End of 'Atal' era

Former Prime Minister and one of the towering figures of Indian politics Atal Bihar Vajpayee passed away due to multiple organs failure at Delhi's AIIMS hospital on August 16. 93 years old Bharatiya Janta Party stalwart was a diabetic and had only one functional kidney. He suffered a stroke in 2009 that weakened his cognitive abilities.

The 3 times Prime Minister from 1996 to 2004 was not active in politics since last one decade. Vajpayee, who was one of the founder members of the ruling BJP, had journeyed as long as 6 decades as active politicians. During his Prime Ministerial regime, India had witnessed some major events.

Despite pressure from USA and other countries, Vajpayee allowed scientists to conduct historical underground nuclear tests in Pokhran desert in India’s state Rajasthan in 1998.

Coincidently, the relationship between India and Pakistan had witnessed the highest point and lower most point as well. Vajpayee with his the then Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had signed historical Lahore summit in 1998-99. The two neighbours had seen unprecedented friendship as Vajpayee started a full-scale diplomatic peace process with the inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999.

The BJP leader had also coined an affective formula to resolve long standing Kashmir Issue- Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat And Jamhuriyat which literally means-interest of Kashmiris, humanity and democracy. Even, during army rule of General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, Vajpayee had continued the peace process with Islamabad.

Media reports suggests, that the then Indian PM Vajpayee and Pakistani President Musharraf had almost reached to a formula to resolve Kashmir issue in India’s city Agra but the Kargil war played spoiler.

When militant infiltration in J&K’s Kargil came to light, Vajpayee had gave free had to Indian Army to recapture the hilly camps from Pakistani intruders. The victory of Kargil in 1999 had added the popularity of towering leader Vajpayee.

The Indian stalwart had also broken the ice in Indo-US relation post nuclear test. In March 2000, US President Bill Clinton paid a state visit to India. This was the first state visit to India by a US President in 22 years. The US and India mutually had decided the expansion in trade and economic ties and they agreed to lay a foundation of strong relation between two democratic countries.

Vajpayee who himself was big critic of the then ruling party Congress, had once admired Indira Gandhi calling her an incarnation of Goddess Durga.

The Indian stalwart is also known for his secular Ideology. Despite his party is a Right wing, he never took hard line on communal front. During infamous Babri Mosque demolition 1992, he did not try to take mileage in fact he was among only very few Right Wing politicians who condemned the mosque destruction. Vajpayee surprised his political companions, when he publically reminded ‘Raj Dharma’- duty of a king to the then Chief Minister of Indian state Gujarat Narendra Modi.

The journo-cum-politician had spent 40 long years in Opposition as well. The seasoned leader had a kind of magnetic character that won the praises across political outfits. Once India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had predicted that one day Vajpayee will be the PM of India. The legacy of Vajpayee is indeed incredible as he was ideal not for his party members but also for leaders of Opposition parties.   

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader had entered in political circle during Quit India Movement 1942, when he was arrested for 23 days by the British government.

Post-Independence, he had been appointed national general secretary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in early 1950s. In 1957, Vajpayee lost to Raja Mahendra Pratap in Mathura in the Lower House of Parliament of India, but was elected from Balrampur constituency.

He is also remembered for his clean politics. He had lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion in the Parliament by a single vote 17 April 1999. The incident had set a great example of value based politics.

Meanwhile, the statesman has left a vacuum in Indian Politics circle which would be tough to fill by next generation politicians. The veteran will be also missed for his mesmerising poems and speeches.