Word: shastri
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...diplomacy could be put to good use-and where party officials could keep an eye on her. Nehru may soon be forced to elevate to the Cabinet someone who in fact would run the country. Likeliest prospect, and leading candidate to succeed Nehru: former Home Minister Lai Bahadur Shastri...
...Shastri's major qualifications are that he is personally close to Nehru and that he has almost no political enemies. Bland and self-effacing, he is almost the center of gravity of the Congress Party, is thus an ideal compromise between the party's left and right wings. Shastri is a devout believer in nonalignment, but thinks that India must also forge strong ties to the Western democracies. Though committed to socialism, he is far less doctrinaire than India's stricken leader, says: "We must relieve the misery of the people and raise their economic condition...
Swimming to School. A tiny, wizened vegetarian and teetotaler who stands only 5 ft. 2 in. and weighs a mere 105 Ibs., Shastri* has never been out of India. As a schoolboy he was so poor that he swam the Ganges daily with his books strapped to his head because he lacked boat fare. During India's struggle for independence, Shastri spent a total of seven years in jail, once fasted so long that his weight dwindled to 72 Ibs. He entered the Cabinet in 1952 as Minister for Railways and Transport, a decade later became Home Minister...
Congress Party has been racked with internal dissension ever since Nehru last fall asked a number of top Cabinet officers-including Food Minister S. K. Patil, Home Minister Lai Bahadur Shastri, and Finance Minister Morarji Desai -to resign, ostensibly to reorganize the party and revitalize its strength among the masses. But it is generally felt that Nehru actually intended the move as a ruse to shake out of the Cabinet all potential contenders for his post. Wise to the scheme, the ousted ministers set about building up personal followings for a succession fight...
Ruler of the World. But discounting Indira as a real political contender, the choice of most party members at present is former Home Minister Lai Bahadur Shastri, 59, an honest if colorless politician who has been one of Nehru's most loyal lieutenants and who, like his leader, comes from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and the traditional breeding ground of Congress Party leaders. If Shastri is disqualified -he had a heart attack in 1959-a leading contender for the prime-ministership would probably be S. K. Patil, 63, a right-winger who runs Bombay with...