Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of Indian politics

 Poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier’s drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior’s will to win. It is not the dispirited voice of dejection but the stirring shout of victory”.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the “Bhishma Pitamah” of Indian politics as described by ex-PM Manmohan Singh, made his poetry a messenger to spread his vision on various burning issues. The oratorical skill of Atalji in Lok Sabha impressed Nehruji so much that he proclaimed him the future PM of India. He had a multifaceted and versatile personality and made significant contributions to social, political, educational, literacy, and journalism.

Born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Atalji was a great statesman who dedicated his life to nationalist politics. He served as Prime Minister of India three times: once for a term of 13 days in 1986, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally for a full term from 1999 to 2004.

In 1946, Atalji took over the responsibility of being the first editor of the Hindi dainik “Rashtra Dharma,” published from Lucknow. In 1950, he became the editor of “Dainik Sandesh”. After the closure of “Sandesh” due to the financial crisis, he became the editor of Dainik “Vir Arjun” and the weekly Panchjanya,” published from Delhi. His editorials were so aspirational that readers used to first read the editorial and then any other news and views.

In 1951, he was engaged by the RSS in strengthening the newly formed right-wing political party “Jan Sangh”. Later on, he became the private secretary of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukharjee. In 1955, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha bi-election from Lucknow, which fell vacant due to the resignation of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. In 1957, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh). He served as a member of Parliament for over five decades, being elected ten times to the Lok Sabha and two times to the Rajya Sabha.

After the demise of Deen Dayal Upadhyay in 1968, he became the President of “Jan Sangh” and strengthened the Party’s roots at the national level in cooperation with Balraj Madhok, Nanaji Deshmukh, Lal Krishna Advani, and others. In 1977, the Jan Sangh was merged with the newly constituted “Janata Party”. In 1980, Jan Sangh background cadres parted ways from the Janata Party and formed a new political outfit, the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Atalji as its first President.

When the Janata Party came to power in 1977, Atalji became the Foreign Minister. He created history by addressing the United Nations in Hindi. In the 1996 general election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, and Atalji was sworn in as PM on the Westminster system, but he had to resign within 13 days as the BJP failed to muster the majority mark. In the 1998 Lok Sabha election, the BJP again became the single largest party, and this time it formed the National Democratic Alliance with 23 parties. Vajpayee took oath as PM for the second time, but due to the withdrawal of support by the AIADMK, he resigned and the Lok Sabha was dissolved. In the 1999 Lok Sabha election, the BJP-led NDA secured a comfortable majority with 303 seats out of 543, and Atalji became the PM for the third time. In 2004, the Lok Sabha was dissolved six months before the completion of its term, and the NDA was ousted from power in the general election.

During Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister, a large number of works of national and international character have been carried out. In 1988, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran to weaponize its nuclear capability. In February 1999, the Delhi-Lahore bus service was inaugurated. In May 1999, Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers of Pakistan took control of the hilltop centred around Kargil. The Indian Army recaptured the areas through “Operation Vijay”. Three new states—Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand—came up on the Indian map.

The Vajpayee Government introduced several new schemes in the infrastructure and educational sectors. The National Highway Development Project (NHDP) and Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) have been planned and implemented. In the first phase of the NHDP, a 5846-kilometre-long Golden Quadrilateral (Swarnim Chaturbhuj) for connecting four Metro cities, namely Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai, with a 4/6-lane motorway has been built. In the second phase of the NHDP, a 4000-kilometre-long North-South Corridor connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari and a 3300-kilometre-long East-West Corridor connecting Porbandar to Silchar have been constructed. PMGSY is the infrastructure plan to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. In the railway sector, seven new zones, namely East Central Railway (Hajipur), East Coast Railway (Bhubaneshwar), North Central Railway (Prayagraj), North Western Railway (Jaipur), South East Central Railway (Bilaspur), South Western Railway (Hubli), and West Central Railway (Jabalpur), were created for smooth operation. In 2001-02, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme was launched for the universalization of elementary education in a time-bound manner.

Atalji was a great educator and poet. In 1942, as an Inter student, he gained name and fame by chanting his famous poem “Hindu Tan Man Hindu Jiwan, Rag Rag Hindu MeraParichay” in his own style at Kali Charan College, Lucknow. He contributed to the literary world with his creative writings, of which some memorable ones are “Mrityu Ya Hatya”, “Amar Balidan”, “Kaidi Kavirai Ki Kundalian”, “Amar Aag Hai”, “Rajniti Ki Raptili Rahen”, “Bindu BinduVichar”, “Secularvad”, “Meri Sansadiya Yatra”, “Suvasit Pushpa”, “Sanklap Kal”, “Shakti , “Na Daityam Na Palayanam”, “Naye Chunauti Naya Awasar” and “Meri Ekyawan Kavitayen”.

Atalji was honoured as “Sarva Shreshtha Sansad” on August 17, 1994. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan on January 25, 1992, and the “Bharat Ratna”, India’s highest civilian honour, on January 25, 2014. In 2015, the Bangla Desh Government honoured him with the “Friends of the Bangla Desh Liberation War Award”.

Atalji had the knack of building great friendships across political divides. He was a thinker, editor, poet, fearless writer, and nationalist who used to inspire people. He breathed his last on August 16, 2018, after a year-long illness. Atalji will always be memorable for the Indian masses, as he has enlightened the path of Indian politics for nearly half a decade through his merit, constructive leadership, nationalist vision, strong willpower, political proficiency, and popularity.