Atal Bihari Vajpayee
1924-2018
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an iconic leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), known for his cultural moderation, liberalism and political reasonableness. He became the Prime Minister of India thrice. It was during his tenure that India successfully conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran and renewed hopes for peace between India and Pakistan emerged with the start of the New Delhi-Lahore bus service. His government has been till date the only non-Congress government to stay in power for five years. Besides being a seasoned politician and outstanding parliamentarian, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is also a renowned poet and a highly popular personality across the political spectrum. The Narendra Modi Government has announced the conferment of Bharat Ratna on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His birthday on 25 December has been declared as ‘Good Governance Day’. Famous for his oratorical skills, Vajpayee now leads a retired and reclusive life due to ill-health.
Early life
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born in a middle-class Brahmin family to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December, 1924 in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). His father was a poet and a school teacher. Vajpayee did his schooling from the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gwalior. Later, he studied at Victoria College, Gwalior – now Laxmi Bai College, for his graduation. It was at Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College, Kanpur that Vajpayee completed his post-graduation in Political Science. Joining as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in 1939, Vajpayee became a pracharak (fulltime worker) in 1947. He also worked for Rashtradharma Hindi monthly, Panchjanya Hindi weekly and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun. He is fondly called ‘Baapji’ by his close relatives and friends. He
remained single for his entire life and later adopted a daughter named Namita. He loves Indian music and dance. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a nature lover, and Manali in Himachal Pradesh is one of his favourite retreats.
Political Career
Atal Bihari Vajpayee began his career in politics as a freedom fighter. Later he joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a Hindu right-wing political party, under the leadership of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. He became national secretary of BJS in charge of the Northern region. As the new leader of BJS, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1957 from Balrampur. He rose to become the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968. Supported by his colleagues Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and L K Advani, Vajpayee took the Jana Sangh to greater glory. Atal Bihari Vajpayee participated in the Total Revolution movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) against the Internal Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. In 1977, Jana Sangh became a part of the Janata Party, the grand-alliance against the Indira Gandhi government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became a Union Minister in 1977 when Morarji Desailed Janata Party coalition came to power for the first time. He became the Minister of External Affairs. As foreign minister, Vajpayee became the first person to deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi. His career as a minister was short-lived as he resigned from his post following the resignation of Morarji Desai in 1979. But by then, Vajpayee had established himself as a political leader. Vajpayee along with Lal Krishna Advani, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and others from the BJS and Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) formed the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. He became a strong critic of the Congress (I) government that followed the fall of Janata Party government. Vajpayee did not support Operation Blue Star and raised his voice against the anti-Sikh violence after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP won two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections. Vajpayee functioned as BJP President and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament. Known for his liberal views, Vajpayee bemoaned the demolition of the Babri Mosque on 6 December, 1992 and declared it as the BJP’s “worst miscalculation”.
As Prime Minister of India
By 1984 elections, the BJP had established itself as an important political party in Indian politics. Vajpayee was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister of India following the 1996 General Elections, where the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha. However, the government collapsed after only 13 days after his government could not gather support from other parties to obtain a majority. He thus became the shortest serving Prime Minister in India. The BJP-led coalition government came back to power as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1998. Vajpayee was again sworn in as the Prime Minister. Vajpayee’s second term as PM is known for 5 Nuclear tests conducted at Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, in May 1998. Vajpayee also pushed for peace process with Pakistan. He inaugurated the historic Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999. He also pitched for resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. But Pakistan ditched India by launching Kargil War, wherein Pakistani soldiers infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley and captured border
hilltops around the town of Kargil. Indian army units, under Operation Vijay, fought Pakistani intruders braving heavy artillery shelling amidst extremely cold weather, and treacherous hilly terrain, and ultimately emerged victorious. However, Vajpayee’s government lasted 13 months when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) withdrew its support to the government in mid-1999. In the following election, however, the NDA came back with full majority and Vajpayee was able to complete five years (1999-2004) in office as a non-Congress PM for the first time. Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time on 13 October 1999. However, his third term also saw India yielding to terrorists when in December 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked and taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The government had to release dread terrorists including Maulana Masood Azhar from prison to secure the freedom of passengers. On the brighter side, the Vajpayee government introduced many economic and infrastructural reforms, including encouraging the private sector and foreign investments. It also undertook National Highway Development Projects and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Vajpayee adopted pro-business, free-market reforms approach to boost India’s economic development. In March 2000, Vajpayee signed the Historic Vision Document during the visit of the then US President Bill Clinton. The Declaration incorporated several strategic issues, apart from pitching for expansion in trade and economic ties between the two countries. Atal Bihari Vajpayee again tried for peace with Pakistan during the Agra summit with the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, but the talks failed to achieve any breakthrough as Musharraf declined to leave aside the Kashmir issue. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime also witnessed an attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001, when Pakistan-supported terrorists stormed the Parliament building in Delhi. They were ultimately foiled in their attempts by the Indian security forces. Vajpayee as PM was pained when communal riots broke out in Gujarat in 2002 after the Godhra train tragedy.
