As Shastri became more active Congressman and joined protests or agitations spending time in jails became his fate.
The freedom movement was intensifying. In 1930, Gandhi started ‘Salt Satyagraha’. He marched to a place called ‘Dandi’ and made salt to break the British law against salt making. Lal Bahadur Shastri took part in the Satyagraha. He went around appealing to the people not to pay land revenue and the taxes to the government.
He was arrested and sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment. It was his first jail term. Now jail became his second home. He went in various prisons seven times for a total period of twelve years.
Lal Bahadur Shastri put his jail terms to good use. He read books written by famous authors, leaders and philosophers. He translated the autobiography of ‘Madam Curie’ into Hindi. He made no complaints against mistreatment in prisons following the maxim. ‘If you shed tears at losing the sun, you shall lose the vision of the stars.’ Sometimes it amused him to see political prisoners squabbling over petty things and begging before jail authorities for small favours.
In jails he saw other side of the many politicians he had worked with.
Once his daughter fell seriously ill when he was in prison. The authorities offered to release him for a short period to enable him to see his ailing daughter provide he gave in writing an undertaking that he would not indulge in freedom politics during the parole. Lal Bahadur gave verbal promise but refused to put it in writing for the sake of his self respect. He won and was allowed 15 days parole.
But his daughter passed away before he could reach home. He performed last rites of his deceased daughter and returned to the prison much before the expiry of the parole.
One other time his son ran fever while he was in prison. Lal Bahadur Shastri was allowed a week long parole. A week passed away but the son’s fever didn’t go away. With a heavy heart Shastri prepared to return to the prison.
The ailing son pleaded in weak voice to his father not to leave him. Shastri painfully looked at his son. His mind wavered and his heart bled. But he quickly shook off the momentary emotional weakness and bade good-bye to son and explained that the law does not permit him to stay longer. Thankfully his son recovered and regained health.
There were many Congressmen whose families were also involved in the freedom effort. Many had their wives fighting the battle side by side. Many had their parents and children too involved in it.
Shastri admired Jawahar Lal Nehru for his high education, suave manners and broad mind. He had everything in life to lead a life of luxury and comfort. But he had opted for a hard life of a freedom fighter. Nehru’s wife Kamla also took part in Congress programmes and movements. His father Motilal was in freedom politics and his mother too.
Lal Bahadur Shastri also wished his wife to take part in political movements to make greater contribution to the freedom struggle on behalf of his family. But the problem was his mother who was of conservative mindset. Would she accept her daughter-in-law shouting slogans in the streets? It would be difficult for her to understand the changed situations. And she needed care all the time which only Lalita could provide. The old lady might refuse to accept the services of any other person.
Then, Gandhiji gave a call to the countrymen to boycott the British goods. Swadeshi movement was gathering storm. Jawahar Lal’s sister Krishna and his wife Kamla had become volunteers and donned male dress to soldier for the country. They were out there picketing shops that sold foreign goods.
Even Jawahar Lal’s old mother was out in the street in scorching sun propagating against the foreign goods.
Jawahar Lal’s house Anand Bhawan was the hub of the freedom politics. As Shastri was closely associated with Jawahar Lal Nehru, he was a regular visitor of Anand Bhavan.
Oneday, Kamla Nehru asked Lal Bahadur Shastri, “Why don’t you ask your wife to take part in freedom movement?”
Shastri just wanted to hear that. Without disclosing his problem he suggested to Kamla Nehru, “I think it would be better if you talk to her yourself on this subject. She certainly would listen to your advice.”
“Is there problem?” Kamla asked.
Shastri confided to her his domestic equations. Kamla Nehru took the hint and went to Shastri’s house to meet the women of the house. Her main aim was to plead with Ramdulari to release her daughter-in-law from the domestic confinement to help Lal Bahadur Shastri in the political field.
Kamla talked to Ramdulari at length. She tried to explain to her the political situation of the country and the need for the women to fight alongside the men to achieve the goal of freedom. Being the wife of Jawahar Lal Nehru was of big advantage. The old lady softened up and agreed to allow Lalita to go out and join the picketers against the foreign goods.
Thus, women joined the movement in ever growing numbers. When the men folk were arrested by the police and put in jail, the women folk carried on the battle.
