" Atal Bihari Vajpayee " (1924-2018) age 93 year

Atal Bihari Vajpayee BR (pronunciation [əʈəl bɪhaːɾiː ʋaːdʒpai]; 25 December 1924[1] – 16 August 2018)was an Indian politician who thrice served as the Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, for a period of eleven months from 1998 to 1999, and then for a full term from 1999 to 2004.

He was a member of the Indian Parliament for over four decades,having been elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, ten times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. He served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh until 2009 when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. Vajpayee was among the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh which he also headed from 1968 to 1972. He was the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

When the Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restructured the Jana Sangh into the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. He was the first Indian prime minister who was not a member of the Indian National Congress party to have served a full five-year term in office.

He was conferred India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee in 2015.The Modi government declared in 2014 that Vajpayee's birthday, 25 December, would be marked as Good Governance Day. He died on 16 August 2018 due to age related illness.

10th Prime Minister of India
In office 19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004
President	K. R. Narayanan A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Deputy	L. K. Advani
Preceded by	I. K. Gujral
Succeeded by	Manmohan Singh
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Preceded by	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	H. D. Deve Gowda
Minister of External Affairs
In office 26 March 1977 – 28 July 1979
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
Succeeded by	Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
Personal details
Born	25 December 1924 Gwalior, Gwalior State, British India (now in Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died	16 August 2018 (aged 93) New Delhi, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party(1980–2018)
Other political affiliations	Janata Party (1977–1980) Bharatiya Jana Sangh(before 1977)
Alma mater	DAV College, Kanpur (then affiliated with University of Agra)
Profession	Writer, politician, poet
Awards	Bharat Ratna 2015 Padma Vibhushan 1992
Signature

Early life and education

Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior. His grandfather, Pandit Shyam Lal Vajpayee, had migrated to Morena, Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh.His father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, was a school teacher in his hometown.[8] Vajpayee did his schooling from the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gwalior. He subsequently attended Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College) and graduated with distinction in Hindi, English and Sanskrit. He completed his post-graduation with an M.A. in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur, and was awarded a first-class degree

His activism started with Arya Kumar Sabha of Gwalior, the youth wing of the Arya Samaj, of which he became the general secretary in 1944. He also joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a swayamsevak in 1939. Influenced by Babasaheb Apte, he attended the Officers Training Camp of the RSS during 1940–44 and became a pracharak, RSS terminology for a a full-time worker, in 1947. He gave up studying law due to the partition riots. He was sent as a vistarak, a probationary pracharak, to Uttar Pradesh and quickly began working for the newspapers of Deendayal Upadhyaya, Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun.

Prime Ministership

Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India between 1996 and 2004 in three non-consecutive terms.

First term: May 1996

See also: Second Vajpayee ministry

After the fall of the two United Front governments between 1996 and 1998, the Lok Sabha was dissolved and fresh elections were held. The 1998 general elections again put the BJP ahead of others. This time, a cohesive bloc of political parties joined the BJP to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister.[28]

The NDA proved its majority in the parliament. The government lasted 13 months until mid-1999 when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under Jayalalithaa withdrew its support to the government.[29] The government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by a single vote on 17 April 1999.[30] As the Opposition was unable to come up with the numbers to form the new government, the Lok Sabha was again dissolved and fresh elections were held. Vajpayee remaining the Prime Minister until the elections were held.

Nuclear tests

In May 1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, 24 yrs after India conducted its first nuclear test (Smiling Buddha) in 1974. This test is called Pokhran-II. The tests were held just a month after the government had been in power. Two weeks later, Pakistan responded with its own nuclear tests making it the newest declared nation with nuclear weapons.

“ Today, at 15:45 hours, India conducted three underground nuclear tests in the Pokhran range. The tests conducted today were with a fission device, a low yield device and a thermonuclear device. The measured yields are in line with expected values. Measurements have also confirmed that there was no release of radioactivity into the atmosphere. These were contained explosions like the experiment conducted in May 1974. I warmly congratulate the scientists and engineers who have carried out these successful tests.[31] ”

While some nations, such as Russia and France, endorsed India's right to defensive nuclear power,[32] others including the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and the European Union imposed sanctions on information, resources and technology to India. In spite of the intense international criticism and the steady decline in foreign investment and trade, the nuclear tests were popular domestically. Effectively the international sanctions failed completely in swaying India's decision to weaponize their nuclear capability (especially as US sanctions against India and Pakistan were lifted after just six months), something that was planned for and anticipated by the Vajpayee administration.[33]

The Lahore summit

In late 1998 and early 1999, Vajpayee began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and mutual friendship and envisaged a goal of denuclearised South Asia. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations but also in South Asia and the rest of the world.

