Opinion: 100 Years Of Atal Bihari Vajpayee — Former PM’s Legacy Goes Beyond Politics. Poet-Statesman’s Heart Beat For India

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior.

Source : BJP

“हार नहीं मानूंगा, रार नहीं ठानूंगा,

काल के कपाल पे लिखता मिटाता हूं

गीत नया गाता हूं

(I won’t concede,

I won’t embrace conflicts;

On time’s forehead, I write and erase;

I sing afresh)”

These golden words of poet and statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee truly reflect what he stood for. Today, the nation remembers the former prime minister on his 100th birth anniversary.

In the annals of India’s political history, Vajpayee will be remembered as one of the most remarkable post-Independence icons. A charismatic leader, he influenced Indian politics in numerous ways, inspiring and mentoring generations of politicians.

AISF, RSS And Freedom Movement 

Vajpayee started his political life with student politics, and was even briefly associated with the All India Students Federation (AISF), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Vajpayee became a swayamsevak in 1939, all of 15, drawn to the Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh (RSS) after coming into contact with Narayanrao Tarte, the then pracharak of Gwalior. He joined the Quit India Movement in 1942 at the age of 18. At the time, he was arrested by the British police and imprisoned for a month. After completing the ‘Officers Training Camp’ in Nagpur, Vajpayee became an RSS pracharak in 1947, the year India attained Independence.

Journalism To Jana Sangh

In 1947, during the turmoil of Partition, a young Vajpayee delved into journalism by joining the ‘Rashtra Dharma’, a monthly nationalist journal, as its first editor. Later, he edited Hindi broadsheets like ‘Swadesh’ and ‘Veer Arjun’, and also served as the editor of the RSS mouthpiece ‘Panchjanya’.

In 1951, Vajpayee was drafted by the RSS, along with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, to work for the newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), launched by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. He became a close aide of Mookerjee, and was appointed as Jana Sangh national secretary and party in-charge for the northern region. In 1953, Vajpayee was by Mookerjee’s side when the latter embarked on a journey to Jammu and Kashmir, defying the dubious ‘Licence-Permit Raj’. Vajpayee, who had accompanied Mookerjee up to Pathankot in Punjab, was asked by the Jana Sangh supremo to return to Delhi with a message for party karyakartas to continue the fight for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. Mookerjee died while in detention for undertaking the trip.

Three years later, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha from Balarampur in Uttar Pradesh in the 1957 Lok Sabha election. His maiden speech in the Lower House of Parliament was so impressive that the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru, while introducing the young MP to a visiting foreign dignitary, remarked, “This young man one day will become the country’s prime minister.”

Vajpayee remained a Member of Parliament for 47 years. He was elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha, and twice to the Rajya Sabha. He was elected from the Lucknow parliamentary constituency for six consecutive terms until 2009, when he retired from active politics.

His fine oratorical skills and strong organisational acumen led the Jana Sangh to national prominence. After the demise of Deendayal Upadhyay, the mantle of party leadership fell on Vajpayee’s shoulders. He became the national president of Jana Sangh in 1968.

Emergency And After 

During the Emergency, imposed in 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Vajpayee was arrested along with several other Opposition leaders. When the Emergency was lifted in 1977, an amalgamation of political parties opposed to the Emergency formed an umbrella coalition called the Janata Party, dissolving their separate identities. Jana Sangh became part of this coalition. Following the Janata Party’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections that year, Vajpayee became the external affairs minister in Morarji Desai’s government.

As the foreign minister, Vajpayee became the first Indian leader to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in Hindi. His 1977 speech at the 32nd UNGA Session focused on India’s stance on nuclear disarmament, terrorism, and reforms in the United Nations. He chose to speak in Hindi each time he addressed the UNGA.

Janata Party To BJP

In 1979, internal squabbles within the Janata Party led to Morarji Desai’s resignation as Prime Minister and the collapse of the government. Following the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, the Janata Party national executive council barred its members from being ‘dual members’ of the party and the RSS. As a result, Vajpayee, along with his erstwhile Jana Sangh colleague L.K. Advani, left the Janata Party and formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. He became the first president of the BJP.

Vajpayee built the BJP brick by brick, working in tandem with Advani and upholding the party’s guiding principles of ‘sangathan (organisation), sangharsh (struggle), and samrachana (constructiveness)’.

Riding on Vajpayee’s personal charisma, the BJP significantly improved its tally from 2 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections to 85 in 1989. In the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, the Ram Temple movement further boosted the BJP’s tally, with the saffron party winning 120 seats and becoming the principal Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Vajpayee then became the Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House.

Prime Minister Vajpayee: Leadership Redefined 

Vajpayee served as Prime Minister for three terms spanning six years. In the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party, winning 161 seats, and Vajpayee became the prime minister. However, his government lasted only 13 days as it failed to attract allies to secure a majority in the House. Instead of facing a vote of confidence, Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister. Before resigning, he told Parliament:

“Satta ka khel to chalega, sarkare aayengi..jaayengi…partiya banengi..bigadengi… Magar ye desh rahna chahiye, is desh ka loktantra amar rahna chahiye.

