Atal Bihari Vajpayee Birth Anniversary

GS Paper I Contribution of Important Personalities

Context: December 25th, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is celebrated as “Good Governance Day”.

About Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

Birth: He was born on December 25, 1924, in the erstwhile princely state of Gwalior (now a part of the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh).
Death: He died on 16th August 2018 due to age-related illness.

Timeline:

1939: He became a volunteer in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
1942: He actively joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
- He joined the Quit India Movement of 1942.
1944: His activism started in Gwalior with Arya Kumar Sabha, the youth wing of the Arya Samaj movement, of which he became the general secretary in 1944.
1951: He started working for the newly founded political group Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
1968: He became the National President of the Jana Sangh, after the passing away of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
- `Jana Sangh took the form of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He served three terms as the Prime Minister of India, in 1996, 1998-1999 and 1999- 2004.
- No-Confidence Motion: On 17 April 1999, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed to win a confidence vote in the Lok Sabha just by a single vote.
- A Veteran Parliamentarian: He has been elected to the Lok Sabha nine times and to the Rajya Sabha twice, a record by itself.
- Shaper of India’s Policies: As India’s Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Chairperson of various important Standing Committees of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition, he has been an active participant in shaping India’s post-Independence domestic and foreign policy.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Worldview:

Social: Social divisions in Indian society had led to the nation becoming an easy victim of foreign aggression. He argued that the caste system fragmented Indian society, leaving only the Kshatriyas with the right to bear arms.
- Similarly, it denied almost everybody access to the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Religion: The State should not discriminate on the basis of beliefs, rather it should respect all belief systems since they were a part of society.
Economic: He ushered in an infrastructural revolution in India.
- He initiated the Delhi Metro rail as a mass transit system.
- He brought in National Highway Development Project leading to East West North South Corridor or the Golden Quadrilateral,
- He envisaged and executed the first round of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana which connected rural India greatly.
Science: He coined the slogan: ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan’.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: His Achievements and Honors

Successful Nuclear Test: In May 1998, India successfully conducted the second series of underground nuclear tests in the Pokhran in Rajasthan.
Success of Kargil War: In 1999, the Indian military launched Operation Vijay to push back Pakistani soldiers and militants who had captured positions along the Kargil sector.
Diplomatic Gesture with Pakistan: He sought to improve diplomatic relations with Pakistan by traveling to Lahore by bus to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Famous Hindi Speech in the United Nations: He was the first Indian foreign minister in the United Nations during the Janata Party government who gave a speech in Hindi to gave respect to his native language.
Bharat Ratna: Vajpayee was conferred India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 2015.
Padma Vibhushan: Vajpayee was conferred India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 1992.
Best Parliamentarian: In 1994, he was named India’s ‘Best Parliamentarian.’
Bangladesh Liberation War Honour: It is the second-highest honour of Bangladesh awarded to foreign dignitaries.