Who was more popular among the common people, Jawaharlal Nehru or Lal Bahadur Shastri, as prime minister of India? Why?

PM Nehru after ruling India for 16 years, handed over the leadership to Lal Bahadur Shastri only after his death. This could be a case of elected dictatorship. There was nobody in the country powerful enough to question PN Nehru. PM Nehru was internationalist and more focused on international diplomacy than internal affairs. Almost every year during these 16 years, India faced famine and had to beg for PL-480 wheat aid from USA. Sometime the situation was so dire that India requested USA to redirect wheat air shipment intended for other countries to India and ships at high sea going to other countries delivered wheat at Indian ports.

PM Nehru’s priority was international diplomacy to get Noble Peace Prize

Nehru handed over a starving country to his successor

PM Shastri requested his family to skip one meal every Monday. There is an old saying that charity begins at home. PM Lal Bahadur Shastri appealed to the people to grow wheat or rice wherever they could! He himself started growing wheat at his official Bungalow on Delhi's Janpath.

Lal Bahadur Shastri pushed green and while revolution in India. His slogan was – ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ (glory to farmers, glory to soldiers). Today India is world’s largest milk producer in the world with 25% global share. Luckily for India, Shastri was humble, down to earth, grass-root politician and not international glamorous leader like Nehru. The unfortunate part is that Shastri’s tenure was short while useless Nehru’s tenure was too long.

PM Indira Gandhi also faced awkward situation of begging wheat from USA. During the tenure of Indira Gandhi, India-USA relations reached rock bottom and Indira Gandhi decided ‘I don’t ever want us to have to beg for food again’ after a call with US President Lyndon Johnson.

Picture source: Google / Respective rightful owner

When Lal Bahadur Shastri asked his family to skip dinner; Stories of India's most humble PM
He promoted White Revolution and Green Revolution. The nationwide movement to propel India's milk and food production brought a drastic change in the economy of the country.
https://www.indiatvnews.com/buzz/news-when-lal-bahadur-shastri-asked-his-family-to-skip-dinner-stories-of-india-s-most-humble-pm-404384
Food, famine and a nearly forgotten birthday of Lal Bahadur Shastri
Shastri sets the path, howsoever chequered, towards putting agriculture at the heart of India?s developmental vision.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/food-famine-and-a-nearly-forgotten-birthday-7126
Hungry India, a nawabi US President, ‘Mexican blood’ — The real story of Green Revolution
I don’t ever want us to have to beg for food again, Indira Gandhi said after a call with US President Lyndon Johnson. Science, Swaminathan and Subramanian made sure she didn’t have to.
https://theprint.in/past-forward/hungry-india-a-nawabi-us-president-mexican-blood-the-real-story-of-green-revolution/835649/

 

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