Important Personalities

When we look into Indian political history, it is important to mention personalities like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ram Manohar Lohia, V.V. Giri, and so on. We will discuss these imminent personalities in the subsequent paragraphs. 

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966): 

Lal Bahadur Shastri, became Prime Minister of India after the death of Nehru, participated in the freedom movement from the 1930s. He was a minister in the UP cabinet, General Secretary of Congress, and Minister in the Union Cabinet from 1951 to 1956. He resigned from taking responsibility for the railway accident. From 1957 to 1964, he coined a famous slogan throughout the nation known as “Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan.” 

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984): 

Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 1984 and Jawahar Lal Nehru’s daughter. She participated in the freedom struggle as a young Congress worker, a Congress President in 1958, and a minister in Shastri’s cabinet from 1964-66. She led the Congress party to win in the years 1967, 1971, and 1980 general elections. They won the election with the slogan ‘garibi hatao’ and because of the victory in the 1971 war. She took policy initiatives such as the abolition of the Privy purse, nuclear tests, nationalization of banks, and environmental protection. She was assassinated on 13th October 1984.

Natarajan Annadurai (1909-1969): 

He was the Chief Minister of Madras (Tamil Nadu) from 1967. Before which, he was a journalist, a popular writer, and an orator. Before becoming the Chief Minister of Madras, he was initially associated with the Justice Party in Madras province, after which he joined Dravida Kazhagam (1934). Later they formed DMK as a political party in 1949. He was one of the Important Personalities and a proponent of Dravidian culture. He opposed the imposition of Hindi and led the anti-Hindi agitation, while supporting greater autonomy to States.

Ram Manohar Lohia (1910-1967):

Ram Manohar Lohia Socialist leader and strong thinker, also a freedom fighter, and among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party. As soon as he split with the parent party, he became the leader of the Socialist Party and became the Samyukta Socialist Party Member of Lok Sabha, 1963- 67. He was also a founding editor of Mankind and Jan, known for its original contribution to a non-European socialist theory. He was popular as a political leader and was well known for his sharp attacks on Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Furthermore, he advocated reservation for backward castes and was opposed to English.

Kamaraj (1903-1975): 

Kamaraj was a Freedom fighter and Congress President. He was also the Chief Minister of Madras (Tamil Nadu), who suffered from educational deprivation. He made a lot of efforts to spread education in Madras province during his existence. He introduced a mid-day meal scheme for school children in 1963. He was responsible for proposing this plan that all senior Congressmen should resign from office and let the younger party workers make changes in the government; this proposal was known as the “Kamaraj Plan.”

Nijalingappa (1902-2000):

He was the Senior Congress leader and the Member of the Constituent Assembly. He was also a member of Lok Sabha and later became the Chief Minister of Mysore (Karnataka) State and known as the maker of Modern Karnataka. His growth increased, and he also became the President of Congress during 1968-71 and was one of the important personalities of modern Indian history.

Karpoori Thakur (1924-1988): 

He was the Chief Minister of Bihar between December 1970 and June 1971 and became once again between June 1977 and April 1979. He was a freedom fighter, socialist leader, and also active in the labour and peasant movement. He was a strict follower of the Lohia. He also participated in the movement that the Janata Party-led. He is very well known for his decision to introduce the reservations of backward classes in the state of Bihar during the second year of his Chief Ministership. He was also a strong opponent of the English Language and was one of the important personalities of modern India.

V.V. Giri (1894-1980):

He was the President of India from 1960 and 1974, the Congress worker and labour leader from Andhra Pradesh. He was also the High Commissioner to Ceylon in Sri Lanka and became the Labour Minister in the Union Cabinet. He was popular to acquire the seat of the Governor of U.P, Kerala, Mysore (Karnataka), and later became the Vice-President (1967-1969). After serving the country as a President and after the death of President Zakir Hussain, he resigned and contested the presidential election as an independent candidate that received support from Indira Gandhi for his election as President.

Conclusion

We looked into several important politicians, and their contributions to Indian politics. While Indira Gandhi implemented policies such as the elimination of the Privy purse, nuclear experiments, bank nationalisation, and environmental protection. C. Natarajan Annadurai opposed the imposition of Hindi and spearheaded the anti-Hindi campaign, while also advocating for more state autonomy. Others, such as K. Kamaraj was well-known for devising the “Kamaraj Plan.”