India lost a politician par excellence, today. Indeed a dark day for the country as a Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a hero who worked tirelessly and passionately worked for the growth and development of the country breathed his last on Thursday. He was 93.
The former Prime Minister of India will be remembered for many things – fire behind the Bhartiya Janata Party, a great statesman, secular and moderate leader and a powerful orator.
He served three non-consecutive terms as the Prime Minister including a 13-day term. The Kargil victory cemented his reputation as a strong and able leader. He was awarded the Bharat Ratan in 2014 and his birthday was declared as ‘World Governance Day’ in the same year.
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Known for his sense of humour, Vajpayee holds the distinction of being the only parliamentarian to have been elected from four different states at different times, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. He appeared on the political landscape in the pre-independence era, participating in the Quit India Movement, which led to his arrest and imprisonment.
Born in a humble school teacher’s family on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior Madhya Pradesh, Vajpayee entered politics during the Quit India movement in 1942. A prolific poet, his love for Hindi was well known. He holds the distinction of being the first person to deliver a speech in Hindi at the UN General assembly.
Vajpayee’s political journey
- He became associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a right-wing political party founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951
- Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Balrampur (U.P.) in 1957
- He was made the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 after the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya
- In 1977, the BJS united with the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Socialist Party to form the Janata Party. After the victory of the Janata Party in the general elections, Vajpayee became the Minister of External Affairs in Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government
- The Janata Party was dissolved following Morarji Desai’s resignation as Prime Minister in 1979. Vajpayee, in collaboration with Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980 and became the party’s first president.
- After the 1984 elections, when BJP was reduced to two seats, Vajpayee worked tirelessly to build the party and in the next parliamentary elections in 1989 BJP won 88 seats.
- By 1991, BJP had emerged as the principal opposition party and it won 120 seats in the 1991 parliamentary elections
- He became the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in 1993 and in November 1995 at a BJP conference in Mumbai, he was declared as the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP
As the Prime Minister
He became the Prime Minister for the first time in May 1996, when BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. However, he resigned after 13 days since BJP could not prove majority in the Lower House.
He was sworn in as the PM for the second time in 1998 after BJP emerged, once again, as the single largest party and formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with other political parties. This government lasted for a little over a year when fresh elections were held. BJP emerged as the largest political alliance in the 1999 general elections. Vajpayee was made the Prime Minister for the third time in October 1999.
It was during his tenure that India conducted underground second round of nuclear tests in Pokhran in May 11 1998, just a month after the government came into power. These tests were regarded a ‘National Milestone’, which enabled the country to develop a minimum credible deterrent to ward off threats to its security. A spate of trade and other sanctions by US and other countries followed.
Despite the nuclear test, Vajpayee reached out to Pakistan through the Lahore bus diplomacy in February, 1999. However, just three months later, Pakistan attacked India in May 1999, leading to the Kargil war.
He was at the helm of affairs during the Kargil War between India and Pakistan – May and July 1999. By the end of the war, the Indian Army and Air force had recaptured the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani militants.
He introduced many economic and infrastructure reforms like strengthening the private sectors, encouraging research and development, bringing about privatization of certain government owned corporations, etc. His major projects were National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
US President Bill Clinton’s state visit to India in March 2000 was significant in improving the foreign trade and economic relations between the two nations.
In July 2001, he invited the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf – who was the Army chief when the neighbouring country had begun the Kargil war- for a summit at Agra. However, this attempt could not achieve much success for India.
When the Parliament House in New Delhi was attacked in December 2001 by Pakistan trained terrorists, he played an integral rule in bringing about an act regarding it after investigations pointed to a conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. For a long time the threat of a full-fledged war between the two nations loomed. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) was enacted in the aftermath of the attack.
The Vajpayee government implemented several economic reforms during 2002-03 which resulted in a record growth rate of 6-7% in the GDP. The international image of India also improved due to the rapid developments that took place in the country during this period.
Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister in 2004 after Congress emerged as the single largest party in the general elections.
He announced his retirement from active politics in 2005 and didn’t contest the 2009 parliamentary elections.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India in 1992 for his distinguished contribution in public affairs.
He was honored with Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994.
In 2014, he was honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.