The Tashkent Files (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Shastri was abruptly moved from a well-equipped hotel to a mere bungalow shortly before his death. The hotel had an operating theater and oxygen facilities, while the bungalow lacked even basic medical provisions. This sudden accommodation change has raised serious questions about whether his care was deliberately compromised.

Foreshadowing: Earlier concerns about Shastri's security arrangements had been raised by his aides.

• shastri
• tashkent
• bungalow
• hotel
• medical facilities
• conspiracy

Eight doctors attended to Shastri in Tashkent, but only six were willing to sign off on the medical report. This refusal by two doctors to endorse the official findings has been cited as evidence of discrepancies in the official narrative surrounding his death.

Foreshadowing: The committee members noted early on that inconsistencies existed in the documentation.

• shastri
• doctors
• medical report
• signature
• tashkent
• investigation

Medical experts have questioned why Shastri received only an intramuscular injection when an intravenous option was available and potentially life-saving. This decision is particularly troubling given his history of two prior heart attacks and the lack of proper medical facilities at the bungalow.

Foreshadowing: The committee noted Shastri's pre-existing heart condition during their investigation.

• shastri
• injection
• medical treatment
• heart attack
• tashkent

Two key witnesses to Shastri's death, his personal doctor and an assistant, died under mysterious circumstances just days after Shastri himself passed away. Their deaths eliminated crucial firsthand testimony and significantly hampered any subsequent investigation into the true cause of death.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that powerful forces wanted the truth to remain hidden.

• shastri
• doctor
• assistant
• witnesses
• death
• cover-up

Raagini uncovers several pieces of evidence pointing to poisoning: Shastri's body turned black upon returning to India, blood oozed from his injuries posthumously, and his personal cap bore blood stains from injuries sustained after death. Additionally, the Soviet medical report contradicted the official Indian version that stated heart failure as the cause.

Foreshadowing: The conflicting medical reports were introduced early in the investigation.

• shastri
• poisoning
• black body
• blood
• medical report
• soviet

The Tashkent Files are classified documents that were once deemed inaccessible to the public. These files detail the complex operations between the KGB and Indian political leaders, specifically implicating Indira Gandhi in a conspiracy with Soviet intelligence. The revelation of these files exposes the political manipulation that shaped India's trajectory after Shastri's death.

Foreshadowing: The entire committee investigation builds toward uncovering these documents.

• tashkent files
• classified documents
• kgb
• indira gandhi
• conspiracy

Shastri's postmortem report mysteriously vanished for more than fifty years, despite being a critical piece of evidence in determining the true cause of his death. The film's narrative suggests this disappearance was part of a systematic cover-up orchestrated by powerful political forces who wanted to suppress the truth about his demise.

Foreshadowing: Raagini's investigation specifically targets this missing documentation.

• shastri
• postmortem
• missing report
• cover-up
• investigation

The film claims that Indira Gandhi was on the KGB's payroll, suggesting she was complicit in a larger scheme to secure her power. According to the narrative, this connection explains how Shastri was eliminated to pave the way for her ascendancy, and how India subsequently aligned under Soviet influence, even embedding 'Socialism' in the constitution.

Foreshadowing: Bakshi's revelation provides the crucial link between Congress and Soviet intelligence.

• indira gandhi
• kgb
• soviet
• congress
• socialism
• conspiracy

The investigation reveals that Shastri's contributions, including the Green Revolution, White Revolution, and advancements in India's atomic program, were largely erased from public consciousness. The committee concludes that the Congress party suppressed a non-Nehru figure who had become a transformative leader, preferring to elevate Indira Gandhi instead.

Foreshadowing: The committee members discuss how Shastri's policies shaped modern India.

• shastri
• legacy
• green revolution
• white revolution
• congress
• erasure

After Jawaharlal Nehru's death, the Congress party leader Kamaraj played a significant role in elevating Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister. However, the film suggests this was part of a political maneuver, Kamaraj later paved the way for Indira Gandhi to ascend as PM following Shastri's death.

Foreshadowing: Natarajan recalls these political maneuvers during committee discussions.

• shastri
• prime minister
• kamaraj
• nehru
• indira gandhi
• congress

According to the film, a book by a former CIA operative suggests that both Shastri and Homi Bhabha, who were poised to advance India's nuclear capabilities, were systematically eliminated by CIA machinations. This ties into the broader geopolitical tension of the Cold War era.

Foreshadowing: The committee discusses international powers' interest in India's leadership.

• cia
• shastri
• homi bhabha
• nuclear
• cold war
• assassination

Home Minister Natarajan and opposition leader Tripathi used their political power to expel Raagini from the committee, hiding behind the Official Secrets Act. This was an attempt to suppress her findings and stop the investigation from reaching its conclusions.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show both politicians conspiring to control the investigation's outcome.

• raagini phule
• committee
• expelled
• official secrets act
• natarajan
• tripathi