I see large part of our society today is rejoicing the fact that Atal Ji has been conferred with well deserved Nation’s highest civilian award. Atal Ji - One of the greatest Orator our country saw, a dedicated statesman, a true politician showcasing the unmatched wit. If we look back, we see the man has dedicated his entire life for his passion – The Nation.
Atal Ji spent major part of his life being in opposition in the parliament. He was known for his sharp comments and even Nehru welcomed them. These two, Atal ji and Nehru, never had anything in common but Nehru saw this young MP as future PM of India! While Atal Ji was in Govt, Opposition craving for issues against him never got much and they finally concluded – "Atal Ji ache hain, but galat party me hain!!"
And today as he turns 90, I wish to thank him and remember Operation Shakti – the nuclear success of India. The Nuclear plans existed much before he became PM, but i salute him for the way he handled what followed the tests.
In May 1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, 24 yrs after India conducted its first nuclear test Pokhran-I in 1974. This test is called Pokhran-II. The tests were held just a month after the BJP government had been in power. Two weeks later, Pakistan responded with its own nuclear tests making it the newest declared nation with nuclear weapons.
While some nations, such as Russia and France, endorsed India's right to defensive nuclear power, others including the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and the European Union imposed sanctions on information, resources and technology to India. In spite of the intense international criticism and the steady decline in foreign investment and trade, the nuclear tests were popular domestically. Effectively the international sanctions failed completely in swaying India's decision to weaponize its nuclear capability, something that was planned for and anticipated by the Vajpayee administration.
Almost all the bans were taken off within 5 years. Our country still survived and we did well. This speaks a ton about the man and his courage. And "Bharata Ratna" is the least we could do for this man.
I would like to quote an example of his sportsmanship.
In the parliament, they had hung a photo frame of Jawahar Lal Nehru. Vajpayee noticed that frame every time he got a chance to be in that room. But when Janata party came into power in 1977, and Atal Ji became the minister for the first time, someone had removed that frame. Where is the picture gone? he asked. People had no answers. And soon the picture with due respect was restored in the same place on Atal Ji's Instructions. Our MPs should learn a lot from him :)
Today we are giving him the highest honour, but I wish we had given him votes too. We gave this man just 5 years. Strangely people who didn't vote for him in 2004 are equally happy about him getting Bharata Ratna. I wish to think what it would have been if he had got another term? I feel its time to retrospect! We cant go back in time and undo the done, but may be it’s a lesson we can take forward for future.
What could have possibly gone wrong? Why people chose not to vote him?
I feel these are the reasons:
1) Coalition Govt- He didn’t have numbers. People saw what is in for them rather than how can they contribute to the nation and in turn they let him down.
2) Gujarat riots- India and Gujarat alone had seen worst riots before the 2002. But large part of media made sure they dedicated all their attention and showcased Modi and BJP as reason for this one. Riots were bad, but media hype was so much that we chose to let Atal Ji down. where did our common sense go?
3) RSS & team – Atal Ji is a product of RSS. The discipline he showed has its root in RSS. But it seemed liked they too supported him to a lesser extent than they did in the earlier elections. The pressure RSS had put on Atal Ji on issues like Ram Mandir were tremendous. RSS could have given him a little more space. But good to see the change now, RSS doesn't seem to interfere in Modi govt. I wish they had done the same for Atal ji.
4) Voters – Finally, all of us who didn't vote are responsible. Our sense of responsibility was badly hit by “let whatever happen” attitude. A large part of so called educated middle class didn’t vote and look what happened. We lost our 10 years to govt like the one we had. I believe it’s a very strong lesson for us. Lets not do the same to Modi. He looks promising.
Atal Ji is man of principle and even his opponents respected him. His smile, his wit, his courage, his dedication and his love for our nation gave us a new hope. He handled post nuclear test sanctions really well. Kargil victory is another feather in his cap. The beautiful highways connecting our metros are his efforts. India dreamt of being a superpower under the leadership of “Atal – APJ” duo.
I just take this as an opportunity and thank him for his service! #WeLoveYouAtalJi
