In the final weeks of 2019, as protests
against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act swept India, I found myself wondering
how Lal Bahadur Shastri would have managed the situation. Would it have been a
muscular, combative, shape shifting response or would it have been considered,
inclusive and humane, geared towards reconciling differing perspectives.
Chances are it would have been the latter. For Sandeep Shastri’s new book, Lal
Bahadur Shastri: Politics and Beyond, quotes India’s second Prime Minister as
saying: “I can carry everyone along with me. That is much better… This approach
may delay decisions a little, but that does not bother me at all. It is a price
worth paying.
”
Positioned as an attempt to assess Shastri’s
political career and legacy, the book is fuelled by the author’s conviction
that the former Prime Minister has not received his due. And that it is a
disservice to India if leaders like him are not given their rightful place in
the national narrative. The author possibly has a point when he declares that
Shastri, unlike some of his contemporaries, does not capture the Indian
imagination. While some of his contributions, including his decisive leadership
in the 1965 war against Pakistan, the Tashkent Declaration of 1966 and the
evocative ‘jai jawan, jai kisan’ slogan are occasionally referred to, their
true worth is seldom recognised in the country.
”
Positioned as an attempt to assess Shastri’s
political career and legacy, the book is fuelled by the author’s conviction
that the former Prime Minister has not received his due. And that it is a
disservice to India if leaders like him are not given their rightful place in
the national narrative. The author possibly has a point when he declares that
Shastri, unlike some of his contemporaries, does not capture the Indian
imagination. While some of his contributions, including his decisive leadership
in the 1965 war against Pakistan, the Tashkent Declaration of 1966 and the
evocative ‘jai jawan, jai kisan’ slogan are occasionally referred to, their
true worth is seldom recognised in the country.
A political scientist, writer and political
commentator, Sandeep Shastri is currently the Pro Vice Chancellor of Jain
University and Director of its Centre for Research in Social Sciences and
Education. In his introduction to the book, he writes that he has long been
fascinated by Shastri’s leadership.
Shastri was — as Sandeep shows, drawing on newspaper articles and books — a leader cast in a different mould, with an unshakable faith in democracy and the importance of individual freedom. Humility, sincerity and inclusiveness were his hallmark, as was a belief in secularism and the fundamental goodness of all religions.
Shastri was — as Sandeep shows, drawing on newspaper articles and books — a leader cast in a different mould, with an unshakable faith in democracy and the importance of individual freedom. Humility, sincerity and inclusiveness were his hallmark, as was a belief in secularism and the fundamental goodness of all religions.
Shastri’s approach to solving problems and
making decisions was to calmly consider and understand all points of view,
before arriving at a resolution based on consultation and consensus. He chose
his words carefully and spoke in simple language, with no hyperbole, no
theatrics. He possessed the rare ability to bring people together, rather than
divide them. And as Sandeep emphasises, Shastri was known for his strong
personal integrity and high ethical standards. Not for him, the trappings of
power for he viewed them as a sign of arrogance.
This, of course, isn’t to say that Shastri was naive or untutored in the intricacies of politics. But as the book explains, the challenges of his early years, including the death of his father, ensured that he was grounded, down to earth and rooted in Indian realities. This shaped his values and vision and laid the foundation for his later years as a leader.
As I travelled with Shastri, from his early years in Mughalsarai to his sudden death in 1966 — about which doubts still linger — I often found myself wondering where the book’s editor had disappeared. For one, there’s too much repetition; Shastri’s qualities are hammered into the reader’s mind when a few deft taps would have been enough. Then, there are issues of syntax, typos and a couple of factual errors. There is, for instance, on page 76 a reference to “Madras state (now Chennai),” which is incorrect. For Madras state became Tamil Nadu, while it’s the city of Madras that is “now Chennai.”
Such wrinkles apart, Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics and Beyond certainly adds to existing literature on this unassuming leader. It throws up interesting nuggets of information about Shastri and about the times he lived in; details that may not quite figure in our collective consciousness today. For instance, his rather contemporary perspective on business and its ‘social responsibility’ from a speech delivered in 1965, in which he said that businessmen had an “even greater role than that of an economist and the politician. Too often, the community views the businessman’s aim as selfish gain… (That) impression can be removed only when (a) business becomes fully alive to its social responsibilities.”
The book, in a sense, distils the essence of Shastri’s qualities as a leader and a human. Reading its final section, on his legacy, I was struck by how much he resembles the present-day idea of a ‘servant leader’ anchored in ideas of compassion, passion, equality, inclusivity and consultation. Shastri’s approach to life and leadership was not about flamboyance, wordplay or spin, but centred on humility, earnestness and a commitment to principles. It is a reminder that leadership does not always have to be of the ‘in your face’ variety and that nice people can also be great leaders.
Admittedly, Shastri lived in a different India but perhaps India itself would have been a different place had he lived longer. We can but wonder.
This, of course, isn’t to say that Shastri was naive or untutored in the intricacies of politics. But as the book explains, the challenges of his early years, including the death of his father, ensured that he was grounded, down to earth and rooted in Indian realities. This shaped his values and vision and laid the foundation for his later years as a leader.
As I travelled with Shastri, from his early years in Mughalsarai to his sudden death in 1966 — about which doubts still linger — I often found myself wondering where the book’s editor had disappeared. For one, there’s too much repetition; Shastri’s qualities are hammered into the reader’s mind when a few deft taps would have been enough. Then, there are issues of syntax, typos and a couple of factual errors. There is, for instance, on page 76 a reference to “Madras state (now Chennai),” which is incorrect. For Madras state became Tamil Nadu, while it’s the city of Madras that is “now Chennai.”
Such wrinkles apart, Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics and Beyond certainly adds to existing literature on this unassuming leader. It throws up interesting nuggets of information about Shastri and about the times he lived in; details that may not quite figure in our collective consciousness today. For instance, his rather contemporary perspective on business and its ‘social responsibility’ from a speech delivered in 1965, in which he said that businessmen had an “even greater role than that of an economist and the politician. Too often, the community views the businessman’s aim as selfish gain… (That) impression can be removed only when (a) business becomes fully alive to its social responsibilities.”
The book, in a sense, distils the essence of Shastri’s qualities as a leader and a human. Reading its final section, on his legacy, I was struck by how much he resembles the present-day idea of a ‘servant leader’ anchored in ideas of compassion, passion, equality, inclusivity and consultation. Shastri’s approach to life and leadership was not about flamboyance, wordplay or spin, but centred on humility, earnestness and a commitment to principles. It is a reminder that leadership does not always have to be of the ‘in your face’ variety and that nice people can also be great leaders.
Admittedly, Shastri lived in a different India but perhaps India itself would have been a different place had he lived longer. We can but wonder.
