Explanation:

The ease with which the succession after Nehru took place proved all the critics wrong. When Nehru  passed away, K. Kamraj, the president of the Congress party consulted party leaders and Congress  members of Parliament and found that there was a consensus in favour of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was  unanimously chosen as the leader of the Congress parliamentary party and thus became the country’s  next Prime Minister. Shastri was a non-controversial leader from Uttar Pradesh who had been a Minister  in Nehru’s cabinet for many years. Nehru had come to depend a lot on him in his last year. He was  known for his simplicity and his commitment to principles. Earlier he had resigned from the position of  Railway Minister accepting moral responsibility for a major railway accident. Shastri was the country’s  Prime Minister from 1964 to 1966. During Shastri’s brief Prime Ministership, the country faced two  major challenges. While India was still recovering from the economic implications of the war with China,  failed monsoons, drought and serious food crisis presented a grave challenge. As discussed in the  previous chapter, the country also faced a war with Pakistan in 1965. Shastri’s famous slogan ‘Jai  Jawan Jai Kisan’, symbolised the country’s resolve to face both these challenges.