The Vajpayee-led government was faced with two crises in mid-1999. The AIADMK had continually threatened to withdraw from the coalition and national leaders repeatedly flew down from Delhi to Chennai to pacify the AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha. However, in May 1999, the AIADMK did pull the plug on the NDA, and the Vajpayee administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending fresh elections scheduled for October 1999.

Kargil War

Further information: Kargil War

It was revealed that militants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications and Pakistan Army's custom weaponry) had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley and captured control of border hilltops, unmanned border posts and were spreading out fast. The incursion was centred around the town of Kargil, but also included the Batalik and Akhnoor sectors and artillery exchanges at the Siachen Glacier.

Indian army units were swiftly rushed into Kashmir in response. Operation Vijay, launched in June 1999, saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers in the midst of heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month-long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600-4,000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well. India pushed back the Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India. Vajpayee sent a "secret letter" to US President Bill Clinton that if Pakistani infiltrators did not withdraw from the Indian territory, “we will get them out, one way or the other” - meaning he did not rule out crossing the Line of Control (LoC), or was the use of nuclear weapons.[34]

After Pakistan suffered heavy losses, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, General Musharraf was recalcitrant and Nawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC. The militants were not willing to accept orders from Sharif but the NLI soldiers withdrew. The militants were killed by the army or forced to withdraw in skirmishes which went beyond the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan. The victory in Kargil bolstered the image of Vajpayee and he was hailed across the country for his bold and strong leadership. On 26 July 2012, designated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas', BJP President Nitin Gadkari unveiled a wax statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Mumbai. The statue is to be put up at a wax museum in Lonavala.[35]

Third term: 1999–2004

See also: Third Vajpayee ministry

In the 1999 general elections, the BJP-led NDA won 303 seats out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, in the aftermath of the Kargil operations,[36] thereby securing a comfortable and stable majority. On 13 October 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time.

Indian Airlines hijack

A national crisis emerged in December 1999, when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists and flown to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.[37] The hijackers made several demands including the release of certain terrorists like Masood Azhar from prison. Under extreme pressure, the government ultimately caved in. Jaswant Singh, the Minister for External Affairs at the time, flew with the terrorists to Afghanistan and exchanged them for the passengers.

A.B.Vajpayee meeting President Bush in the White House in 2001

National highway project, foreign policy and economic reforms

Main articles: National Highways Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

During his administration, Vajpayee introduced many domestic economic and infrastructural reforms, including encouraging the private sector and foreign investments, reducing governmental waste, encouraging research and development and privatisation of some government owned corporations.[38] The UPA Government on 1 July 2013 accepted before Supreme Court that National Democratic Alliance Government led by Vajpayee has developed half the roads in last 32 years in their 5-year term.[39]

Vajpayee's pet projects were the National Highways Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

In March 2000, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, paid a state visit to India. His was the first state visit to India by a US President in 22 years. President Clinton's visit to India was hailed as a significant milestone in the relations between the two countries. Since the visit came barely two years after the Pokhran tests, and one year after the Kargil invasion and the subsequent coup in Pakistan, it was read to reflect a major shift in the post-Cold War foreign policy of the United States. The Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President discussed strategic issues, but the major achievement was a significant expansion in trade and economic ties. The Historic Vision Document on the future course of relations between the two countries was signed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton during the visit.

Domestically, the BJP-led government was under constant pressure from its ideological mentor, the RSS, and the hard-line VHP to enact the Hindutva agenda. But owing to its dependence on coalition support, it was impossible for the BJP to push items like building the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, repealing Article 370 which gave a special status to the state of Kashmir, or enacting a uniform civil code applicable to adherents of all religions. On 17 January 2000, there were reports of the RSS and some BJP hard-liners threatening to restart the Jan Sangh, the precursor to the BJP, because of their discontent over Atal Bihari Vajpayee rule. Former president of the Jan Sangh, Balraj Madhok, had written a letter to the then RSS chief, Rajendra Singh for support.[40] The BJP was, however, accused of saffronising (saffron being the colour of the flag of the RSS, symbol of the Hindu nationalism movement) the official state education curriculum and apparatus. Also, Home Minister L.K. Advani and Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi were indicted in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case for inciting a mob of activists. Vajpayee himself came under public scrutiny owing to his controversial speech one day prior to the mosque demolition.[41] The RSS also routinely criticised the government for free-market policies which introduced foreign goods and competition at the expense of 'swadeshi' industries and products.

