Facts Short Biography of Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Facts Short Biography of Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Below is the short Biography of Former Prime Minister of Indian Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Important facts about Biography of Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was thrice elected the prime minister between 1996 and 1999

Name – Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Born – 25 December 1924 in British India
Birth Place – Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Country – India
Height – 168 cm
Eye Color – Black
Father -Krishna Bihari Vajpayee
Mother -Krishna Devi
Brother – Prem
religion: Hindu
Founder/Co-Founder: Jana Sangh
Profession – Politics, Politician

Family and Education –
Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior. His grandfather, Pandit Shyam Lal Vajpayee, had migrated to Morena, Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh.

Vajpayee did his schooling from the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gorkhi, Bara, Gwalior. Vajpayee attended Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College) and graduated in Hindi, English and Sanskrit. 

Vajpayee completed his post-graduation with an M.A. in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur
Married – Vajpayee never married and has remained a bachelor his entire life.
Vajpayee has an adopted daughter, Namita. one of his favorite retreats is Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

Profession and Career -
Political Parties Organizations -  Arya Samaj, Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Jan Sangh, BJP
Vajpayee joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a swayamsevak in 1939.
Vajpayee attended the Officers Training Camp of the RSS during 1940–44 and became a "full-time worker" in 1947, technically a pracharak.

He was sent as a vistarak (probationary pracharak) to Uttar Pradesh and quickly began working for the newspapers of Deendayal Upadhyaya, Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun.

His activism started with Arya Kumar Sabha of Gwalior, the youth wing of the Arya Samaj, of which he became the general secretary in 1944.

Year 1948 -
In 1948, the RSS was banned for its alleged role in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1951, he was seconded by the RSS, along with Deendayal Upadhyaya, to work for the newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a Hindu right-wing political party associated with the RSS. He was appointed as a national secretary of the party in charge of the Northern region, based in Delhi. He soon became a follower and aide of party leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
In 1957, Vajpayee lost to Raja Mahendra Pratap in Mathura for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament of India, but was elected from Balrampur.
By virtue of his oratorical and organizational skills, he became the face of the Jana Sangh. After the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya, the mantle of the leadership of Jana Sangh fell on the shoulders of a young Vajpayee. He became the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 and, along with Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and L. K. Advani, led the Jana Sangh to national prominence.

From 1975 to 1977, Vajpayee was arrested along with several other opposition leaders during the Internal Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress party.

Following Janata's victory in the 1977 general elections, he became the Minister of External Affairs in Prime Minister Morarji Desai's cabinet.
Year 1979 – Janata Government Crumbled.
The Janata Party was dissolved soon after Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister in 1979.

Year 1980 -
Vajpayee joined many of his Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh colleagues, particularly his long-time friends L. K. Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to form the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. He became the BJP's first President.
The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections. During this period, Vajpayee remained at the centre-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament.

Babri Mosque Demolition and Ram Temple Movement
The BJP The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and which sought to build a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in Ayodhya.
During a BJP conference in Bombay in November 1995, BJP President L. K. Advani declared that Vajpayee would become the Prime Minister of India. The BJP won in the May 1996 parliamentary elections.
Home Minister L.K. Advani and Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi were indicted in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case for inciting a mob of activists. Vajpayee himself came under public scrutiny owing to his controversial speech one day prior to the mosque demolition

Vajpayee Prime Minister of India -
In the 1996 general elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha. The then president Shankar Dayal Sharma invited Vajpayee to form the government. Vajpayee was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister of India, but the BJP failed to muster enough support from other parties to obtain a majority. He resigned after 13 days, when it became clear that he could not garner a majority.

1998 - BJP learned lesson from 1996 and form a coalition goverment.a cohesive bloc of political parties joined the BJP to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister.

May 1998 - India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, 24 yrs after India conducted its first nuclear test (Smiling Buddha) in 1974. This test is called Pokhran-II. The tests were held just a month after the government had been in power. Two weeks later, Pakistan responded with its own nuclear tests making it the newest declared nation with nuclear weapons. the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and the European Union imposed sanctions on information, resources and technology to India.
US sanctions against India and Pakistan were lifted after just six months

In late 1998 and early 1999, Vajpayee began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and mutual friendship
The NDA proved its majority in the parliament. The government lasted 13 months until mid-1999 when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under Jayalalithaa withdrew its support to the government.

