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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