Vajpayee's administration earned the ire of many trade unions and government workers for its aggressive campaign to privatise government owned corporations. Vajpayee promoted pro-business, free market reforms to reinvigorate India's economic transformation and expansion that were started by the former PM Narasimha Rao but stalled after 1996 due to unstable governments and the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Increased competitiveness, extra funding and support for the information technology sector and high-tech industries, improvements in infrastructure, deregulation of trade, investments and corporate laws —- all increased foreign capital investment and set in motion an economic expansion.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Russia's president Vladimir Putin

These couple of years of reform however were accompanied by infighting in the administration and confusion regarding the direction of government. Vajpayee's weakening health was also a subject of public interest, and he underwent a major knee-replacement surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to relieve great pressure on his legs.

In March 2001, the Tehelka group released the sting operation video named Operation West End showing videos of the BJP President Bangaru Laxman, senior army officers and NDA members accepting bribes from journalists posing as agents and businessmen. The Defence Minister George Fernandes was forced to resign following the Barak Missile scandal, another scandal involving the botched supplies of coffins for the soldiers killed in Kargil, and the findings of an inquiry commission that the Government could have prevented the Kargil invasion.[42]

Vajpayee again broke the ice in the Indo-Pak relations by inviting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Delhi and Agra for a joint summit and peace talks. His second major attempt to move beyond the stalemate involved inviting the man who had planned the Kargil invasions. But accepting him as the President of Pakistan, Vajpayee chose to move forward. But after three days of much fanfare, which included Musharraf visiting his birthplace in Delhi, the summit failed to achieve a breakthrough as President Musharraf declined to leave aside the issue of Kashmir.

In 2001, the Vajpayee government launched the famous Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which aimed at improving the quality of education in primary and secondary schools.

2001 attack on Parliament

On 13 December 2001, a group of masked, armed men with fake IDs stormed the Parliament House in Delhi. The terrorists managed to kill several security guards, but the building was sealed off swiftly and security forces cornered and killed the men, who were later proven to be Pakistan nationals. Coming just three months after the September 11 attacks upon the United States, this fresh escalation instantly enraged the nation. Although the Government of Pakistan officially condemned the attack, Indian intelligence reports pointed to a conspiracy rooted in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Vajpayee ordered a mobilisation of India's military forces, and as many as 500,000 servicemen amassed along the international boundary bordering Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir. Pakistan responded with the same. Vicious terrorist attacks and an aggressive anti-terrorist campaign froze day-to-day life in Kashmir, and foreigners flocked out of both India and Pakistan, fearing a possible war and nuclear exchange. For as long as two years, both nations remained perilously close to a terrible war.[43]

The Vajpayee administration also passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act against vigorous opposition of non-NDA parties. Human rights groups have condemned the act which gives wide authority to the government to crack down and hold anybody. Its repeal was advocated by human rights organisations.[44]

But the biggest political disaster hit his government between December 2001 and March 2002: the VHP held the Government hostage in a major standoff in Ayodhya over the Ram temple. At the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque, the VHP wanted to perform a shila daan, or a ceremony laying the foundation stone of the cherished temple at the disputed site. Tens of thousands of VHP activists amassed and threatened to overrun the site and forcibly build the temple. A grave threat of not only communal violence, but an outright breakdown of law and order owing to the defiance of the government by a religious organisation hung over the nation. But to the relief of Vajpayee, his government was able to tide over this crisis rather smoothly.

2002 Gujarat violence

In 2002, Hindu-Muslim violence in the state Gujarat killed more than 1,000 people. Vajpayee officially condemned the violence

Later, Vajpayee made controversial remarks: "Wherever there are Muslims in large numbers, they do not want to live in peace."[46] The remarks were clarified by the Prime Minister's Office as being taken out of context.

Vajpayee was accused of doing nothing to stop the violence, and later admitted mistakes in handling the events.[47] K. R. Narayanan, then president of India, also blamed Vajpayee's government for failing to quell the violence.[48]

Remainder of term

In late 2002 and 2003 the government pushed economic reforms, and the country's GDP growth accelerated at record levels, exceeding 6–7%. Increasing foreign investment, modernisation of public and industrial infrastructure, the creation of jobs, a rising high-tech and IT industry and urban modernisation and expansion improved the nation's international image. Good crop harvests and strong industrial expansion also helped the economy.