(The game of power will go on. Governments will come and go and parties will be born and disappear. But above all, our nation must remain, and our democracy must remain eternal.)”

After the fall of two consecutive United Front governments between 1996 and 1998, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and fresh elections were held. In the 1998 general elections, the BJP returned to power as the single-largest party, winning 182 seats, and Vajpayee became prime minister again. This time, his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government lasted for 13 months. On April 17, 1999, the Vajpayee government lost the vote of confidence by a single vote following the withdrawal of support to the NDA by the AIADMK. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA came back to power, winning a clear mandate of 303 seats, and Vajpayee was sworn in as prime minister for the third term. This time, he completed a full term, running a 24-party coalition government. With this, Vajpayee became the first non-Congress PM to complete a full term in office.

One of Vajpayee’s biggest contributions to Indian politics was making coalition politics acceptable. As Prime Minister, he possessed the rare ability to build consensus between the BJP, its coalition partners, and the Opposition benches on numerous occasions.

As Prime Minister, Vajpayee was responsible for introducing a wide range of reforms in the sectors of economy, infrastructure, telecom, information technology, and more. Additionally, he transformed India’s defence and foreign policies.

Vajpayee’s tenure — which saw a steady growth of the Indian economy at an average rate of 6% — is remembered for its rich economic legacy.

A strong proponent of a free-market economy, Vajpayee was instrumental in improving the ease of doing business, encouraging foreign direct investment, and allowing the disinvestment of loss-making Public Sector Units (PSUs). As a policymaker, he didn’t shy away from making tough decisions, even when his economic policies faced stiff resistance from the RSS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM). 

Vajpayee ushered in massive infrastructural development in India. He unveiled the ambitious Golden Quadrilateral, which connects four metropolises — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. He opened up India’s telecom sector by unveiling the National Telecom Policy in 1999, transitioning from a licence-based regime to a revenue-sharing model.

Similarly, India witnessed a major Information Technology boom during Vajpayee’s tenure. “India’s IT bellwether represented a happy confluence of Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti,” Vajpayee famously said.

Tough on terrorism, the Vajpayee government strengthened India’s anti-terror laws by passing the now-repealed Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in 2002.

Another significant achievement under Vajpayee’s premiership was India entering the elite nuclear club. During his tenure, India conducted five underground nuclear tests at Pokhran. “Our nuclear weapons are meant purely against nuclear adventures by an adversary,” Vajpayee said.

Vajpayee was also responsible for including nuclear energy as the first item for cooperation with the United States under the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP).

Pursuit Of Peace In Neighbourhood

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiative as a crusader of peace will always be remembered. “You can choose your friends, but not your neighbours,” he said. He went the extra mile to shape India’s neighbourhood diplomacy. Overcoming historical hesitations, he engaged with China and sought peace with Pakistan.

He made two attempts to improve ties with Pakistan. To establish people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan, Vajpayee flagged off a Delhi-Lahore bus service, popularly known as ‘Sada-e-Sarhad (Call of the Frontier)’, in February 1999. He himself travelled to Lahore by bus and signed the Lahore Declaration, which proposed several measures to restore confidence and normalise relations between the two countries. However, the goodwill between India and Pakistan could not last, as the Kargil War broke out.

In 2001, Vajpayee attempted to build peace with Pakistan again by inviting then Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to the Agra Summit, but the meeting ended in a deadlock.

Vajpayee firmly believed that engagement with China was a strategic necessity. He promoted economic ties between India and China and initiated efforts to resolve the long-standing border disputes between the two neighbours. During his tenure, India recognised Tibet as part of China, while China formally recognised Sikkim as part of India.

The Poet-Statesman

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, apart from being a towering statesman, was a poet of remarkable depth and sensitivity. His poetry reflected his philosophical outlook, patriotism, and deep empathy for humanity. Vajpayee’s verses were marked by simplicity, yet profound in their essence. His famous work, Meri Ekyaavan Kavitayen, not only showcased his literary talent but also revealed the contemplative side of a leader who sought solace in words amid the turbulence of politics. Through his poetry, Vajpayee left an indelible mark as a thinker, philosopher, and poet whose words continue to inspire generations.

Legacy Of Inclusiveness 

At the 2019 India Foundation Memorial Lecture on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then President Pranab Mukherjee said, “Atal ji was a great son of India. He was an inheritor and practitioner of the best traditions and qualities of leadership that India is proud of.”

Truly, Vajpayee left a lasting imprint on Indian politics. As a statesman, he set gold standards for statecraft. As a political stalwart, Vajpayee rose above ideological divides. He will always be remembered for his sophisticated inclusiveness.

Saswat Panigrahi is a senior multimedia journalist.

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