About Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti
Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti marks the birth of India's second Prime Minister, born on 2 October 1904 in Mughalsarai, near Varanasi. It shares the date with Gandhi Jayanti, and in 2027 falls on Saturday, 2 October 2027. The President lays flowers at Vijay Ghat, his memorial in Delhi, and his 1965 slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" is repeated across the country.
On 2 October the country's leaders visit two memorials on the Yamuna in Delhi. Raj Ghat is for Gandhi. A short distance away, Vijay Ghat is for Lal Bahadur Shastri, born 35 years to the day after Gandhi, who led India for only nineteen months and is remembered for far longer.
Who was Lal Bahadur Shastri?
He was born at his maternal grandparents' home in Mughalsarai, near Varanasi. His father, Sharad Prasad Srivastava, was a schoolteacher who later became a revenue clerk, and his mother was Ramdulari Devi. He dropped the caste surname Srivastava while working for the welfare of Dalits in Muzaffarpur. "Shastri", meaning scholar, was the degree title he earned at Kashi Vidyapith in 1925, with a first in philosophy and ethics. It stayed with him.
- 1921Non-cooperation
Joins Gandhi's movement as a teenager and is briefly jailed as a minor.
- 1928 and 1940Prison terms
Serves about two and a half years from 1928 and a year from 1940; nearly nine years behind bars in all.
- 1956Resigns as Railway Minister
Offers to resign after the Mahbubnagar rail accident; Nehru refuses. After the Ariyalur accident about ten weeks later he resigns again, and this time it is accepted.
- 9 June 1964Prime Minister
Takes office after Nehru's death.
- 1965War and food crisis
Leads India through the war with Pakistan, which ends in a UN ceasefire on 23 September, while droughts cut grain output.
- 10 January 1966Tashkent Declaration
Signs the agreement with Pakistan's President Ayub Khan in Tashkent.
- 11 January 1966Dies in Tashkent
Dies the next day of a suspected heart attack, aged 61.
The 1956 resignation is the part of his life most often retold. A minister stepping down to take moral responsibility for an accident he did not cause was unusual then, and still is.
What does "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" mean?
"Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" means "Hail the soldier, hail the farmer". Shastri raised it in October 1965, when the country faced two pressures at once: a war on the border and a food shortage at home. Most accounts place it at a public meeting at Urwa near Allahabad on 19 October 1965; others say it was first used at a rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.
He backed the slogan with action. He asked Indians to skip one meal a week so that food would go further, and so many families did it that the practice was called the Shastri Vrat. He supported the Amul milk cooperative, and the National Dairy Development Board was set up at Anand in 1965, the start of what became the White Revolution. His government also pushed the high-yield farming that grew into the Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
How Shastri Jayanti is marked
The President and Prime Minister lay flowers at Vijay Ghat, where he was cremated, every 2 October, usually on the same morning as their visit to Raj Ghat. The Rashtrapati Bhavan records show President Droupadi Murmu doing so each year from 2022 to 2025. Since 2 October is a national holiday for Gandhi Jayanti, schools and offices that hold a function usually garland portraits of both men together.
His name is on the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, where India's IAS officers are trained, and on the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial museum in New Delhi. Older relatives often remember the Shastri Vrat or the 1965 radio broadcasts, and they are worth asking.
His death in Tashkent, a day after the peace agreement, is still questioned by some relatives and supporters, and a government file on it has not been declassified. That debate does not belong in a birthday tribute.
Writing a tribute on 2 October
Most people send one message for the day, so write one that holds both men. Shastri was a Gandhian himself, so the pairing is natural. Keep the tone respectful and leave out "Happy".
On 2 October we remember two men born on the same day: Bapu, who taught us to resist without hate, and Shastri ji, who asked a hungry country to skip a meal and was obeyed. Naman to both.
Remembering Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary. He resigned as Railway Minister in 1956, taking responsibility for an accident. That kind of accountability is still rare.
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. On Shastri ji's birth anniversary, thinking of you and everyone who works the fields so the rest of us can eat.
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Remembering Shastri ji today, and the soldiers he spoke for in 1965. With respect to your family's service.
Shastri ji once asked the whole country to skip one meal a week so there would be enough food for everyone. On his birthday, finish what's on your plate.
Today we remember Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries. Simple living, honest work and service: both men lived what they said.
Lal Bahadur Shastri ji ki jayanti par shat shat naman. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. (A hundred salutes to Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary. Hail the soldier, hail the farmer.)
Do
- Name both Gandhi and Shastri in a 2 October message.
- Use "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan"; it is his, and people recognise it at once.
- Mention a fact: the 1956 resignation, the Shastri Vrat, Tashkent.
Avoid
- Don't write "Happy Shastri Jayanti" or add party emojis.
- Don't forward theories about his death in family or office groups.
- Avoid setting Shastri against Gandhi or Nehru; he was a follower of one and a colleague of the other.
Farmers are honoured on National Farmers' Day, 23 December, and soldiers on Indian Army Day, 15 January. The UN marks 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence.
How to wish someone on Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti
Shastri Jayanti calls for a tribute, not a celebration. Write "remembering" or "naman", and if you are sending one message for 2 October, name both Gandhi and Shastri. The details people remember are his honesty and plain living, his resignation as Railway Minister in 1956, the appeal to skip a meal a week, and "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". Keep it short, and leave out speculation about his death in Tashkent.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi.
When is Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti in each year?
Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti is on 2 Oct every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
Why are Gandhi Jayanti and Shastri Jayanti on the same day?
Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 and Lal Bahadur Shastri on 2 October 1904, 35 years later to the day. Both birth anniversaries are marked on 2 October, with tributes at Raj Ghat and Vijay Ghat in Delhi.
Where was Lal Bahadur Shastri born?
Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on 2 October 1904 at his maternal grandparents' home in Mughalsarai, a railway town near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
When did Shastri say "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan"?
Shastri raised the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" in October 1965, during the war with Pakistan and a severe food shortage. Most accounts place it at a public meeting at Urwa near Allahabad on 19 October 1965, while some say it was first used at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.
Why was he called Shastri?
"Shastri", meaning scholar, was the title of the degree he received from Kashi Vidyapith in 1925. He had already dropped his caste surname, Srivastava, and the degree title became his surname.
How did Lal Bahadur Shastri die?
Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent on 11 January 1966, the day after signing the Tashkent Declaration with Pakistan. The cause was given as a heart attack, though some relatives and supporters have questioned the circumstances.
What is Vijay Ghat?
Vijay Ghat is Lal Bahadur Shastri's memorial on the banks of the Yamuna in New Delhi, where he was cremated in 1966. The President and Prime Minister pay floral tributes there every 2 October.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .