in Tashkent is still a mystery....

People of India have every right know the facts. 

Was this really an conspired killing? Or was this just a natural death? 

Will we ever know the facts.....?