by Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s former prime minister, passed away on August 16, 2018. He was a highly respected leader, known for his oratory skills, statesmanship, and ability to bridge political divides. I remember the first words of Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was sworn in as the 16th Prime Minister of India, which were certainly more solemn than cheerful. “I have a pledge to redeem and a promise to fulfil.”
Vajpayee was born into a high-caste Brahmin family in Gwalior on Dec. 25, 1925. He was barely 15 but already steeped in Marxism when a friend took him to a meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Service), a neo-fascist organisation that has been the guiding force behind Hindu nationalism for much of this century. After entering the politics of the country, he climbed up step by step, and now he is the spotless, meticulous statesman of Indian politics. He was the first politician who addressed the U.N.O. in Hindi on 4th October, 1977. He was adorned with “Padma Vibhushan” by the Indian Govt. on 25th January, 1992. This was followed by another honour bestowed upon him by the U.P. Hindi Sansthan on 28th September, 1992. And then on 16th August, 1994, the “Govind Vallabh Pant Award” was conferred upon him for his being the Best Parliamentarian.
He was the first Prime Minister of India who is regarded as a non-controversial heartthrob of the country. He was held in high esteem not only by his party men but also by other members of the Indian polity. Undoubtedly, he was a great orator. He stood out to be a distinguished man in respect of his choice of words, effective pauses in between, sweet touch of sarcasm and humour, style of speaking and, above all, quality of judging the moods of his listeners. Vajpayee’s problem was that he proved to be more popular with the 344 million voters than did the Hindu nationalist movement, for which he has been the principal parliamentary standard bearer for 30 years. After coming into power, Vajpayee had to face problems, but he faced all the problems with courage and sincerity. He took many ups and downs in his political life with great equanimity and bears malice towards none. He was among the very few politicians who knew how to respect the viewpoint of their opponents. The poet-turned-politician achieved such things as the successful Pokhran-2 nuclear test, winning the Kargil War, starting the Golden Quadrilateral National Motorway, and a growth rate of 5 per cent or above per annum. Undoubtedly, he was a successful prime minister, but his tenure experienced certain failures, such as the Indian Airlines hijack by the Taliban, the attack of terrorists on parliament and the riots in Gujarat. He was a great leader and one of the tallest politicians in India and the world. Even enemies have liked his oratory skill and diplomacy. The way he maintained dignity in the Parliament was commendable.
For many observers, Vajpayee’s successful navigation of what was called an “unwieldy coalition” was his biggest achievement; others praised his optimistic foreign policy, while others applauded India’s economy under his rule.
He was one of the first to voice India’s opposition to the unequal Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and he made it clear that his country would sign the NPT only when the nuclear powers gave convincing evidence of their desire to ban and destroy nuclear weapons. He was also passionate about his desire to ”see India take its place as a great nation”, with a nuclear weapons arsenal commensurate to its size. He said, “We have the capacity for a big bomb now. Ours will never be weapons of aggression.”
He shared a special relationship with Lucknow, which he represented for a record five terms in the Lok Sabha, before illness forced him out of active politics in 2009. Though he was a staunch and devout Hindu, an epitome of Hindu tradition, yet the people of minority communities repose their unassailable confidence in him. In a move led by him, it tried to reach out to the country’s 140 million Muslims to assuage their fears of being treated as second-class citizens. Those who have known Vajpayee for years say that for him the RSS was his alma mater, where he had learnt the lessons of life and which had made a man of him. He once wrote, “[the] Sangh is my soul.” But as a practical man, he was not ready to be dictated to by the Sangh on every move that he made and every step that he took.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had once introduced Vajpayee to Winston Churchill as the future prime minister of this country who travelled a long way to emerge as India’s towering politician, a leader who commanded respect and admiration not only of his party men but even of his rivals, not to speak of millions of his admirers across the world.
The man was loved for his qualities of head and heart, his poetry, his integrity, his boldness, his patriotism, his qualities of forgetting and forgiving, and the principle of consensus. He was one of the few who could brave the worst travails in life and political career and come out unscathed. He was an eminent national leader, an erudite politician, a selfless social worker, a forceful orator, a poet, a journalist and indeed a multifaceted personality. He was an ideal for the masses. The message that clearly sprinted from his deeds was that even under the most trying circumstances we must never lose our values that have so long been our guiding star. As a parliamentarian, he had been a member of Lok Sabha nine times and of Rajya Sabha twice. He transformed the Indian growth story. Interestingly, the maximum drop in inflation happened during his tenure. His strong willpower led to the country making nuclear power. His dreams of providing quadruplicate connectivity to India with highways changed people’s lives across the country. Interlinking rivers in the country will prove a boon for the country in removing water scarcity throughout the country.
His exemplary service & leadership has had a very positive impact on India’s growth trajectory. Staying in politics for more than 60 years as an active politician, both in opposition and in the ruling party, and retiring from it without any allegation on the character is one rare achievement. From an insignificant political player to a key leader, Vajpayee will be known for his several contributions. From leading a delegation at the United Nations to introducing the Lahore bus service to raising the Kashmir issue, Vajpayee has really won the hearts of Indians and even the opposition. Vajpayee was an outstanding artist, an eminent poet and a true leader who always stood for the cause of the poor and downtrodden classes of society. His name will be written in golden letters in the history of India.
Author is a freelance journalist. He can be mailed at dixitpatrakar@yahoo.in
