MY OBITUARY TO VAJPAYEE

I Grew Up Seeing Vajpayee’s High Sense of Dignity and Openness as Opposed to the Degradation in Politics Today….

History must judge Vajpayee by what he achieved against odds--at home and in the neighbourhood.

What he achieved has been to hold not only the party but the whole nation together with his own sense of discipline of inclusiveness. He was secular by heart and he also expected it from everyone to respect secular ideology. He was against Hindu Muslim or communal discrimination. He never allowed this Hindu Muslim debate in the name of hindutva as we have today. So much of communal poison due to fanaticism vitiating the nation today we never had before. True it all started with LK Advani who steered the communal chariot creating the cloud of dusty hatred from Somnath Mandir to Babri Masjid.

Vajpayee’s moderate approach was conspicuously visible right from the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and during the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002.

He managed to maintain a distance from the hardcore Hindutva ideology of the BJP and its ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), being part of both while speaking his mind.

Though no BJP leader expressed regret for the demolition of the mosque by hundreds of karsevaks, Vajpayee termed it "unfortunate" and said it "should not have happened"........ "We tried to prevent it, but we could not succeed," he said.

In 2002, days after the communal riots in Gujarat, Prime Minister Vajpayee famously told then chief minister Narendra Modi he must follow his "raj dharma" of ensuring no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or religion.

The Gujarat riots were one of the reasons why Vajpayee could not retain power in the general elections two years later.

It was his human side above party politics and party ideology. It was because of inclusive humanitarianism and undaunted courage to condemn what was petty and lewd made Vajpayee a most popular leader after Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru.

He had differences with Nehru. He was very upset over Nehru's approach towards China and he expressed his disagreement vociferously. But he was never ever personal unlike we see in today’s politics wherein  battery of forces have been created by political parties assisted by their leaders for lewd personal attacks.

We never saw him being arrogant and rude. He would meet everyone with his winning smile and inimitable sense of humour. He was easily accessible and approachable to Press. He loved sharing his mind with Press on any issue without any inhibition --  formally as well as informally even in the corridors of parliament. Vajpayee was an honest soul to the core. I really wonder how could things change today that BJP is not willing to listen to criticism, answer those who are raising questions on issues affecting the nation and on the contrary promoting or patronising flatterers. PMO openly issues advisories to the media as what to report or not to report. Is such action justified from those who shout against emergency and condemn the Congress? So what is the difference between the Congress and the BJP.? PM Modi will not address press conference. His media interviews (though very few, 2 or 3) are Modi flattery shows than to put up set of straight questions to elicit his reaction on issues the nation wishes to know. Even the new faces, first timers fortunate enough to have been elected due to turn of event are so arrogant, rude and petty. Vajpayee as a leader never ever allowed anyone in his party to compromise with decency in public life -- all due to his own example.

He accepted the best in his adversaries. He openly acknowledged Nehru on many grounds and one such being his foreign policy. On the contrary Modi made his entry into the parliament without acknowledging Nehru for  quoting him for himself as “ a Pradhan Sevak of India.”

In fact Nehru said, “ They call me the Prime Minister of India, but it would be more appropriate if I were called the FIRST SERVANT of India.”

Vajpayee’s personality reflected a studied depth of sobriety free from any sign of jealousy and craftiness. He had his own originality to impress the nation and the intellectuals of the worlds. He never assumed office of PM on the clutches of lies and then abusing the same person with whose quotation making entry into the parliament.

Vajpayee believed in taking up the implementation of developmental work from where it was left due to any reason without wasting time in questioning or blaming. The delayed, unfinished or even uninitiated developmental works were prioritized for action as per his government's agenda. We never heard him crying over 60 years nor he allowed anyone in his cabinet for any comparison. He believed in deliverance. He favoured industrialization, infrastructure development, space research activities, green and white revolutions, Pokharan N-Test and Bangladesh war. He very strongly put across to the nation not to condemn India by not acknowledging her achievements made since past and maintained that those who do not acknowledge the achievement are insulting the daring effort of hard work by the nation. He acknowledged that the pace of progress and implementation of policies have been slow due to corruption and vested interest. He felt all these allow us to rise above the level of inaction to effect speedier implementation of developmental programmes. And he was right.

Vajpayee was also stung by emergency and condemned it as he could but he never wasted his time in comparisons, criticism, inaction and delays in his developmental agenda. When press took on him that he was the one in opposition who hailed Mrs Indira Gandhi as Durga after the victory in Bangladesh war he reverted with a friction of a second, “How did I know that her first weapon will be used against me?”

He had to face failures after failures with Pakistan but he never lost patience to keep having dialogues with Pakistan and took initiatives to be the first among Indian polity to visit Pakistan though our country was deceived by Pakistan on every occasion.

It was because of his unique accommodative politics, revised view of his ideology and his image of a moderate ideology that many political observers called him the "right man in the wrong party". But he was a spontaneous soul with a compassionate heart - a  true nationalist. No better obituary I could have written for this man who inspired my own growth and to have witnessed his unassuming, easy flowing all embracing personality.