Atal Bihari Vajpayee Birth Anniversary: Five Quotes That Define The Poet, The Diplomat, The Politician

The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed Lahore Declaration, a bilateral agreement, on 21 February 1999. Lahore Declaration signalled a breakthrough in historically strained bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was sworn in as Prime Minister three times, had to resign the first time in just 13 days. On May 27, 1996, Vajpayee was in the Lok Sabha for a trust vote. BJP, with its 161 Members of Parliament, was woefully short of the halfway mark of 272. He was up against a trust vote that he knew he would lose so instead of losing the motion, Vajpayee chose to resign.

Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership, India successfully carried out three underground nuclear tests on May 11, 1998. Following the tests, India declared itself a nuclear weapon state.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (R) chats with Home Minister L. K. Advani (L) 19 December 2000 during an Iftar celebration hosted by the prime minister at a New Delhi hotel.

In this file photo taken on November 16, 1989 Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), takes part in campaigning in New Delhi.