The Idea of India - Learning the hard way
After the untimely death of Nehru in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri took over the reins as the prime minister of India. A Soft Spoken and mild mannered person, Shastri carried himself with a strong resolve. As the country teetered towards chaos at the death of Nehru, his leadership inspired a sense of calm. In his first broadcast to the country he implored the citizens to look forward and carry on the legacy of Nehru’s socialist reforms There comes a time in the life of every nation when it stands at the cross-roads of history and must choose which way to go. But for us, there need be no difficulty or hesitation, no looking to right or left. Our way is straight and clear—the building up of a socialist democracy at home with freedom and prosperity for all, and the maintenance of world peace and friendship with all nations. Shastri refused to align with any major power bloc and looked to promote India’s agrarian reforms. He enabled the White Revolution and raised the slogan “...