Nehru despite making Indira
Gandhi his PS in later years refused to name a successor to him. When Nehru
died, there were two leaders of eminence at that time in the Congress who were
fit to take the mantle in Morarji Desai and Lal Bhadur Shastri.
Morarji Desai was the senior and
more experienced a sound administrator and was scrupulously honest. But he was
inflexible, arrogant and self righteous and is a right winger. He was also unpopular
with a large section of the party.
Shastri was mild, tactful and
malleable, highly respected and known to be personally incorruptible.
Now, who is to decide the
succession? At that time in the Congress, there were an influential group of
politicians known as the Syndicate. This group was formed in 1963. It consisted
of 5 people and they are:
1. K.Kamaraj
the Congress President.
2. Atulya
Ghosh of Bengal- Regional party boss.
3. S.K.Patil
of Bombay-Regional party boss.
4. N.Sanjeevareddy
of AP-Regional party boss.
5. S.Nijalingappa
of Mysore- Regional party boss.
They favored Shastri because he
had a wider acceptability in the party and because they felt that he is more
amenable and would not challenge their leadership of the party.
Morarji Desai retired from the
contest and Shastri was elected unopposed in June 1964.
Shastri as expected by the party
bosses did not change anything in the party. He retained Nehru’s cabinet with
the only addition being brining in Indira Gandhi as minister for Information
and Broadcasting. Under him the ministers functioned independently and he did
not interfere in state administration. He kept a low profile until almost to
the end of his tenure.
The country was beset with a
number of problems but Shastri government did not deal with them in a decisive
way and pursued a policy of drift instead.
In early 1965 the official
language problem with Hindi Vs English flared up but the government failed to
handle it and allowed the situation deteriorate. This was however, finally
resolved in early 1966.
The demand for a Punjabi speaking
state and Goa’s merger with Maharastra were also allowed to simmer.
There was a slowdown in
industrial growth in the previous few years and the balance of payments
situation looked grave. The most critical problem was the shortage of food.
Agricultural production slowed down and there was a drought in many states in
1965. Buffer food stocks were depleted to a dangerous level. No firm steps were
however taken by the government and the Chief Ministers of the food grain
surplus states refused to cooperate. After the Indo Pak war the US suspended
all food aid and the government was forced to introduce food rationing in 7
major cities. Although the concept of Green Revolution was mooted no concrete
steps were taken to pursue it vigorously and only after Indiras arrival as the
PM effective steps were taken on that front.
Critics inside and outside the
party accused Shastri of indecision and also for failing to control his
cabinet. Shastri was so stung by
criticism that once while talking to a newsman he wondered that whether his
offering himself for the PM’s post was the right decision and whether he had
the capacity to carry the burden the office involved.
With the passage of time and the
criticism affected Shastri and he started changing himself so much that Kamaraj
complained that important decisions were being taken without consulting him. Shastri
intiated the concept of PM’s Office by setting up a PM Secretariat headed by LK
Jha.
Shastri’s moment came with the
Indo Pak war of 1965. There was a great unrest in the Kashmir valley fomented
by Sheikh Abdullah and other dissident leaders. Pakistan saw this as an
opportunity for intervention.
First came the probe when in
April 1965, the Pakistani army occupied a disputed territory in the Rann of
Kutch. On British mediation India and Pakistan agreed to refer the dispute to
international arbitration. Due to the
nature of terrain the Indian response was weak and Pakistan saw that as a
weakness of the Indian army.
In August 1965 Pakistan sent well
trained infiltrators into the Kashmir valley hoping to fuel and uprising there
so that thereafter their military could follow. Shastri took a decisive step this time. He
asked the army to cross the ceasefire line and block the passes through which
the infiltration was occurring and capture strategic posts like Kargil, Uri and
Haji Pir. The entire country rallied behind the PM unlike in the 1962 China war
where there was serious dissension.
In response Pakistan launched a
massive tank and infantry attack in the Chhamb sector of J&K threatening
India’s only road link with Kashmir. Shastri ordered the army not only just
defend Kashmir but move into Pakistan towards Lahore and Sialkot. Even then war
was declared neither by Pakistan nor by India till that time.
USA and Britain immediately cut
off arms, food and other supplies to both India and Pakistan. China declared
India as the aggressor and made threatening noises but the Soviet Union
dissuaded China from taking any action.
Under pressure from the UN both the
countries declared a ceasefire on 23rd September 1965. The war in
fact was inconclusive with neither side having the victory. The 3 weeks of
fighting had done immense damage to the economies of both the countries. The
infiltration bid however was effectively thwarted and the Kashmiri’s did not
support Pakistan as they expected them to do.
The 1962 war had damaged the
Indian psyche badly and the Pakistan war of 1965 though inconclusive provided a
morale booster to the Indians. They were euphoric and Shastri became a national
hero.
After the ceasefire under the
supervision of the Soviet Union Shastri met the Pakistani president Ayub Khan
at Tashkent in January 1966 and signed the Tashkent declaration. Shastri who had
heart trouble suffered from a heart attack at Tashkent on 10th January 1966 and
died after a tenure of 19 months as the Indian PM.
