Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee – A Leader who transformed India.

 25^th December 2014 marks the 90th  birthday of  India’s one of the most respected and admired leader, Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee.   

Albeit he has been aloof for a while from Indian Politics now, His is the face that one will never forget. In a list of people that inspires every generation Atalji’s name will be the prominent one. He was an astute politician, a pan-India leader after Indira Gandhi, a poet whose words touched the heart and mind subtly, and a magnificent orator who would charm even his political opponents.

Such was his oratory skills and such was his debating capabilities that even our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said that “this young man will one day become the PM of India”, and he did,

not once but three times until his party received the full fair opportunity to govern the country for 5 years.

He was an exuberant speaker who would entice everyone into his thoughts. He was a connoisseur of diverse and multi-party parliamentarian system of India. He was a persevering figure with an efficacy for his decision but also he never looked despondent after failure.

Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a Member of Parliament for almost 50 years without even tiniest of stain on his political life and remains so.

He began his career as a journalist; .He entered into Politics drawing inspiration from Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. He belonged to RSS(Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) from early years of his life. After spending 40 years in active politics and being the member of parliament, he became the Prime Minister of India in 1996, unfortunately just for 13 days, but it was like the fate had decided for him to be  the Prime Minister, so again he ascended on PM’s chair in 1998 and lastly in 1999 till 2004.

But in those 6 years of his government though India faced many troubles, many problems nationally, internationally with a visionary like him the country progressed as such never before. Belonging to the party which has a perceptive Right Wing face, he always underwent scrutiny from his political opponents although he was well respected across the party lines. 

He also shared friendship with many leaders belonging to different political parties.Prime Minister Narasimha Rao sent him as a Head of the Delegation to the Human Rights Commission Meeting at Geneva in 1993, even though he was a leader of opposition then. In his life he was part of many parliamentary delegations right from the start, first being in 1965. He also became Foreign Minister during Janata Party government from 1977 to 1979 after Emergency. He was the first person to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi for which he was acknowledged and widely appreciated. 

His achievements as a Prime Minister have no other match. Within just a month of taking up the office,India conducted a nuclear test for which he received applaud within the country but was criticized internationally especially by U.S.A and Japan. But this did not stop him, he very well took care of foreign affairs, and explained India’s position about becoming a nuclear state which had purpose of having a credible deterrent for its defense .On economic front he continued the economic liberalization initiated by his predecessor P.V Narasimha Rao, and then Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He enhanced it, gave it new directions and India witnessed highest economic growth during his tenure. He made India Food grain exporter, a major-outsourcing country and enriched the country with over billion dollar foreign exchange reserves. Infrastructure development was the cornerstone of his governance. The Golden Quadrilateral and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna are the two pillars of it. Even after criticism of Nuclear Test he extended his hand to foreign nations to improve relations and how India could contribute to development of the world. He also made his stand clear about India always being on the side of Peace. The improvement in foreign relation is very much evident by the fact that after 22 years the then President of United States Mr. Bill Clinton visited India. Also a fact needs to be taken note of Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the only foreign  P. M  to address the constituent assembly of United States in  September 2000. India also established a great strategic and military relations with Israel, continues to do so. Tibet was recognized as a part of China and China recognized Sikkim as a part of India during his tenure. Many educational reforms were also put in place, Sarv Shikshan Abhiyan was launched by him.He took under many expeditions, such as Chandrayan programme, linking rivers to solve irrigation problems, speedy communication system and establishing 'Sagar Mala' to connect 4000 kms of coastline.

During his tenure country also went through few predicaments. The first one being Kargil War, well everybody knows the history about it. The Strong Military of India stood up to the task and India defeated Pakistan in Kargil. The Hi-jack of a Plane, infamous Kandahar episode, once again with strong leadership India emerged out of it. The Parliament attack that terrified the country. But the stand of our leader was clear and it was Peace. The Gujarat Riots, in 2001 is one dark spot, at this point he wanted to resign, but later was convinced by his colleagues not to. After the Kargil India never tried to aggravate itself towards its adversaries. Rather Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the P.M who initiated peace talks with our neighbors, whenever and wherever he saw the scope for it.He was a firm decision maker.

But in 2004 even after so much progress the verdict of people was not in his party’s favor. But he was never disheartened by it; he accepted the defeat with full responsibility and in 2005 because of health constraints resigned from active politics.

The fact remains that during the period of Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s governance India uplifted itself in development process. He is the leader who in every sense transformed India.

