Making India a nuclear power is considered one of Vajpayee's greatest achievement.
Statesman and pragmatist, orator and poet, a man of peace and conviction. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a towering nationalist who softened the often sharp edge of his party's politics with sophisticated inclusiveness, earning him the sobriquet "ajaat shatru" or the man with no enemies.
The first prime minister from a non-Congress party to complete a full term in office, Vajpayee began shakily -- his first stint as prime minister in 1996 lasted only 13 days when his unlikely coalition government failed to get support from other parties. The BJP-led coalition government came back to power in 1998, and this time Vajpayee stayed in office for 13 months before losing a no-confidence motion by one vote.
During his second term as prime minister, Vajpayee ordered nuclear tests in May 1998 in a strategic masterstroke to blunt Pakistan's nuclear ambitions while at the same time announcing a moratorium on future testing. He followed this up with peace overtures to Pakistan, riding on the first direct bus from India to Pakistan in February 1999.
To celebrate his legacy, we'd asked Twitter users what they considered Vajpayee's greatest legacy.
We asked: "What will you remember Atal Bihari Vajpayee the most for?" Here are the results:
57% Pokhran Nuclear Tests
20% Leadership during Kargil
8% Peace intiaitive with Pakistan
15% Able coalition leader
India under the governance of Vajpayee had witnessed major historic events like in May 1998, India conducted underground nuclear tests in Rajasthan's Pokhran desert. The tests were held just a month after the government had been in power.
Describing Vajpayee’s N-push, PM Modi had written: “Atal Ji irreversibly changed India’s place in the world. He overcame the hesitation of our nation, the resistance of the world and threat of isolation to make India a nuclear weapons power. It was not a decision he took lightly, but one he knew was of paramount importance in the face of mounting challenges to India’s security. No longer would India’s security be vulnerable. At that moment of surge in national pride, his was a voice of restraint and responsibility.”
The victory of three-month-long Kargil War bolstered the image of Vajpayee and he was hailed across the country for his bold and strong leadership.
A vocal politician on the issue of Kashmir, Vajpayee made sincere efforts to normalise relations between India and Pakistan. He travelled to Pakistan on Delhi-Lahore Bus Service in its inaugural run on February 19, 1999 to attend the Lahore Summit.
Vajpayee was received at Wagah by then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. However, the warmth and bonhomie of this was shortlived as just three months later in May, the Pakistani Army led by its then chief Pervez Musharraf, orchestrated an attack on India in Kargil sector without the knowledge of Sharif to sabotage India-Pakistan relations. In 2016, Sharif conceded that intrusion in Kargil by Pakistan was an act of 'backstabbing' Vajpayee who had extended hand for friendship.
Later, at the Agra Summit with Musharraf in 2001, Vajpayee stood firm on his position and refused to make compromises to save relations on the issue of Kashmir. His tough stand eventually saw Musharraf going back empty handed as the talks had failed.
Vajpayee was conferred the nation's highest civilian honour -- Bharat Ratna -- by the President of India in 2014. Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi government in 2014 declared Vajpayee's birthday, 25 December, as 'Good Governance Day'.
In his personal life, Vajpayee was a versatile poet and a writer. He was fond of food, Indian music, dance and loved nature. One of his favourite retreats was Manali in Himachal Pradesh. About this, Vajpayee said: "My poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier's drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior's will to win. It is not the dispirited voice of dejection but the stirring shout of victory."
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 "Abdul Kalam with Vajpayee")
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