ANOTHER TALE FROM INCREDIBLE INDIA: THE DEATH OF A PRIME MINISTER

ANOTHER TALE FROM INCREDIBLE INDIA: THE DEATH OF A PRIME MINISTER

Mystery surrounds the fate of not only Subhas Chandra Bose, but also the death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

 Diplomat's diary | Rai Singh

India is one rare country where mysteries continue to shroud the deaths of top political leaders. In a way, it is not surprising that a definite conclusion is still eluding the Netaji disappearance controversy. Subhas Chandra Bose's disappearance occurred at the end of second world war when India was under the British rule. Subhas had engaged himself with the Japanese and later in August 1945 he had escaped to the Soviet Union. So, the mystery about his disappearance is understandable -- because the sources of information available at that time, and thereafter in the Soviet Union, were few and far between. 

But the controversy about the death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent (now in Uzbekistan) is in a different league altogether. Mystery surrounds Shastri's death due to several reasons -- foremost being the absence of a proper medical report stating the cause of death. It is all the more puzzling because Shastri's personal physician had accompanied him to Tashkent, then in the USSR. But he did not ensure a proper medical investigation. It is rumoured that he was drunk at that time. Though a post-mortem report was given by the Soviet authorities at Tashkent, nothing was done in India to determine the exact cause of the Prime Minister's death despite tell-tale signs of poisoning.

It was very baffling indeed why such indifference was shown when three Cabinet Ministers -- Jagjivan Ram, YB Chavan and Swarn Singh -- were present in January 1966 at Tashkent, where Shastri breathed his last.

According to the Soviet sources, a glass of milk was bought for Shastri by personal servant of Indian Ambassador TN Kaul. This personal servant, Jan Mohammad, was never questioned or interrogated by any one in the Soviet Union or in India despite his being the prime suspect. This is indeed mystifying, because just after consuming milk Shastri complained of "pain in the chest" and "difficulty in breathing." Thereafter the Prime Minister slipped into coma. The Soviet doctors were called in and they pronounced him dead.

At present, it appears that no headway can be made in inquiring into the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri. Nonetheless the incident warrants a through inquiry so that adequate measures can be taken to safeguard the Prime Minister during his/her visits abroad.

Rai Singh, a former Director of the erstwhile Information Service of India, had worked with late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.