Happy Birth anniversary of two great Leaders - Mahatma Gandhi & Lal Bahadur Shashtri
October 2, 2007
By Amrit Pal
Today is 2nd of October. It was on this day that two great Indian leaders were born who, through their determination and dedication, immensely contributed to the freedom movement & progress of the country and touched the lives of millions of fellow countrymen.
| Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October, 1869 into the Hindu Modh family in Porbandar. He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, the diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbandar, and Putlibai. It is said that Gandhi learned from an early age the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between members of various creeds and sects. |
| "The Father of the Nation" was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence —which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. | |
| "Lal Bahadur Shastri" was born on 2nd October 1904 in Ramnagar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh as Lal Bahadur Srivastava. His father Sharada Prasad was a poor school teacher, who later became a clerk in the Revenue Office at Allahabad. Lal Bahadur's father died when he was only a year and a half old. His mother Ramdulari Devi took him and his two sisters to her father's house and settled down there. |  |
Lal Bahadur Shashtri was the third Prime Minister of independent India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna and a memorial was built for him in Delhi. The slogan, ‘Jai jawan, Jai kisan’ is attributed to Shastriji.
A lot of functions etc. being organized around the world to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. However, there is hardly anything which is being done to celebrate Shashtriji's anniversary.
Let's salute both our Hero's on this great occasion!