The  government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on 17 April 1999. Vajpayee remained the Prime Minister until the elections were held.
Vajpayee administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending fresh elections scheduled for October 1999.

1999 – Kargil War

Pakistani Militants had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley and captured control of border hilltops, unmanned border posts and were spreading out fast. The incursion was centred around the town of Kargil, but also included the Batalik and Akhnoor sectors and artillery exchanges at the Siachen Glacier.

Indian army units were swiftly rushed into Kashmir in response. Operation Vijay, launched in June 1999, saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers in the midst of heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month-long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600-4,000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well.

India pushed back the Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India.

Vajpayee sent a "secret letter" to US President Bill Clinton that if Pakistani infiltrators did not withdraw from the Indian territory, “we will get them out, one way or the other”

In the 1999 general elections, the BJP-led NDA won 303 seats out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, in the aftermath of the Kargil operations, thereby securing a comfortable and stable majority. On 13 October 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India

Indian Airlines High Jack -
A national crisis emerged in December 1999, when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists and flown to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The hijackers made several demands including the release of certain terrorists like Masood Azhar from prison. Under extreme pressure, the government ultimately caved in. Jaswant Singh, the Minister for External Affairs at the time, flew with the terrorists to Afghanistan and exchanged them for the passengers.

Vajpayee's weakening health was also a subject of public interest, and he underwent a major knee-replacement surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to relieve great pressure on his legs.

In March 2001, the Tehelka group released the sting operation video named Operation West End showing videos of the BJP President Bangaru Laxman, senior army officers and NDA members accepting bribes from journalists posing as agents and businessmen. The Defence Minister George Fernandes was forced to resign following the Barak Missile scandal, another scandal involving the botched supplies of coffins for the soldiers killed in Kargil, and the findings of an inquiry commission that the Government could have prevented the Kargil invasion.

Vajpayee again broke the ice in the Indo-Pak relations by inviting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Delhi and Agra for a joint summit and peace talks. His second major attempt to move beyond the stalemate involved inviting the man who had planned the Kargil invasions. But accepting him as the President of Pakistan, Vajpayee chose to move forward. But after three days of much fanfare, which included Musharraf visiting his birthplace in Delhi, the summit failed to achieve a breakthrough as President Musharraf declined to leave aside the issue of Kashmir
2001 – Attack on Parliament

On 13 December 2001, a group of masked, armed men with fake IDs stormed the Parliament House in Delhi. The terrorists managed to kill several security guards, but the building was sealed off swiftly and security forces cornered and killed the terrorist

Government of Pakistan officially condemned the attack, Indian intelligence reports pointed to a conspiracy rooted in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Vajpayee ordered a mobilisation of India's military forces, and as many as 500,000 servicemen amassed along the international boundary bordering Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir. Pakistan responded with the same. Vicious terrorist attacks and an aggressive anti-terrorist campaign froze day-to-day life in Kashmir, and foreigners flocked out of both India and Pakistan, fearing a possible war and nuclear exchange. For as long as two years, both nations remained perilously close to a terrible war.

The Vajpayee administration also passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act against vigorous opposition of non-NDA parties. Human rights groups have condemned the act which gives wide authority to the government to crack down and hold anybody. Its repeal was advocated by human rights organisations.

But the biggest political disaster hit his government between December 2001 and March 2002: the VHP held the Government hostage in a major standoff in Ayodhya over the Ram temple. At the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque, the VHP wanted to perform a shila daan, or a ceremony laying the foundation stone of the cherished temple at the disputed site. Tens of thousands of VHP activists amassed and threatened to overrun the site and forcibly build the temple. A grave threat of not only communal violence, but an outright breakdown of law and order owing to the defiance of the government by a religious organisation hung over the nation. But to the relief of Vajpayee, his government was able to control the VHP which belongs to same family RSS.

Year 2002 -
In 2002, Hindu-Muslim violence in the Gujarat state killed more than 1,000 people. Vajpayee officially condemned the violence.
Later, Vajpayee made controversial remarks: "Wherever there are Muslims in large numbers, they do not want to live in peace. The remarks were clarified by the Prime Minister's Office as being taken out of context. Vajpayee was accused of doing nothing to stop the violence, and later admitted mistakes in handling the events. K. R. Narayanan, then president of India, also blamed Vajpayee's government for failing to quell the violence.

