The first week of October is significant for us Indians as we celebrate the birthday of the Father of the Nation, Gandhiji, on 2nd October. However, another important figure, Lal Bahadur Shastri—the second Prime Minister of India—was also born on this date, yet he is largely forgotten. Was he systematically erased from our memory by the state? Was the mystery surrounding his death a state-sponsored lie? Studying his life and the circumstance of his death reveals that he remains relevant today. The events unfolding in India now are linked to what transpired with Shastriji.
Many of us would not know that Lal Bahadur Shastri came in life with an original last name called Shrivastava, which he gave up because he was opposed to caste-based theology. For Indians, your last name says a lot about you, and most take it as a badge of pride that strokes the ego of racists of some sorts. Giving up his last name speaks volubly of Shastri's character.
The Green Revolution: Shastriji's Lasting Impact
We could not be where we are without the vision of leadership led by Shastriji. He initiated the Green Revolution when India struggled for food and was heavily reliant on grain imports. In just a few years during the 1970s, India managed to become a self-sufficient nation in food grains and could store it for future use. He also played a crucial role in the 1965 war with Pakistan. It was a challenging time, as the USA was allied with Pakistan, yet he safeguarded our territorial dignity and signed the peace agreement in Tashkent, where he died.
Although it was said that he died from a heart attack, his death remains one of the biggest controversies. Something is being kept from us, probably explaining why his name has been systematically erased from our memory. He played a very important role in building this nation, but his contributions are often overlooked whenever we're talking about our heroes.
In recent years, we have also heard many questionable comments about Gandhiji, Nehruji, and let’s not even mention Ambedkar, the most misunderstood figure. Is this the beginning of erasing these names from our collective memory, like Shastri’s? George Orwell, a renowned writer, once said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” What’s happening in India over the past few years feels like an attempt to rewrite history.
The Fight for Land and Resources
Why is Shastri Ji relevant now in 2024? To understand that we need to look at what happened after his death. Just within a span of ten years after his passing, India became a colonized country again. Colonizers used our own constitution, our politicians, our media, our intelligence, and our systems to re-colonize us.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar opposed adding the word “Socialism”
to the constitution, stating that including it would be the death of democracy.
Nonetheless, the word was added. During the Emergency, all thinkers, writers,
and those who cared for democracy were imprisoned. Now, do you see the
resemblance today? Political leaders are constantly pushing to change laws, and
those who question government actions are labeled as anti-national.
The Costs of Development: Who Benefits?
Environmental activists like Sonam Wangchuk have also been detained for peaceful protests, while their demands are routinely ignored. Our athletes have to protest in the streets, yet no one seems to care; in fact, some people have made disgusting comments about Vinesh Phogat, suggesting she had "10 grams of semen in her stomach." Scientists Guru Das Agrawal died by fasting for 111 days in hopes of the government forcing the cleaning of Ganga River.
Considering all these issues, we must question on which way we are going but our brain is busy with constant hatred; it prevents people from distinguishing right from wrong.
There is mention about India in a book called Mitrokhin Archive II, which is also featured in the film Tashkent Files. This book is comprised of some around 2,500 top-secret KGB documents that were released to Britain, which thus led to the formation of the Mitrokhin Commission and, finally, exposed the corrupt leaders and politicians.
In this book, former general Oleg Kalugin states, “It seems like the entire country was for sale: the KGB and the CIA had deeply penetrated the Indian government.” All of this transpired within just ten years after Shastri Ji's death. There is also a reference to Ahmed Sattarov, who mentioned, “They suspected that the Indian Prime Minister had been poisoned.” Yet we are still told that his death was due to a natural heart attack.
Development, destruction or land grabbing?
You can see a similar situation in India today, in 2024. The
book The Great Nicobar Betrayal by Pankaj Sekhsaria discusses how land
is being seized from local tribes and is now under the control of a few
corporate families from Mumbai and Delhi. Sekhsaria describes the Great Nicobar
Island Development Project as a “monumental folly” and addresses its dangers in
his book.
The Nicobar Islands are a very eco-sensitive zone; however,
there are plans to destroy around 1 million trees in the area. This land is
home to millions of turtles that will be affected, and many native bird species
will face extinction. Playing with such eco-sensitive zones is dangerous.
What has been happening in Manipur for several months is
another example of land-grabbing ambitions. The events of Operation Green Hunt
also exemplified this, as land was seized in the name of progress and
development. We have decimated the livelihoods of many tribal families in these
eco-sensitive zones, labeling it as development.
I wonder if Sonam Wangchuk will succeed in saving Ladakh’s
eco-sensitive areas and what the cost will be for him. Is this truly
development, or are our resources being sold to foreign countries? Is India,
once again, on sale like it was after Shastri Ji's death? What is the
connection between our political leaders in the UK and Vedanta?
Consequences of theological ideology
Our External Affairs Minister has been writing extensively
these days, praising India. But if India is such a wonderful country, why did
he ensure that his daughter obtained U.S. citizenship? Why are our ministers
and parliamentary leaders sending their children to the U.S. and other
countries? Why did the Ambani family ensure that their grandson was born in the
U.S. to acquire citizenship? What do these individuals know that they are
keeping from us?
Is this even a Hindu-Muslim war, or are we fighting a
conflict that isn’t ours? The Abrahamic cult that came to India became a part
of us, yet this research is kept from our view. Abrahamic religions have a long
history of converting people and instigating conflicts.
Is this a war between different Abrahamic cults and
religions? Are we being brainwashed into believing that it’s a Hindu-Muslim
war, when in reality, we are being converted to a religion that isn’t ours and
being made to fight a conflict that doesn’t belong to us? Is India still under
a form of slavery?
If the Indian economy fails, will it only affect one
particular community? To understand why Indian Muslims are protesting, we
should first delve into the complex Shia-Sunni conflict rather than repeating
the narratives of mainstream media.
Historical Parallels
In book Blowback: How the West Fucked Up the Middle East, Dr. Michael Lüders discusses the events leading to the wars in the Middle East and draws parallels to the current situation in India. That’s frightening because if this continues, India may find itself embroiled in a civil war within its borders, while also facing external conflicts. We created a suspicious society against itself and, beyond that, against the neighboring countries.
Whatever malice you can have for China, the fact is that China is ready to go to war because they built their manufacturing and technology markets and empowered their people. Meanwhile, Indians remained engaged in internal bloodshed so that certain communities do not get employment and education, nutrition, healthcare, and job markets deteriorated in the name of theological sentiments.
The Consequences of Societal Division
If you look closely at history, every victory eventually turns into defeat, and every theological country has gone through wars that have severely damaged their economies, causing common people to suffer the most.
In my last article, I focused on spreading positivity and noticed many others sharing similar narratives on social media afterward. In short, as an Indian or rather a proud member of that group that loves India, it pains me to see our voices gradually diminishing between extreme narratives. Are we ever united as a nation? Unless the racism within us is exploited for political gain, India will never fully unite. What's more? India will remain a developing country as long as we are trapped in a plutocracy.
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