The Reserve Bank of India had issued Rs.100 coins in 2004 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The coin, which has a portrait of the leader, is currently not in circulation but can be ordered exclusively. Notably, Shastri shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.
Do you know?

• Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a leader of the Indian National Congress party.
• Shastri as Prime Minister continued Nehru’s policies of non-alignment but disregarded socialism as he believed in ending license raj.
• The Almatti Dam is renamed as Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar in Northern Karnataka built across the River Krishna. The foundation stone was laid by him. MV Lal Bahadur Shastri a Cargo Ship is named after him.
• He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” (“Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer”) became very popular during the war and is remembered even today.
• The war formally ended with the Tashkent Agreement of 10 January 1966; he died of a heart attack the following day, still in Tashkent.
• Shastri was known for his honesty and humility throughout his life. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, and a memorial “Vijay Ghat” was built for him in Delhi.
• Some major roads in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Puduchery, Lucknow, Warangal and Allahabad bearing the name of the legend.
• In 2005, the Government of India created a chair in his honour in the field of democracy and governance at Delhi University.