In July 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee, visited China, and met with various Chinese leaders. He recognised Tibet as a part of China, which was welcomed by the Chinese leadership, who in the following year, recognised Sikkim, as a part of India. China–India relations improved greatly

As the BJP prepared for general elections in 2004, Vajpayee was still the choice of the BJP and of the wider NDA, for the Prime Minister's job.

The NDA was widely expected to retain power after the 2004 general election. The 13th Lok Sabha had been dissolved before the completion of its term to capitalise on the perceived 'feel-good factor' and BJP's recent successes in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The BJP hoped to capitalise on the slogan "India Shining" and released many ads touting the economic growth of the nation.

However, the coalition lost almost half of its seats, with several prominent cabinet ministers being defeated. The Indian National Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi, became the single largest party and, along with many minor parties, formed the United Progressive Alliance. With the conditional support of the leftist parties from the outside, the UPA formed a government under Manmohan Singh.

Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister .Accepting moral responsibility for the defeat, he decided not to take up the position of the Leader of the Opposition and passed on the leadership mantle to L. K. Advani. However, he retained his post as Chairman of the NDA.

Vajpayee and Travels -
Vajpayee has visited several countries, first in 1965 as a member of the Parliamentary Goodwill Mission to East Africa. He was also part of the Parliamentary Delegations to Australia in 1967, the European Parliament in 1983, and Canada in 1987. He was part of the official Indian Delegation to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meetings held in Canada in 1966 and 1994, Zambia in 1980, and the Isle of Man in 1984. He was in the Indian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, Japan in 1974, Sri Lanka in 1975; and Switzerland in 1984. He was a regular at the UN General Assembly, having been part of the Indian Delegations in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996. He led the Indian Delegation to the Human Rights Commission Meeting at Geneva in 1993 and the Delegation of Standing Committees of External Affairs to Gulf countries i.e. Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

In December 2005, Vajpayee announced his retirement from active politics, declaring that he would not contest in the next general election.

Books written by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
National Integration (1961)
Dynamics of an Open Society(1977)
New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy (1979)
Heal the Wounds: Vajpayee's appeal on Assam tragedy to the Parliament (1983)
Kucha Lekha, Kucha Bhashana (1996)
Sekyularavada: Bharatiya Parikalpana (Da. Rajendra Prasada Smaraka Vyakhyanamala) (1996)
Bindu-Bindu Vicara (1997)
Rajaniti ki Rapatili Rahem(1997)
Back to Square One(1998)
Decisive Days (1999)
Sakti Se Santi(1999)
Vicara-Bindu (Hindi Edition, 2000)
Nayi Chunauti, Naya Avasara (Hindi Edition, 2002)
India's Perspectives on ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Region(2003)

Poetry
Meri Ikyavana Kavitaem(1995)
Meri Ikyavana Kavitaem (Hindi Edition, 1995)
Sreshtha Kabita(1997)
Nayi Disha – An Album with Jagjit Singh (1995)
Kya Khoya Kya Paya: Atal Bihari Vajapeyi, Vyaktitva Aur Kavitaem (Hindi Edition, 1999)
Samvedna – An Album with Jagjit Singh (1995)
Twenty-One Poems (2003)

Awards Won by Atal Bihari Vajpayee -
He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1992.
He was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Award in 1994.
He received the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994.
He was honoured with India's highest civilian award - the Bharat Ratna - in 2015.

Vajpayee Health Problems -
Vajpayee underwent knee replacement surgery at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai in 2001.
He suffered a stroke in 2009 which impaired his speech.
His health has been a major source of concern and those in the know say he is often confined to a wheelchair and fails to recognise people.
He is said to be suffering from dementia and long-term diabetes.
The 93-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch, a diabetic, has only one functional kidney.
He is not known to have attended any public event in recent years. He rarely ventures out of the house, except for checkups at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.

93-year-old Mr Vajpayee, who was India's 10th Prime Minister, was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, chest congestion and urine output on the lower side.

August 16,2018 -
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s condition has worsened over last 24 hours, the AIIMS said today.Vajpayee, who has been admitted at AIIMS for the last nine weeks, has been put on life support system, the hospital said in a statement.
Below is Photo of Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Reality views by sm -

Thursday,August 16, 2018

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