ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE
From Sampath’s Desk:
ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE
(25 December 1924 – 16 August
2018)
In the departure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (93)
on 16.8.2018, one of the tallest peaks of the Himalayas has fallen ending a
great saga of accommodative and embracive politics. Only a few Indian statesmen
could match his great intellectual patriotism, visionary qualities, and
pristine and glorious political sagacity with a new all-inclusive, affable and
harmonious political culture spanning well over six decades. Making a
humble beginning as an RSS cadre, his industrious and illustrious journey from
his native environs to the Prime Minister’s office was an inspiring success
story.
The voice of a progressive and patriotic bard, a prolific writer,
and a King of vociferous oratory that he epitomized, has been sadly
silenced.
Credit goes to him for making the comity of nations look at India as a full-fledged nuclear power and a formidable global force to reckon with after the entire world saw the successful Pokhran nuclear test with awe.
At a time it was thought that all Indian elections were ‘advantage
Congress’ and that party was believed to be ‘unbeatable’ barring of course the
1977-Janata experience ending in a fiasco, he and his party burst the myth bubble by leading a
non-Congress coalition to form a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government
at the Centre, to start with for a short time, and subsequently for a full 5-year
term 1999-2004.
The hero of Pokhran-Kargil-Chandrayaan-National Highway Development
Project (NHDP) / ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ connecting major cities of the country,
‘Sarva-Shiksha Abhiyaan’ (‘SSA’ - education for all), et al, carved a niche
for himself in Indian politics as well as its inclusive growth and development
taking India to greater heights under his leadership. He strove hard for
normalizing Indo-Pak relation which was hardly reciprocated by our intransigent,
recalcitrant and cantankerous neighbour.
He was a multi-faceted and versatile personality and a blend of
both 'easy and tough'. While he was as easy as a dream of a poet in resuming ‘Samjoutha Express’ to Lahore, Pakistan, he remained as
firm as a rock and as strong as alabaster and bison in thwarting Pak’s
misadventure in Kargil seeking to take undue advantage of India’s soft
diplomacy in search of enduring peace in the sub-continent. The attempt of
Pakistan to treat India’s extending hands of friendship as its weakness and do
mischief with us was effectively thwarted.
His speeches touched newer depths of the hearts of people. He was a volcano of zeal, ocean of knowledge, Tsunami of innovative
ideas, icon of growth-centered and development-oriented initiatives, symbol of
simplicity, daring visionary, and above all, the darling of his countrymen, who laid
the foundation and prepared India to surge ahead as one of the fast
transforming world superpowers.
He was a prescient, clairvoyant, and futurist-dreamer-cum-visionary
to think ahead of time. He was a giant in his own way in the fields
he was associated with especially literature, write-ups, and oration besides
political and patriotic discourse.
He declared that his party was not dependent on a single
individual, nor was it tied to the apron strings of a family. He trumpeted, “India’s
aim was as high as the endless sky and we should have a resolve in our minds to
walk ahead, hand-in-hand; for victory will be ours.” Said he, “Victory and
defeat are a part of life, which should to be viewed with equanimity.”
He was conferred with many awards, titles, and laurels including India's highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna'.
Although Vajpayee-ji has been snatched
away from our midst and the vacuum caused by his departure is hard to fill, his
life and works will continue to inspire generations benefiting India to scale
new peaks of achievement and glory that he always dreamt of.
.
R.SAMPATH
17/8/2018
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