Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography

 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was 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 – first in 1996 when he served the term for 13 days, second in 1998 for a period of eleven months, and third time in 1999 for a full term of five years. 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 was also a renowned poet and a highly popular personality across the political spectrum.

He was conferred Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour in 2015. The Modi Government has declared his birthday i,e 25 December to be celebrated as Good Governance Day. Vajpayee died on 16tth August 2018 due to prolonged illness.

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 (full-time worker) in 1947. He also worked for Rashtradharma Hindi monthly, Panchjanya Hindi weekly and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun.

Vajpayee chose to stay bachelor for entire life. He adopted the daughter of longtime friend Rajkumari Kaul and BN Kaul and raised her as his own child.

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 Desai-led Janata Party coalition came to power for the first time. He became the Minister of External Affairs in cabinet of Morarji Desai. 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 Nuclear tests conducted at Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, in May 1998. Vajpayee also pushed for peace process with