Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described Lal Bahadur Shastri as a proud son of India, as he paid tribute to him in Tashkent, where the leader died of an heart attack in 1966.
We are thankful to the people of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, for preserving the legacy of our former Prime Minister.
— Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Modi, who arrived in Tashkent today on the first leg of his eight-day visit to Central Asia and Russia, also paid tribute at the National Monument of Independence and Humanism.
A prominent figure in the independence movement, Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent in 1966 during an official visit at the age of 61.
Shastri had taken over the office of Prime Minister after Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964.
He is best remembered for his slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ which was aimed at encouraging the farmers for a better yield to reduce the country’s dependence on imported food grains while also to infuse renewed enthusiasm in soldiers fighting the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
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