BIOGRAPHY OF ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a mass leader and Indian prime minister who served his tenure for a period of 16 days in 1996 , a period of 13 months from 1998-1999 and followed by a full term from 1999-2004. He was a member of Bhartiya Jana Sangh and was the first prime minister who was not from Indian national congress to serve a full term. He was a member of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a co –founder of Bhartiya Janta party. He was born on 25th December 1924 and his political career lasted for around nine decades. He died on 16th august 2018.
Atal was born at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He was born to Krishna Vajpayee and Krishna Devi. He studied at Saraswati shishu vidya mandir and went on to pursue graduation in English, Hindi and Sanskrit from Gwalior Victoria College. He did his post-graduation in political science from DAV College, Kanpur. He went to Law College but later left due to partition communal violence and riots in 1947.
CAREER AND POLITICAL REIGN
His career is landmark to major distinctions. He was a prominent member of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Initially he joined the organisation as a volunteer worker but later got promoted to a full time worker. He had worked in several newspaper like Panchjanya, Rastra dharma, veer Arjun and Swadesh as a full time worker. As a worker in RSS, he got majorly influenced by the quit India freedom movement in 1942, which eventually led to the end of British colonial rule. Apart from that, he had particular interest in journalism but was unable to pursue it since he joined Bhartiya Janata Sangh which is known as Bhartiya Janta party today.
To be precise he was appointed as national secretary in northern region which was Delhi based and later due to demise of Deendayal upadhya, he was made the president of the party in 1968. He was a goal oriented politician who used his political oratory skills to improve party’s policies. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is known as veteran parliamentarian as he was elected 9 times to the lok Sabha (lower house ) and 2 times to Rajya Sabha(upper house).
Vajpayee’s journey as prime minister is quite remarkable. He became 10th prime minister of India. He became prime minister for 3 consecutive times. In 1996, his party Bhartiya janta party wasn’t able to form majority in lok Sabha, so his tenure lasted for 16 days. Thereafter, Vajpayee resigned. In 1998, his second term as a prime minister began which led to the formation of national democratic alliance. This tenure lasted for 13 months. Finally, in 1999 he led the government for a period of proper 5 years up to 2004.
After Jawahar lal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the second prime minister to have 2 successful mandates.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Atal Bihari Vajpayee has remarkable contributions not only as a prime minister but also as resourceful parliamentarian. He was the foreign minister before becoming the prime minister and chairpersons of various standing committees in parliament. He had also played a major role in shaping domestic policies by being an active leader of opposition,
Under his leadership, Pokhran-II nuclear test was successful. He was a constant supporter of social equality and worked for the upliftment of women and children in general. He had always believed in improvement of civilisation. One of his basic objective was to rejuvenate, reutilise, renew and modernise.
He had also played a role in resolving India – Pak Kashmir issues. In long run, he helped in developing India’s economy and advancement of IT sectors in India.
CRITICISM AND PERSONAL LIFE
With the number of achievements, there were several criticism that followed him. Among them were biasedness for the people in majority in terms of economy. Secondly, he was criticised because of the way he handled the Gujarat riots occurred in 2002. Moreover, during the start of his tenure, the government disinvested majority of funds from state run public industries. In 2004, the coalition government led by Vajpayee was defeated and he officially declared retirement from active politics in 2005.
His personal life was quite simple. He never got married and remained bachelor throughout his life. He adopted the daughter of his friends, Rajkumari kaul and prof. B.N Kaul. His daughter name was Namita Bhattacharya.
Apart from his political achievements, Vajpayee was a renowned poet as well. His renowned works include ‘kaidi kaviraj ki kundalian’ (a poem that he had composed during his imprisonment time in 1975-77) and ‘Amar aag hai ‘.
Keeping in mind the selfless service provided by Atal Bihari Vajpayee towards his country, he was conferred Bharat Ratna (highest civilian honour) in 2014. He served and devoted more than 50 years to the country. He was also named as best parliamentarian in 1994.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an eminent mass leader. He worked and devoted his life for the development and integration of the country. Apart from this, he was a social worker, who constantly pushed stereotypical mind set for reformation. His numerous works led an example of his multiple positivism. His commitment for the country reflected the aspiration of masses.
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