Atal Bihari Vajpayee (born 25 December 1924) is an Indian statesman who was the eleventh Prime Minister of

India, first for 13 days in 1996 and then from 1998 to 2004. A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he is the
first Prime Minister from outside theIndian National Congress party to serve a full five-year term.
A parliamentarian for over four decades, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's
Parliament) nine times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha (upper house). He also served as the Member of
Parliament for Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, until 2009, when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. He
was also the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Morarji Desai. When Janata government collapsed,
Vajpayee restarted the Jana Sangh as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.
On 25 December 2014 the office of President of India announced the Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian
honour, to Vajpayee. His birthday, 25 December, was declared "Good Governance Day"

Early life and education[edit]

Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in a middleclass Brahmin family

in Gwalior.

His

grandfather,

Pandit

Shyam

Lal

Vajpayee,

had

migrated

to Morena, Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, was
a poet and a schoolmaster in his hometown. Vajpayee studied from the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gorkhi, Bara,
Gwalior Vajpayee attended Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College) and graduated with distinction
in Hindi, English and Sanskrit. He completed his post-graduation with an M.A. in Political Science from Dayanand
Anglo-Vedic College, Kanpur, and was awarded a first-class degre
Early political career (19421975)[edit]
Vajpayee's first exposure to politics was in August 1942, when he and his elder brother Prem were arrested for 23
days during the Quit India movement, when he was released only after giving a written undertaking, expressly

declaring not to participate in any of the anti-British struggle and naming the underground leaders, leading the 'Quit
India Movement'.[7]
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. Vajpayee was with Mookerjee when he went on a fastunto-death in Kashmir to protest against perceived inferior treatment of non-Kashmiri Indian visitors to the state.
Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, from Balrampur. There, his oratorial
skills so impressed Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he predicted that Vajpayee would someday become India's
Prime Minister.[8
As prime minister of India (1996 to 2004)
Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India from 1996 to 2004 in three non-consecutive terms.
First term: May 1996
The BJP grew in strength in the early 1995s riding on pro nationalistic sentiments. In the 1996 general elections, the
BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha. 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.
Second term: 19981999[edit
After the fall of the two United Front governments between 1996 and 1998, the Lok Sabha was dissolved and fresh
elections were held. The 1998 general elections again put the BJP ahead of others. This time, 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.[13]
nuclear tests[edit]
In May 1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, 24 yrs after India
conducted its first nuclear test Pokhran-I in 1974. This test is calledPokhran-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.
While some nations, such as Russia and France, endorsed India's right to defensive nuclear power, [15] others
including the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and theEuropean Union imposed sanctions on information,
resources and technology to India
The Lahore summit[edit]
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 and envisaged a

goal of denuclearised South Asia. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two
nations but also in South Asia and the rest of the world.
Kargil War[edit]
Prime Minister Vajpayee flashes the V sign after the Parliamentary elections in which his coalition emerged the
victors. His handling of the Kargil crisis is believed to have played a big part in garnering the votes.
It was revealed that militants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications and Pakistan
Army's custom weaponry) 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. With news of Pakistan planning to launch a nuclear attack in the face of a loss in the war with
India, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was summoned to the US by Bill Clinton and warned against any
such action.
After Pakistan suffered heavy losses, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or
threaten India to stop its military operations, General Musharraf was recalcitrant and Nawaz Sharif asked the
remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC. The militants were not willing to accept orders
from Sharif but the NLI soldiers withdrew.[15] The militants were killed by the army or forced to withdraw in
skirmishes which went beyond the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan. The victory in Kargil bolstered the
image of Vajpayee and he was hailed across the country for his bold and strong leadership. In 26 July 2012,
designated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas', BJP President Nitin Gadkari unveiled a wax statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
Mumbai. The statue is to be put up at a wax museum in Lonavala. [17]
Third term: 19992004
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,[18] thereby securing a comfortable and stable majority. On 13 October 1999, Atal
Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time.
Indian Airlines hijack[edit]
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-ruledAfghanistan.[19] The hijackers made several demands including
the release of certain terrorists like Maulana 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.

National highway project, foreign policy and economic reforms[edit]

Main articles: National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
During his administration, Vajpayee introduced many domestic economic and infrastructural reforms, including
encouraging the private sector and foreign investments, reducing governmental waste, encouraging research and
development and privatisation of some government owned corporations. [20] The UPA Government on July 1, 2013
accepted before Supreme Court that National Democratic Alliance Government lead by Vajpayee has developed
half the roads in last 32 years in their 5 year term. [21]
Vajpayee's pet projects were the National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
2001 attack on Parliament[edit]
Main article: 2001 Indian Parliament attack
On 13 December 2001, a group of masked, armed men with fake IDs stormed the Parliament building in Delhi. The
terrorists managed to kill several security guards, but the building was sealed off swiftly and security forces
cornered and killed the men, who were later proven to be Pakistan nationals. Coming just three months after
the September 11 attacks upon the United States, this fresh escalation instantly enraged the nation. Although
the 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 Terrorist 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. [25]
Vajpayee was referred to as the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during
his speech in the Rajya Sabha.[35]
Vajpayee was hospitalised at AIIMS for chest infection and fever on 6 February 2009. He was put on ventilator
support as his condition worsened but he eventually recuperated and was later discharged. [36] Unable to participate in
the campaign for the 2009 general election due to his poor health, he wrote a letter urging voters to back the BJP.
His protege Lalji Tandon was able to retain the Lucknow seat even though the NDA suffered electoral reverses all
over the country.
Personal life and interests[edit]
Vajpayee has an adopted daughter, Namita. He is fond of Indian music and dance. He loves nature and one of his
favourite retreats is Manali in Himachal Pradesh.[38]

Vajpayee has said about his poetry, "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 despirited voice of
dejection but the stirring shout of victory."[39]
Health issues[edit]
Vajpayee underwent knee replacement surgery at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai in 2001. He suffered a stroke
in 2009 which impaired his speech.[40] 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. 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 Institute of Medical Sciences.[41]
Not many people visit him these days. The only regular visitors are N M Ghatate, Vajpayee's friend of nearly six
decades, Advani and B C Khanduri, who come to sit by his side or ask his daughter about his health. Dr. Manmohan
Singh makes regular inquiries about his health and never misses wishing Vajpayee personally on his birthday.