The first outing of Lalita on her political mission proved a memorable day of her life. She along with her friend went to picket before a shop that sold England made material and goods. The customers were arriving to buy things.
Lalita gave up her domestic shyness and decided to take on the shopkeeper and his buyers. The ladies requested the customers to quit the habit of buying foreign goods.
The shopkeeper challenged, “You ladies are yourselves wearing foreign made goods. How can you advise others to adopt Swadeshi?”
Lalita looked flustered and confused. She and other ladies surveyed themselves and claimed, “We are not wearing anything foreign made. Your are mistaken.”
The shopkeeper smiled and revealed, “The bangles you are wearing are made of foreign material imported from Britain. Don’t you know that?”
One of Lalita’s clever friends argued, “May be, it could be true. But your wrist watch is out and out foreign made.”
The arguments dragged on. The shopkeeper threw the gauntlet, “Alright, I will crush my wrist watch if you smash your bangles.”
He was playing on the sentiments of the women. Traditionally a women broke her bangles when her husband died. It was a kind of psychological barrier that traditional Hindu wife would not break.
The women looked confused.
The shopkeeper took advantage of the confusion and upped the stake, “Let us see how you break your bangles.”
By this time Lal Bahadur Shastri had also arrived on the scene. He was watching silently like a spectator. Lalita caught his sight. Shastri conveyed to her through eye signal that she must do it without caring for the blind faith about the bangles. Lalita’s friend’s husband had also come. The delay was strengthening the case of the cunning shopkeeper.
So, Lalita summoned courage to break the mental barrier and picked up a stone. She gave a steely look to the shopkeeper and hit the bangles with the stone. The bangles broke. The bangles on the other hand received the same treatment. Now it was the turn of the shopkeeper to crush his wrist watch. He looked reluctant and appeared to be searching for an excuse to extricate himself out of the bet.
It angered the onlookers which included the women who had come to buy goods from that shop.
The angered ladies entered the shop and threw things around. They declared that they won’t buy any foreign goods again.
The incident filled Lalita with confidence that she could deal with the world on her own. She looked around for her husband. He had by then slipped away a proud man whose wife had graduated as a freedom fighter.
As time went by Lal Bahadur came more and more closer to Jawahar Lal Nehru. The latter gave great value to Shastri’s advice. At times he would leave the final decision in several matters on the discretion of Lal Bahadur Shastri. The others too had great esteem for him.
The Second World War broke out in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. England declared war against Germany. The Viceroy of India also declared war against Germany.
The Congress leaders protested against it. They said that Viceroy had no business to drag India into war. They said Britain should first grant independence to India. The leaders gave a call to the countrymen not to lend any support to the British government in its war efforts.
Later, Congress party made a formal proposal for cooperation with British if they were ready to grant India freedom after the end of the war. The British government rejected the proposal.
The Congress decided to launch Satyagraha against the government in 1940. It was to be on individual basis. Gandhiji had mooted the idea and had began his personal protest.
In support of him some other leaders also started their own Satyagraha. Lal Bahadur Shastri was one of them. He was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail. Meanwhile the individual Satyagrahas continued.
The government largely ignored them except dealing with the prominent leaders. The frustration was building up among the Congressmen due to inaction.
Subhash Chandra Bose was of the opinion that it was the time for Indians to take advantage of the difficulties of Britain. Britain was losing war in Europe. It was demoralised and on the backfoot. Subhash wanted people to rise against the British and Congress launch a nationwide movement. He even went to Sabarmati Ashram to meet Gandhiji and urge him to lead the movement.
But Gandhiji did not agree with him.
Later Subhash was arrested, put in jail and then placed under house arrest. He was able to give a slip to police and leave India. He reached Germany and tried to strike a deal with Axis forces. He had even begun broadcasting messages to Indians from Germany over Radio Berlin.
The people were becoming restless. The apathy of the British government angered the Congress leaders. The leaders under the leadership of Gandhiji decided to throw a direct challenge to the British rulers.
In August, 1942 the Congress party decided to launch ‘Quit India Movement’ and appointed Gandhiji ‘Dictator’ of the movement.
Gandhiji issued ultimatum to the Viceroy of India on 8th August, 1942 to grant independence to India within seven days and threatened to launch ‘Quit India’ movement against the alien rulers if its demand was not met.
