Let's celebrate Shastri Jayanti tomorrow!

We all have a school or college social media group where the birthday of a popular old classmate falls on the same day as another classmate's. Well, tomorrow, for a change, let's celebrate the big day of the less famous 'old school' chap: Lal Bahadur Shastri. Apart from being overwhelmed by the 'other chap' everywhere, even in the din of Nehrus and Gandhis and those who stand on the other end of that prime ministerial spectral line-up, Shastri somehow doesn't get enough of fanfare where it's due. Apart from leading the country to a decisive victory in the 1965 India-Pakistan war during the Cold War, 'Nanhe' proved to be one of India's tallest post-Independence leaders, pushing both the White (dairy) and Green (agricultural) Revolutions.

If he coined 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' without making the slogan sound too ditzy, it's because he was the first people's prime minister, who mirrored the masses rather than just its ruling classes. His socialism was more nuanced than it seems, something the US noted in its missives by describing his Cabinet being 'middle of the road', where both the extreme right and left were 'frozen out'. What could have happened if Shastri had survived his Tashkent trip in 1966 is a big 'What if?' But let's ensure that on Shastri Jayanti tomorrow, we raise a glass to him. Unlike the 'other chap', he wouldn't mind.