He served as prime minister three times. Initially considered radical, he has become the moderate face of the Hindu nationalist party. Under his rule, India became a nuclear power.
Delhi (AsiaNews) - Politician, poet and orator: India is mourning Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the 10th prime minister, who died yesterday at the age of 93. He was one of the founding members of the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now in government.
Vajpayee was born in Gwalior on December 25, 1924. His commitment to public life began between 1939 and 1942, when he became part of the Quit India Movement, for which he was arrested.
In 1939 he was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (Rss), a Hindu paramilitary organization considered "ancestor" of the BJP. After completing his studies in political science in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Vajpayee began working full-time for the RSS.
In 1951, he contributed to the foundation of Jan Sangh, of which he became president in 1968, at the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya. In those years, he became famous also for his skills as an orator and poet. He collected his poems in the volume Meri Ekyaavan Kavitayein (My 51 poems).
Vajpayee held the position of premier three times between 1996 and 2004. In 1996, his mandate lasted only 13 days, as the party failed to secure a majority. He was elected again in 1998, with the coalition of the National Democratic Alliance. He remained in office until 2004.
Under his government, India became a global nuclear power. In 1998 he surprised the world by claiming that India had conducted nuclear tests underground: it had not taken place since 1974. In 1999, he also tried to improve relations with neighboring Pakistan, participating in a summit with the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
In the beginning considered a radical right-wing Hindu nationalist, over the years he has come to represent the moderate face of the BJP. In 2014, it received the highest civil recognition, the Bharat Ratna. The government of Narendra Modi has recently declared the day of "Good Government" the date of his birthday