Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee — A profile

The following is a profile of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as given by the Press Information Bureau of India:

Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee has been sworn in as Prime Minister of India. The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, administered the oath of office and secrecy at an impressive ceremony in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan here today. Mr Vajpayee has assumed the august office of the Prime Minister of India for the third time.

Earlier, Mr Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India from May 16-31, 1996 and a second time from March 19, 1998, till date. With his swearing-in today as Prime Minister, he becomes the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime Minister of India through three successive mandates. Mr Vajpayee is also the first Prime Minister since Mrs Indira Gandhi to lead his party to victory in successive elections.

Born on December 25, 1924 at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Mr Krishna Behari Vajpayee and Mrs. Krishna Devi, Mr Vajpayee brings with him a long parliamentary experience spanning over four decades. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1957. He was elected to the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th Lok Sabha and again to the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th Lok Sabha and to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and 1986. He has again been elected to Parliament from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time, consecutively. He is the only parliamentarian elected from four different States at different times namely - UP, Gujarat, MP and Delhi.

Elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance, which is a pre-election coming together of political parties from different regions of the country and which enjoys a comfortable backing and support of the elected Members of the 13^th Lok Sabha, Mr Vajpayee was earlier elected leader of his own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party which has also again emerged as the single largest party in the 13^th Lok Sabha as was the case in the 12^th Lok Sabha.

Educated at Victoria (now Laxmi Bai) College, Gwalior and DAV College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Mr Vajpayee holds an MA (Political Science) degree and has several literary, artistic and scientific accomplishments to his credit. He edited Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun. His published works include "Meri Sansadiya Yatra" (in four volumes), "Meri Ikkyavan Kavitayen", "Sankalp Kaal", "Shakti-se-Shanti", "Four Decades in Parliament" (speeches in three volumes), 1957-95, "Lok Sabha mein Atalji" (a collection of speeches); Mrityu Ya Hatya", "Amar Balidan", "Kaidi Kaviraj Ki Kundalian" (a collection of poems written in jail during Emergency); "New Dimensions of India’s Foreign Policy" (a collection of speeches delivered as External Affairs Minister during 1977-79); "Jan Sangh Aur Mussalman"; "Sansad Mein Teen Dashak" (Hindi) (speeches in Parliament - 1957-1992 - three volumes; and "Amar Aag Hai" (a collection of poems) 1994.

Mr Vajpayee has participated in various social and cultural activities. He has been a Member of the National Integration Council since 1961. Some of his other associations include - (i) President, All India Station Masters and Assistant Station Masters Association (1965-70); (ii) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smarak Samiti (1968-84); (iii) Deen Dayal Dham, Farah, Mathura, U.P; and (iv) Janmabhomi Smarak Samiti, 1969 onwards.

Founder-member of the erstwhile Jana Sangh (1951), President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1968-1973), leader of the Jana Sangh parliamentary party (1955-1977) and a founder-member of the Janata Party (1977-1980), Mr Vajpayee was President, BJP, (1980-1986) and the leader of BJP parliamentary party during 1980-1984, 1986 and 1993-1996. He was Leader of the Opposition throughout the term of the 11^th Lok Sabha. Earlier, he was India’s External Affairs Minister in the Morarji Desai Government from March 24, 1977 to July 28, 1979.

Widely respected within the country and abroad as a statesman of the genre of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr Vajpayee’s 1998-99 stint as Prime Minister has been characterised as ‘one year of courage of conviction’. It was during this period that India entered a select group of nations following a series of successful nuclear tests at Pokharan in May 1998. The bus journey to Pakistan in February 1999 was widely acclaimed for starting a new era of negotiations to resolve the outstanding problems of the sub-continent. India’s honesty made an impact on the world community.

Later, when this gesture of friendship turned out to be a betrayal of faith in Kargil, Mr Vajpayee was also hailed for his successful handling of the situation in repulsing the intruders from the Indian soil. It was during Mr Vajpayee’s 1998-99 tenure that despite a global recession, India achieved 5.8 per cent GDP growth, which was higher than the previous year. Higher agricultural production and increase in foreign exchange reserves during this period were indicative of a forward-looking economy responding to the needs of the people. "We must grow faster. We simply have no other alternative" has been Mr Vajpayee’s slogan focussing particularly on economic empowerment of the rural poor. The decisions taken by his government for strengthening rural economy, building a strong infrastructure and revitalising the human development programmes, demonstrated his government’s commitment to a strong and self-reliant nation to meet the challenges of the next millennium to make India an economic power in the 21^st century.

Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 52^nd Independence Day, he had said, "I have a vision of India: an India free of hunger and fear, an India free of illiteracy and want."

Mr Vajpayee has served on a number of important Committees of Parliament. He was Chairman, Committee on Government Assurances (1966-67); Chairman, Public Accounts Committee (1967-70); Member, General Purposes Committee (1986); Member, House Committee and Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha (1988-90); Chairman, Committee on Petitions, Rajya Sabha (1990-91); Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Lok Sabha (1991-93); Chairman, Standing Committee on External Affairs (1993-96).

Mr Vajpayee participated in the freedom struggle and went to jail in 1942. He was detained during Emergency in 1975-77.

Widely travelled, Mr Vajpayee has been taking a keen interest in international affairs, uplift of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, women and child welfare. Some of his travels abroad include visits such as - Member, Parliamentary Goodwill Mission to East Africa, 1965; Parliamentary Delegation to Australia, 1967; European Parliament, 1983; Canada, 1987; Indian delegation to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meetings held in Canada, 1966 and 1994, Zambia, 1980, Isle of Man 1984, Indian delegation to Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, Japan, 1974; Sri Lanka, 1975; Switzerland, 1984; Indian Delegation to the UN General Assembly, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994; Leader, Indian Delegation to the Human Rights Commission Conference, Geneva, 1993.

Mr Vajpayee was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 in recognition of his services to the nation. He was also conferred the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and the Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian, both in 1994. Earlier, the Kanpur University honoured him with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993.

Well known and respected for his love of poetry and as an eloquent speaker, Mr Vajpayee is known to be a voracious reader. He is fond of Indian music and dance.