A Statesman par excellence, a Visionary, a person with utmost integrity, an extraordinary orator and a poet from heart. Vajpayee describes his poetry in his words “My poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not a defeated soldier’s drumbeat of despair, but a warrior’s will to win. It is not a dispirited voice of dejection but the steering shout of Victory." 
I congratulate him on his birthday for receiving country's highest civilian award. A true 'gem' has received 'Bharat Ratna'

Atal Bihari Vajpayee will remain an inspiring figure for present and many generation to come.

Please See : Information given above is adopted from various sources and books.

Curiosity

"The first and simplest emotion which we discover in human mind is curiosity" – Edmund Burke. Indeed How true…!! , right through the Ages people have tried to define life, but something which always has been the aspect of definition is curiosity, the reason behind defining life itself is curiosity about it.
Ironically Curiosity is one distinctive character which every person shares, how far we exercise it, is a matter of personal concern, but something that drives us is curiosity. Every emotion that humans are capable of expressing has an underlying part of curiosity attached to it. Every great person that has lived on this earth has quoted importance of curiosity in our lives. Right from the childhood to an old age, in whatever direction we move largely depends on this quality of curiousness. In the 21^st  century technology oriented world this aspect, quality or emotion has become more and more discernible. The discoveries the innovations the inventions are nothing but outcomes of curious minds.
I really feel that even the scientists are more driven by curiosity than science itself. Curiosity develops interest, interest develops choices, and the choices that we make, makes us. If we really want to lead a driven life, a passionate life than we have to be curious. Everything in the world is driven by this great natural, innate sense or force. The world revolves around this, and there would be hardly any person that disagrees with it.
Imagine what world would be like without it, it would be like a body without a soul, a mind without thoughts, and life without goal. Something that each and every one of us must always nurture is curiosity, I wonder how one would live without it. As Albert Einstein once said "Never lose the Holy Curiosity".
So Be Curious.

Acting by Choice

Sitting across the table, gazing out of the window, with a coffee mug in my hand sometimes I feel I am thinking something deep, philosophical. How my life is taking turns, how it has come to this, failures, success, happy moments, sad moments, terrible, terrifying, well and many more verbs and adjectives. But at the end I realize all I do is measuring my life in terms of adjectives that do not mean anything in far above of everything where there is just eternity and nothing else. Why do we do that, why do we try to measure everything that happens to us, why can’t we just live as life goes  day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute and second by second. As said in Bhagwad Geeta by Lord Krishna just do your Work, just Act Right, and don’t think of whether you will succeed or fail. Well at the end of the trail of thoughts I feel stupid, I feel idiot to have thought all those things, because life does not change JUST by thinking, It changes when you act, when you make decisions.

But again one can’t stop thinking; one must not stop thinking because sometimes that is what makes us sane person. I always remember this one little thing; I travel by local trains in Mumbai extensively. I travel to my office daily, while returning I always find few poor children begging in that particular boogie, always the same ones. It’s true if you’re a regular traveler in Mumbai locals on any one route you may often find same poor people begging every day, it’s a fact! So coming back these small little children beg every day and I watch them, observe them, frankly speaking I sometimes give them money and sometimes I  don’t. But they move me. There’s a twinge of pain I feel every time when I see them. I just can’t imagine how they live, with few coins everyday what do they eat, what goals they can have. What ambitions they can achieve. What possibly is there life!!!! For some people it may be mundane thing but for me every day it is a painful experience.

Now when I juxtapose my situation and this situation , how do I even have a right to have those hypocritical fancy philosophical thoughts of measuring life’s parameter when there are people in this world who don’t even have privilege of sitting and thinking,  who have to beg for their food, who have to beg  for  shelter. Then I think we have been delinquent in upbringing such struggling people as a society. Sometimes I just can’t get acquiesce to the idea that I have to live my life and certain underprivileged class of people will have to live there’s. We as a society or I as a person hopes that someday there will be a balance in society   or such class of people will surely get help. But then sometimes HOPE is just amother fancy word.

Unless we inculcate on minds of one another that unless we stand up and help, that unless we as a society make decision that something needs to be done, I feel nothing will change. There has to be some conscious effort from us rather than just blaming the governance and government for it. Envisaging that “everything will be fine” picture at the end does not change present day's fact. I feel that is the essence of ACTION as above mentioned lesson from Bhagwad Geeta. Yes you don’t worry about results, don’t expect them but it is our choice what work we do, what actions we take, decisions we make.

With this trail of memory I go back to the work I was doing. You know as they say in French c’est la vie, and life goes on. But I believe someday we have to change, we must; at least I will, by making right decision; right choice.