Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| First Term | |
| In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 | |
| Preceded by | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| Succeeded by | H.D. Deve Gowda |
| Second Term | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 | |
| Preceded by | I. K. Gujral |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Third Term | |
| In office 13 October 1999 – 22 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Manmohan Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-12-25)25 December 1924 |
| Died | 16 August 2018(2018-08-16) (aged 93) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Occupation | Statesman, Poet |
| ||
|---|---|---|
1996, 1998–2004
Legislations Treaties and accords Missions and agencies Controversies Wars and military operations | ||
| Gallery: Picture, Sound, Video | ||
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian statesman who served thrice as Prime Minister of India, first from 16 May to 1 June 1996, from 19 March 1998 to 12 October 1999 and then, from 13 October 1999 to 22 May 2004. A member of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vajpayee was thetenth Prime Minister. He headed the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance in theIndian Parliament, and became the first Prime Minister unaffiliated with theIndian National Congress to complete a full five-year term in office. He died at the age of 93 on Thursday 16 August 2018 at 17:05 atAIIMS, New Delhi.
After the1996 general election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in theLok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. Vajpayee was invited by PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma to form a government, but after 13 days in office, proved unable to muster a governing majority and resigned. He was succeeded byH. D. Dewe Gowda, leader of theUnited Front (UF) coalition, and became theLeader of the Opposition.
The United Front was only able to sustain a majority in Parliament until 1998, resigning after theIndian National Congress withdrew its support. In the1998 Indian general election the BJP again emerged as the single-largest party, but was able to assemble a governing coalition called theNational Democratic Alliance (NDA). Other constituents of the NDA included theAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK),Bahujan Samaj Party,Shiv Sena,Shiromani Akali Dal,Biju Janata Dal (BJD),National Conference (NC) and theTMC, amongst others.
By early 1999, the NDA government lost its majority after the AIADMK leaderJ. Jayalalithaa withdrew its support.[1] PresidentK. R. Narayanan dissolved the Parliament and called fresh elections – the third in two years. Public anger against smaller parties that jeopardised the NDA coalition and the wave of support for the Vajpayee government in the aftermath of theKargil War gave the BJP a larger presence in the Lok Sabha. The NDA won a decisive majority with the support of new constituents such as theJanata Dal (United) and theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The Vajpayee government expanded the process ofeconomic liberalisation initiated by theP.V. Narasimha Rao government (1991–1996). His government initiated the privatisation of most state corporations, including theVidesh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. His government also began the establishment of special export processing zones, Information Technology and Industrial Parks across the country to bolster industrial production and exports. In its third term (1999–2004), his government launched theNational Highway Development Project, with the first phase being theGolden Quadrilateral. In 2003, the government launched thePravasi Bharatiya Samman (Honouring ofNon-Resident Indians) and initiated plans to establish anOverseas citizenship of India to enable NRIs to invest and do business freely in India. His government also expanded efforts to encourage foreign investment, especially from Europe and the United States.
The Vajpayee government improved India's ties with the People's Republic of China, boosting trade and seeking the resolution of territorial disputes through dialogue. India also established strategic and military cooperation withIsrael, with both nations establishing cooperation in fighting terrorism. In 2000, U.S. PresidentBill Clinton became the first American president to visit India sinceJimmy Carter. The U.S. and India ended theCold War-era distant relationship and expanded trade and cooperation on strategic issues. After the11 September 2001 attacks, India provided much strategic assistance to the U.S. in its war against theTaliban andAl-Qaeda.
In 1999, Vajpayee personally travelled to Pakistan on the inauguralDelhi-Lahore Bus, which established a regular road link between the two countries for the first time since 1947. Vajpayee and the then-Pakistani Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif issued theLahore Declaration, which committed the two nations to resolve bilateral disputes through dialogue and concurrently boost trade. However, the Lahore summit's success was diminished by the outbreak of the Kargil War just months later. In 2001, Vajpayee andPakistani PresidentPervez Musharraf held theAgra summit, which failed to produce results and was overshadowed by the2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff. In 2003, Vajpayee declared in the Indian Parliament that he was making his final initiative to make peace with Pakistan, and oversaw considerable improvement in relations and a ceasefire between Indian forces and terrorist groups in the state ofJammu and Kashmir.
In May, 1998 India conducted five underground nuclear tests –Pokhran-II, following thePokhran-I test of 1974. These tests established India as anuclear weapons power, although it also resulted in the imposition of limited sanctions by the U.S., UK, Canada and other nations. By 2001, most of these sanctions had been lifted.
In 1999, two months after the bilateral summit in Lahore, India discovered that Pakistani army disguised as terrorists had infiltrated through theLine of Control (LoC) into the state of Jammu and Kashmir with active Pakistani assistance and participation. In response, theIndian armed forces launchedOperation Vijay to evict the infiltrators. By July, 1999 Indian forces had reclaimed territories on its side of the LoC. The Vajpayee government also established theDefence Intelligence Agency to provide bettermilitary intelligence and monitor India's border with Pakistan.[citation needed]
The terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament building on 13 December 2001, conducted byLashkar-e-Taiba andJaish-e-Mohammed terrorists[2][3] led to the death of a dozen people (5 terrorists, 6 police and 1 civilian)[4] and the2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff. In response to these attacks and an escalation in terrorist attacks in other parts of India, the NDA government promulgated thePrevention of Terrorism Act. Although a tougher anti-terrorism law thanTerrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, POTA was criticised as compromising civil liberties and encouraging profiling of the Indian Muslim community.[5] As theRajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, was controlled by opposition parties, the Vajpayee government called a historic joint session of both houses of the Indian Parliament in order to enact POTA into law.[5]
On 27 February 2002, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked at Godhra by a Muslim mob.[6][7][8][9] 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed in the attack.[10] Lasting for over a month, the riots claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.[11][12][13] The state government, led byNarendra Modi of the BJP, was severely criticised for being unable or unwilling to stop the violence.[14]
Vajpayee officially condemned the violence.[15] Later Vajpayee made controversial remarks: "Wherever there are Muslims, they do not want to live in peace with others. Instead of living peacefully, they want to propagate their religion by creating terror in the minds of others." According to Sanjay Ruparelia, Vajpayee usedMuslim terrorism to justify the violence in Gujarat.[16]Ornit Shani believes that Vajpayee's government believed that Muslim provoked violence against themselves by simply being Muslim.[17]
Vajpayee told that it was his mistake in underestimating the violence and not doing enough to stop it.[18]
K.R. Narayanan, thenpresident of India said that he wrote several letters to Vajpayee asking him to deploy theIndian army to quell the violence. Narayanan didn't speak out against Vajpayee during his term as president.[19]
