Era Of Atal Ends: The Shining Knight

Isey mitane ki saazish karney waloan se keh do, chingari ka khel bura hota hai
Auron ke ghar aag laganey ka jo sapna, woh apney hi hhar mein sadaa khara hota hai

These lines from a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee summarise the stuff he was made of. A man of tough resolve who didn't flinch from warning Pakistan not to play the dangerous game of terrorism as it would one day burn its own house.

He never shirked from taking bold decisions, be it conducting nuclear explosion or inviting Parvez Musharraf for a summit immediately after Kargil War.
Adored for his extempore speeches, Vajpayee left an imprint on politics almost as soon as he was chosen as an MP in the second Lok Sabha in 1957 from Balrampur.

A parliamentarian at 33, he was noticed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for his argumentation and oration, and the ability to question the government. It is said that Nehru once introduced a young Vajpayee to a foreign dignitary, stating that he would one day become the Prime Minister, a prophecy that came true in 1996. He worked tirelessly for decades to bring his party from virtual non-existence to power and never shirked from taking bold decisions.

Vajpayee had a strange love-hate relationship with the Congress. Known to be a severe critic of Nehru, especially on China and Kashmir policies, Vajpayee also adored him for his nationalist policies. People close to him remember that despite referring to Nehru as having a "split personality", he wept like a child on hearing the news of his death.

Days later, Vajpayee delivered a eulogy for Nehru in Parliament and compared him to the most hallowed of all Indian heroes, Rama: 'Like Ram, Nehru was the orchestrator of the impossible and inconceivable. He was also not afraid of compromise but would never compromise under duress."

Despite being at the helm of the right-wing BJP, Vajpayee was known to have a secular mindset of his own, which often reflected in his out-of-the-box outreach efforts. His charm led former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif to remark that Vajpayee can win an election even in Pakistan.

Many would recall how during the 2002 Gujarat riots, he admonished the then chief minister Narendra Modi for failing to perform rajdharma.

Remembering Vajpayee, his media advisor HK Dua said, "Once I asked him, 'Why are you trying so hard to solve the Kashmir issue with Pakistan,' to which he said, 'because after me, my party will not be able to do it'."

Vajpayee started his career as a journalist and his liking for the profession lasted till the very end. He would often meet journalists in the corridors of Parliament and ask them "Partner, kya khabar kar rahe ho?"

Born on December 25, 1924 to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee in Gwalior, Vajpayee got his poetic skills from his father, who was a poet and a schoolmaster.

He completed his post-graduation in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur with a first-class degree. Vajpayee joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1939 and became a full-time pracharak in 1947. In 1951, the RSS tasked Vajpayee to work for newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Thereafter, his rise was meteoric, culminating in his premiership, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, a second time for a period of eleven months from 1998 to 1999, and then from 1998 to 2004.

Secular Mindset

• Despite being at the helm of the right-wing BJP, Vajpayee was known to have a secular mindset, which reflected in his out-of-the-box outreach efforts. 
• Despite being at the helm of the right-wing BJP, Vajpayee was known to have a secular mindset of his own.