Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at the Shastri Memorial on Sunday. In a ceremonial gesture, he planted a tree alongside Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, highlighting India’s diplomatic ties with Uzbekistan.
The prime minister arrived in Tashkent on Saturday and received a warm welcome from Mirziyoyev at the airport. After his arrival, PM Modi visited Yangi Uzbekistan Park and laid a wreath at the Independence Monument along with the Uzbek president. India’s second Prime Minister, Shastri, suddenly died in the Uzbek capital on January 11, 1966, just hours after signing the historic Tashkent Declaration to end the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.
Shastri’s “timeless call of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ continues to inspire generations,” the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding that his “life embodied simplicity, courage and unwavering devotion to the nation. PM Modi and Mirziyoyev also jointly planted a tree in the Presidential Palace garden under India’s “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” initiative and Uzbekistan’s “Yashil Makon” green efforts, the MEA posted on X. “The gesture reflects the shared commitment of India and Uzbekistan towards nurturing a greener and more sustainable future,” it said.