Retirement
The 2004 General Election brought about the downfall of the NDA, which lost almost half its seats and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) assumed the reins of power. Vajpayee refused to take up the position of the Leader of the Opposition paving the way for Lal Krishna Advani’s leadership of BJP. He retired from politics due to health issues and was known to be suffering from dementia and diabetes. Close aides said that he failed to recognise people and mostly stayed at home, except for his check-ups that were conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Awards
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj (far right) hand over the Liberation War award to Vajpayee’s family members. Padma Vibhushan in 1992 D. Lit. from Kanpur University
in 1993 Lokmanya Tilak Award in 1994 Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994 Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant Award in 1994 Bharat Ratna in 2015 Liberation War award (Bangladesh Muktijuddho Sanmanona) in 2015
Books written by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
National Integration (1961) Dynamics of an Open
Society(1977) New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy (1979) Heal the Wounds: Vajpayee's appeal on Assam tragedy to the Parliament (1983) Kucha Lekha, Kucha Bhashana (1996) Sekyularavada: Bharatiya Parikalpana (Da. Rajendra Prasada Smaraka Vyakhyanamala) (1996) Bindu-Bindu Vicara (1997) Rajaniti ki Rapatili Rahem(1997) Back to Square One(1998) Decisive Days (1999) Sakti Se Santi(1999) Vicara-Bindu (Hindi Edition, 2000) Nayi Chunauti, Naya Avasara (Hindi Edition, 2002) India's Perspectives on ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Region(2003)
Autobiographies
India's Foreign Policy: New Dimensions (1977) Assam Problem: Repression no Solution (1981) Atal Bihari Vaj Mem Tina Dasaka (1992) Pradhan Mantri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ke Chune Hue Bhashana (2000) Values, Vision & Verses of Vajpayee: India's Man of Destiny (2001)
Books and albums on Poetry
Meri Ikyavana Kavitaem(1995) Meri Ikyavana Kavitaem (Hindi Edition, 1995) Sreshtha Kabita(1997) Nayi Disha – An Album with Jagjit Singh (1995) Kya Khoya Kya Paya: Atal Bihari Vajapeyi, Vyaktitva Aur Kavitaem (Hindi Edition, 1999) Samvedna – An Album with Jagjit Singh (1995) Twenty-One Poems (2003)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s funeral: PM Narendra Modi walks 4 km with sea of mourners to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday kept pace on foot with thousands of mourners as Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s funeral carriage drove to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal – a four km stretch — where the great statesman was cremated with full state honours. The Prime Minister surprised many by joining the procession on foot from the BJP office, which is located close to the memorials of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. But that was perhaps PM Modi’s way of performing his Raj Dharma. The crowd spilled over barricades and jostled to get a glimpse of the former prime minister. Then, in sultry weather conditions, thousands walked along, showering petals on the carriage. In a departure from tradition, Vajpayee’s foster daughter Namita Bhattacharya lit the funeral pyre; among other family members present was foster grand-daughter Niharika who broke down as the mortal remains went up in flames. The former Prime Minister was cremated with full military honours amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns and firing of a 21-gun salute by soldiers. President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Modi and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu joined a galaxy of political leaders cutting across party lines in bidding adieu to the departed leader at the designated spot for the last rites of Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers, on the banks of the Yamuna.The tricolour that was wrapped around Vajpayee’s body was removed and given to foster granddaughter Niharika after which the body was handed over to the family for last rites. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, veteran BJP leaders and Vajpayee’s long-time associates L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Home Minister Rajnath Singh,