Overview

• Posting on X on September 21, Rahul Gandhi hailed Shastri as a true Congressman, an honest politician, and a dedicated Gandhian who championed social justice, education, and equal opportunity.
• Shastri is remembered as Bihar’s first chief minister from the Scheduled Castes, serving three brief terms between 1968 and 1972.
• He was a freedom fighter influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and was jailed multiple times during the independence movement.
• Beyond his chief ministerships, Shastri later served in the Rajya Sabha, held the Urban Development portfolio at the Union level, and in 1978 became the first chair of the SC/ST Commission.
• Media coverage noted commemorative events across Bihar and reported his role in constituting the Mungeri Lal Commission, said to have recommended reservations for backward classes, women, and economically weaker sections.