The belligerence of Gandhiji shocked the British. They had never hoped such hostile postures from him. The government proposed that it would grant independence only after dividing the country after the war. It was not acceptable to Congress. Hence, the British rejected the ultimatum.
The ‘Quit India’ movement began. The British were asked to leave India as their presence in India could no more be tolerated. The movement became a raging storm.
The authorities retaliated with harsh measures, suppression and the mass arrests of the leaders.
Gandhiji and Vinobha Bhave were the first ones to be arrested. The arrest of Jawahar Lal, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Rajendra Prasad followed. They were kept in Ahmad Nagar Fort.
Gandhiji was put under house arrest in Poona. The rest of the leaders kept the movement going. The people were given ‘Do or Die’ call. The government hit back with brutal measures. Hundreds of protesters died in clashes with police. More than one lac people were arrested in just five months.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was already in jail at Bombay in earlier Satyagraha case. He had just been released. After serving one year sentence he travelled to Allahabad from Bombay by train. He disembarked from the train unnoticed by the police.
Shastri was supposed to guide freedom fighters as all the prominent leaders were in prisons. The police suspected it. Shastri feared that he would be arrested on some excuse if he reached home.
So, he went to Anand Bhavan and remained there for one week issuing instructions to the party workers. The partymen thought that even Anand Bhavan was not safe. The police could arrive any time. Hence, Shastri remained holed up in a secret hiding place on the first floor.
Jawahar Lal’s sister Vijay Laxmi Pundit was staying at Anand Bhavan at that time. The police raided Anand Bhavan. Shastri promptly destroyed all the important documents. Shastri thought that the police had come to take him in custody.
But they only arrested Mrs. Vijay Laxmi Pundit and departed.
The news of the safety of Shastri was sent to his family through a friend. The Congress party had been declared an illegal organisation. The Congressmen who were still free were kept rallied by Lal Bahadur Shastri. For added precaution he operated in the darkness of the night only.
The prohibitory orders ruled the country. Public assembly was banned. The meetings were outlawed. The secret police kept a strict watch on any activity to revive the Congress party. The party workers had to be very careful.
Messages were relayed by hand written chits.
Handbills and posters were printed and distributed secretly with anti-government provocative messages. The messages exhorted people to continue to struggle against the enemy in do-or-die spirit until the British were force to flee from India. The handbills were dircretily distributed in school, colleges, public places, towns and in remote villages to arouse the feelings of the people.
After a week Shastri shifted to a friend’s house. Since the arrest of Vijay Laxmi Pundit the police had not relaxed its vigil. It was bound to take notice of the nightly activities going on in and around Anand Bhavan. The party workers had to go there and leave which did not look like normal household activity. The friend in whose house Shastri had gone to was Keshav Dev Malviya, a Congress worker and a confidant. His house became Lal Bahadur Shastri’s new secret command post. He didn’t remain holed up now.
He and his friends like Algurai went out in disguises of farmers or health workers. The countryside offered more freedom and space to breathe freely as the secret police was less active in rural areas. Propagating anti-government thoughts was safer there.
Once Lal Bahadur Shastri sent a message to his wife through a party worker asking her to join him. The message was verbal. By now Lalita had become a lady of political wisdom.
She would not trust the worker. She asked, “Why didn’t you bring the message written in his own hand?”
The worker went back to Shastri and came back with written message. This time Lalita went to meet her husband. After a brief personal dialogue he came to the point. He handed her a hand written chit which according to him she was to deliver to a certain person herself in Mirzapur.
He cautioned, “Be very very careful. It is a very important message to be delivered only to the person it is meant for. I hope you understand.”
Lalita confidently nodded her head.
Her husband again warned, Please understand that no one should know you delivered this message. It is very important for us all.”
She got a bit worried when she learnt that Lal Bahadur might get arrested very soon. The next day, she was told that Lal Bahadur would be addressing a public meeting at Mohammad Ali Park against the prohibitory orders. He was in a way planning his own arrest for some political purpose.
