India's Shastri Dies at Peace Talks; Galbraith Named to Funeral Delegation

Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India died of a heart attack last night in Tashkent, U.S.S.R., hours after signing a limited agreement on Kashmir with Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan.

Shastri had been in Tashkent since Jan. 2 at the invitation of Soviet Premier Alexel N. Kosygin to discuss peace between India and Pakistan. Although the pact signed yesterday did not settle the main issue, possession of Pakistan, Shastri and Ayub agreed to start withdrawing troops from each others' soil and to work for peace.

In New Delhi, home minister Gulzarilal Nanda was sworn in as the new prime minister, a job he held briefly after the death of Nehru a year-and-a-half ago.

President Johnson named John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics and United States Ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963, as a member of the United States' delegation to Shastri's funeral.

Galbraith said last night before leaving for Washington that Shastri's ability to manage Indian affairs during "one of the most difficult periods in Indian history" was a "very considerable achievement." He cited Shastri's skill in dealing with India's food and border problems and in substituting Hindi for English as the official language.

He described Shastri as "a friendly, warm, attractive" man "with a great deal of determination." Under Shastri's successor, Galbraith predicted, there will be "a very high degree of continuity in India's relations with China, Russia, Pakistan, and the United States."

There is no reason to think that Shastri's death will affect the validity of the peace pact signed yesterday, according to Galbraith. He called the pact "an important first step," adding, "Anybody who has been close to the problem knows how difficult it is to arrive at a solution." Galbraith worked on India-Pakistani negotiations for several months in 1963.

Myron Weiner, professor in Political Science at M.I.T., last night praised Shastri's policies to improve Indian agriculture and to increase production of consumer goods. Shastri's growing dependence on the free market mechanism and removal of government control from the steel industry relieved many Indian economists and businessmen, Weiner said.

Nanda, he explained, was not considered for Prime Minister at the time of Nehru's death because Indian Congress Party members distrusted his close association with V.K. Krishna Mennon, but during Shastri's one-and-a half years in office, Nanda had grown closer to party leaders.

According to the Associated Press, Shastri had a history of heart trouble and suffered a serious stroke in 1959. In June, 1964, only 18 days after assuming the office of prime minister, he suffered what is believed to have been a mild stroke.

His body is being flown from Tashkent to India today.