Lal Bahadur Shastri's Wife Blamed Herself For His Death, Kept His Ashes In An Urn, 'Immerse Them..'

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Along with Mahatma Gandhi, October 2 also marks the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was the second Prime Minister of independent India and served in office from June 9, 1964, to January 11, 1966. While he became known to the modern world for his slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan, his death marked a massive loss in the Indian political world. After his death, Shastri's wife, Lalita Devi, blamed herself for a long time.

Lal Bahadur Shastri's wife blamed herself for his death

January 11, 1966, was the darkest day in Lal Bahadur Shastri's wife, Lalita Devi's life. For those who are not aware, the news of the former Prime Minister's death broke at 1:35 AM, and Devi virtually started blaming herself for the tragedy. Recalling the tragedy, five decades later, the couple's son, Anil Shastri, recalled what happened.

Anil Shastri revealed that his mother virtually started blaming herself for the 'untimely' demise of her husband. He said Lalita Devi kept saying that none of this would have happened if she had been with him. She also initially protested when Foreign Ministry officials requested that she not accompany the PM on the Tashkent tour, but later relented. This was the first tour when Shastri's wife did not accompany him. Anil was quoted as saying:

"My mother repeatedly uttered that if she had accompanied, she would not have allowed this to happen. In fact Tashkent was the first official tour of PM Shastri in which his wife did not accompany. The officials were of the view that since this was not a goodwill tour, her presence at Tashkent may look awkward."

Lalita Devi kept an urn of Lal Bahadur Shastri's ashes with her

After the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, his wife kept a small urn containing his ashes with her. She had instructed her son, Anil Shastri, that the urn was to be immersed with her after her death. Lalita Devi passed away in 1993 and had mentioned in her will that a memorial should be built for her next to Lal Bahadur Shastri's memorial, also known as Vijay Ghat.

Although it has been decades since Lalita Devi's death, Anil Shastri says his mother's dream of having the memorial remains unfulfilled. Talking about Lal Bahadur Shastri's death, Anil recalled how PM Shastri was allotted a room that was 20 km away from the venue and did not have a telephone, first-aid supplies or medicines. He further stated that when the doctors came, they made him walk a few yards again. Anil was quoted as saying:

"As per her will, the urn containing my father's ashes was to be immersed in Allahabad's Sangam after her cremation. However, this dream remains unfulfilled. My father was provided official accommodation almost 20 kilometres from the meeting venue. In his room, there was no telephone, first-aid or medicines. In fact, he had to walk a few yards to seek help in a state of medical discomfort (after the cardiac attack)."

The former PM left for Tashkent on January 3, 1966, at around 7 AM from Janpath. However, he had not expected that the negotiations with Pakistan would be streched for so long. Anil Shastri recalled how his father would often say that they need to forget about the war and now fight for peace. He recalled how everyone in the PM's family had gone to bid him goodbye.

Narrating his last interaction with his father, Anil Shastri recalled how, like many fathers, Lal Bahadur Shastri had also asked him what he should bring back from the trip. Anil revealed that he had asked his father to bring him a cassette-cum-record player from the US, which was gaining popularity among teenagers at the time.

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