Shastri did come to the venue of the meeting at scheduled time in a tonga. From the tonga itself he began to deliver his speech. As expected the police force was already there. They moved up to arrest him. But before they could lay their hands on him he threw away the handbills he was carrying at the people for them to pick up and read. The police arrested him and he was sent to the prison.
Meanwhile, Lalita completed the mission assigned to her by her politician husband. It gave her a great joy but the arrest of her husband proved a damper. This time the family was in for trouble.
Earlier whenever Lal Bahadur went to jail ‘Servants of the People Society’ used to give some allowance to his family for survival. As long as he remained in prison the allowance helped Lalita manage and feed the family.
Now the situation had changed. Being a banned organisation the Congress party had become non-existent. It no more had any financial support base or system. All the affiliated bodies also became non-functional. The Servants of the People Society also ceased to function.
There was no one Lalita Devi could seek help from to run her family and feed the children. She shifted to Mirzapr. Her children had to suspend their education. They were suffering from ailments like malaria. Then there was question of other expenses for lodging and boarding. No money was in sight.
Starvation was beginning to stalk the family. In her letters to Shastri Lalita made no mention of the pitiable state of the family to avoid worrying him.
The matter came to light only when one of the friends of Lal Bahadur Shastri named Sarju Prasad who was in the prison with him was released on parole as he had a legal matter to pursue in Mirzapur. There he visited Lalita Devi and saw their condition in disbelief and shock.
Back in the prison he narrated the sorry state of the family to Lal Bahadur Shashtri.
He was angry at his wife for not informing him about her problems. She was taking the spirit of sacrifice too far to be useful.
Lal Bahadur wrote a letter to Poornima Bannerji, the sister of Aruna Asaf Ali. The ladies had been politically active and had close association with him at Allahabad.
Poornima acted fast. She sent one of her relatives to Mirzapur to fetch Shastri family to Allahabad. Meanwhile a house was rented by her for Lalita and her children. She took upon herself to look after the family.
Lalita Shastri had become impoverished and suffered from cough and fever. Insomnia also troubled her. Even walking was a problem for her due to weakness.
The doctor diagnosed her malady to be Tuberculosis which required immediate treatment. Poornima got her properly treated and arranged for wholesome diet that was required with treatment. Her efforts brought Lalita back to some health. The recovery period in case of Tuberculosis is very long. Continuous medication and care is required. To show her gaining weight the ladies got Lalita wear heavy gold jewellery around her waist to fool the doctor.
The news of weight gain would provide great relief to Shastri in jail.
For the first two years of imprisonment the rules were very harsh. The family members of the prisoners could not meet them. Then the government relented and families could meet the prisoners.
Lalita Devi lost no time in submitting application for permission to meet her husband in Naini jail.
She reached the jail in weak state of health as she was still under treatment. She looked fragile and drained up. She swayed feeling giddy. The jail authorities ran to support her. A cot was sent for and she made to take a breather on it. The children too had accompanied her who stood clustered around the cot impatiently squirming to meet their father.
Suddenly the children squealed in excitement announcing, “Look Amma! Babuji is coming!”
Lalita opened her eyes and set up on the cot as Lal Bahadur Shastri came closer.
Shastri looked at the incacerated figure of his wife in shock. He himself had become a skeleton. The prison had taken a lot of toll on his health. They stared at each other for a long time.
Then, Lalita stammered, “Hay Ram! You have become so weak.”
Lal Bahadur moaned, “You are yourself in worse state of health. You must take care of yourself.”
The meeting of the family proved a great elixir to all the members. They must live for one another, everyone understood. The life surged in everyone with renewed vigour. Lalita Devi’s health improved dramatically and she took charge of her house and the care of the children with renewed zeal and hope.
She would go to meet her husband every week. The problem was again money. The travel from her house to Naini Jail cost one and a half rupees. For her it was a huge amount because the financial condition was very tight.
Lalita decided to tighten the belt to squeeze out the fair money. She began cooking bauri rotis that are eaten with salt and onions only.
A Muslim family lived in the neighbourhood. The children of the two families were friend. The Muslim family was shocked to learn that Shastri family always ate only bauri roties. That family got a full mouth’s provisions delivered to the Shastri household from the local provision store. Lalita protested but they would not listen. The elders of the family said that it was their duty to look after the families of the people who were suffering in jails for the sake of the country’s freedom.
