Lal Bahadur Shastri: The 1965 War and the March Towards Lahore | Sattadhish Ep 19

A freedom fighter was in a British jail when word came that his eldest daughter, Manju, was gravely ill. He could have parole, but only if he signed a promise to stay out of politics while he was outside. He refused. The jail superintendent let him go for fifteen days anyway. His daughter died the day he reached home. He performed her last rites and went straight back to jail, leaving the rest of his parole unused. Nobody then imagined that this prisoner would one day become India’s Prime Minister, or that when he died he would leave behind no property, only a bank loan. Why did a young boy go on a hunger strike over a pigeon? Why did he drop the surname ‘Varma’ at the age of twelve? Why did he accept only a charkha and some khadi as dowry? Why did he resign as Railway Minister after a train accident he had nothing to do with? How did a single news agency report settle who would succeed Nehru? Why was no dinner cooked at the Prime Minister’s house on Monday evenings? What happened in Tashkent on the night of 10–11 January 1966? And which couplet did Shastri write on a piece of paper on his last morning? In this episode of Sattadhish, Bhupinder Soni tells the full story of Lal Bahadur Shastri: his childhood in Mughalsarai and Benares, the Non-Cooperation Movement and Kashi Vidyapith, seven spells in jail, his years as a minister in Uttar Pradesh, his railway resignation, the Home Ministry and the Kamaraj Plan, the race to succeed Nehru, the 1965 war with Pakistan, ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ and the Monday fast, the Tashkent Agreement, the questions that still surround his death, and the Fiat he bought with a Rs 5,000 loan from Punjab National Bank. The episode draws on C. P. Srivastava’s biography ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri: A Life of Truth in Politics’, Kuldip Nayar’s memoir ‘Beyond the Lines’, Sanjeev Chopra’s ‘The Great Conciliator’ and Anuj Dhar’s ‘Your Prime Minister Is Dead’. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: The prisoner who refused parole 04:45 From ‘Nanhe’ to Lal Bahadur 07:13 A hunger strike for a pigeon 08:56 The one-anna picnic 12:51 A charkha as dowry 15:38 From Lucknow to Delhi 20:24 Shastri, the Home Minister 24:40 A bungalow in the dark 28:02 Who after Nehru? 30:53 Towards Lahore 34:02 Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan 36:00 That night in Tashkent 43:04 Karvaan guzar gaya Host: Bhupinder Soni Script & Research: Mayank Camera: Taufeeq Ansari Editing & Graphics: Eknath Narale, Varun Rastogi Production: Divya Garg Thumbnail: Shubham Verma #LalBahadurShastri #Sattadhish #Tashkent #JaiJawanJaiKisan #Khabargaon ================================================== Khabargaon is a modern-day digital platform that helps you travel through current affairs, explainers, ground reports, interviews and unique video shows. Stay tuned for more and more! Khabargaon holds the copyright to this video. Use by others is not allowed without written consent. For permission, email digital@khabargaon.com Website: https://khabargaon.com/ Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to get the latest:    / @khabargaon   Connect us on Facebook:   / khabargaon   Instagram:   / khabargaon   Twitter: https://x.com/khabar_gaon WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vatc...