The government reformed the tax system, increased the pace of reforms and pro-business initiatives, major irrigation and housing schemes and so on. The political energies of the BJP shifted to the rising urban middle-class and young people, who were positive and enthusiastic about the major economic expansion and future of the country. He faced stiff opposition from other equally strong organisations in the Sangh Parivar such as the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. However, he continued with his aggressive economic reform policy.

In August 2003, he announced before the parliament his "absolute last" effort to achieve peace with Pakistan. Although the diplomatic process never truly set-off immediately, visits were exchanged by high-level officials and the military stand-off ended. The Pakistani President and Pakistani politicians, civil and religious leaders hailed this initiative as did the leaders of America, Europe and much of the world. In July 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee, visited China, and met with various Chinese leaders. He recognised Tibet as a part of China, which was welcomed by the Chinese leadership, who in the following year, recognised Sikkim, as a part of India. China–India relations improved greatly in the following years.

In November–December 2003, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three major state elections, fought mainly on development issues, without ideological campaigns. A major public relations campaign was launched to reach out to Muslims and stop the 2002 communal riots controversy from haunting the party's future. But the attention of the media and of millions now moved from Vajpayee to his more possible successor, L. K. Advani, although the question was never directly raised or contested in any way. Vajpayee's age, failing health and diminished physical and mental vigour were obvious factors in such speculation.

Advani assumed greater responsibilities in the party, and although no perceivable conflict has been known to arise between the longtime friends and political colleagues, several embarrassing statements were made. Once Vajpayee said "Advani would lead the BJP in the elections," prompting Advani to clarify that he would merely lead the election campaign, not the party. And then the BJP President Venkaiah Naidu used mythological references to depict Vajpayee as Vikas Purush (Man of Progress) and Advani as Loh Purush(Iron Man).

As the BJP prepared for general elections in 2004, Vajpayee was still the choice of the BJP and of the wider NDA, for the Prime Minister's job.

On 29 June 2002 Atal Bihari Vajpayee while dedicating his collection of poems translated in Tamil, recalled his friendship with C. N. Annadurai and claimed that he was not opposed to Hindi and appreciated Vajpayee's language skills.[49][50] Annadurai however, was against imposition of the language.

भारत रत्न अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी के प्रेरणादायक अनमोल विचार और कथन

Hindi Quote 1: आज परस्पर वैश्विक निर्भरता का मतलब है कि विकासशील देशों में आर्थिक आपदायें, विकसित देशों पर एक प्रतिक्षेप पैदा कर सकता है।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 2: आप दोस्तों को बदल सकते हैं लेकिन पड़ोसियों को नहीं।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 3: किसी भी देश को खुले आम आतंकवाद के खिलाफ वैश्विक गठबंधन के साथ साझेदारी, सहायता, उकसाना और आतंकवाद प्रायोजित करने की अनुमति नहीं दी जानी चाहिए।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 4: गरीबी बहुआयामी है यह पैसे की आय से परे शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य की देखरेख, राजनीतिक भागीदारी और व्यक्ति की अपनी संस्कृति और सामाजिक संगठन की उन्नति तक फैली हुई है।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 5: जैव विविधता सम्मेलन से दुनिया के गरीबों के लिए कोई भी ठोस लाभ नहीं निकला है।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 6: जो लोग हमें यह पूछते हैं कि हम कब पाकिस्तान के साथ वार्ता करेंगे, वे शायद इस तथ्य से वाकिफ नहीं हैं कि पिछले 55 वर्षों में पाकिस्तान के साथ बातचीत के लिए हर बार पहल भारत ने ही किया है।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 7: पहले एक दृढ विश्वास था कि संयुक्त राष्ट्र अपने घटक राज्यों की कुल शक्ति की तुलना में अधिक मजबूत होगा।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Hindi Quote 8: भारत में भारी जन भावना थी कि पाकिस्तान के साथ तब तक कोई सार्थक बातचीत नहीं हो सकती जब तक कि वो आतंकवाद का प्रयोग अपनी विदेशी नीति के एक साधन के रूप में करना नहीं छोड़ देता।
– अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी Atal Bihari Vajpayee