Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states.

On 18 May 1974, India exploded its first nuclear device code named Operation Smiling Buddha. After about a quarter century, on 11 May 1998, Operation Shakti was carried out. Shakti was the codename of a thermonuclear device that was exploded in Pokhran as part of Pokhran-II.

Birth of India's nuclear weapons program[link]

The Indian nuclear programme dated back to 1944 when Homi Bhabha established the Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945. Under the long premiership of Nehru, the nuclear programme's infrastructure was carefully established, and much of the weapon related facilities given commissioned in 1950s, most notably Bhabha Atomic Research Centre that operates the CIRUS which was commissioned in 1960.

In 1962, India faced the bitter war with People's Republic of China and lost the territory it had controlled previously. Soon, the Chinese nuclear test, 596 in 1964 accelerated India's nuclear weapon efforts to counter the Chinese nuclear blackmailing. Preliminary studies were carried out at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and plans were developed to produce plutonium and other bomb components. Following the death of Nehru and Bhabha, the programme was revived and transferred into the hands of Vikram Sarabhai who also was the director of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). However, under the premiership of Lal Bahadur Shastri who faced the war with West-Pakistan (now Pakistan) had the nuclear programme shelved and halted. This programme was again revived and re-started under the premiership of Indira Gandhi who gave the authorization soon after the Test No. 6— China's successful detonation of thermonuclear device. The programme was delegated to Raja Ramanna who aggressively developed the nuclear weapons and the nuclear programme completed a milestone in 1972. In 1974, Indira Gandhi gave authorization of the nuclear test, codename Smiling Buddha.

After the 1974 test, Prime Minister Morarji Desai shelved the programme and focused it to more academic research rather than military initiatives.^[2] By 1977, Ramanna was replaced by Homi Sethna as the director of BARC and unsuccessfully attempted to thwart Ramanna's efforts.^[2] In 1980, Indira Gandhi returned as the Prime Minister and re-evaluated the programme by bringing back Ramanna's role in the nuclear programme. Despite Gandhi's denial to conduct further tests, the nuclear programme continued to advance.^[2] It was the 1980s that the work on hydrogen bombs and the missile programme was initiated, and Dr. Abdul Kalam, an aerospace engineer who developed the SLV programme for ISRO, was made the director of the missile programme.^[2]

Successive governments in India decided to observe this temporary moratorium for fear of inviting international criticism.^[2] In 1995, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao decided to carry out further tests.^[3] But the plans were halted after American satellites picked up signs of preparations for testing at Pokhran.^[3] The Americans under President Bill Clinton exerted enormous pressure on Rao to stop the preparations.^[3] On February 28, the BJP came to power after the 1998 elections, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became country's prime minister who had previously campaign on advocating for nuclear tests. On March 1998, Vajpayee administration asked the scientists to make preparations in a shortest time possible, and preparations were hastily made.^[4] Finally, on 11 and 13 May 1998, under prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India conducted its second group of nuclear tests.

Preparations for the test[link]

After the detection of the test preparations by American satellites in 1995, it was decided that preparations for the May 1998 tests should be undertaken under a blanket of secrecy so that foreign countries will not be able to detect the preparations. Extensive planning was drawn out and executed in order to deceive intelligence agencies around the world. Even the senior most cabinet members of the Government of India did not have slightest hint of these elaborate preparations. The preparations were managed by a closed group of scientists, military officers and politicians.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Dr. R. Chidambaram, the head of the Department of Atomic Energy, were the chief coordinators for the operation. They were assisted by the 58th Regiment of the Army Engineering Corps in preparing the test site. Scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) were involved in assembling the weapons, moving them to Pokhran, placing them into shafts in the ground and laying a network of sensors to gather data during the explosions.

The Regiment 58 Engineers had learned much since the aborted 1995 test preparations about avoiding detection by American satellites. Much work was done at night, and heavy equipment was always returned to the same parking spot at dawn so that satellite image analysts would conclude that the equipment was never moved. Piles of dug-out sand were shaped to mimic the wind shaped dune forms in the desert area. The shafts were dug under camouflage netting. When cables for sensors were laid they were carefully covered with sand, and native vegetation was replaced to conceal the digging.

The scientists involved in the operation took care to ensure that even their close friends and colleagues would not detect the work being undertaken at Pokhran. All scientists involved in the operation did not depart for Pokhran simultaneously, but left in groups of two or three. One group would use the pretext of attending a seminar or a conference, and would tell their wives that they could not be contacted while they were away. Tickets were bought for a destination other than Pokhran (or cities nearby) under pseudonyms, and after arriving at their destination, the group would secretly leave for the military base in Jaisalmer from where they would be taken by the army to Pokhran. After finishing their work the group would return, retracing their path. Then another group would leave for the range employing similar means to do their work. In this way, information about the test was kept tightly under wraps. All technical staff at the range wore military fatigues, so that in satellite images they would appear to be military personnel maintaining the test range.

On the diplomatic front, India adopted a policy of ambiguity about deciding to go nuclear. Statements by Indian politicians and diplomats gave an impression to the world that India was not yet decided about its nuclear status. Deliberate steps were taken to ensure that the world community would not take the BJP's campaign promises seriously. In separate meetings with American officials, then Foreign secretary K.Raghunath and Defence Minister George Fernandes stated that India had not yet decided about going nuclear and they also conveyed to the officials that the National Security Council would be meeting soon to discuss the matter and decide about the nuclear option. The council was to meet on the 26th of May. Both the Indian officials had categorically told the Americans that "there would be no surprise testings". All this led the Americans and the world community to believe that India was not going to pursue the nuclear option in the near future. They did not take the BJP's campaign promises seriously and hence did not expect an Indian nuclear test so soon.

Name[link]

The word Shakti (Hindi:शक्ति) means Strength in Sanskrit. The Operation Shakti was the codename of a thermonuclear device that was exploded in Pokhran Test Range in May 11.^[5]

Development and test teams[link]

The main technical personnel involved in the operation were:

Project Chief Coordinators[link]

• Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (later, President of India), Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the DRDO.
• Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic energy.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)[link]

• Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Director of BARC.
• Dr. Satinder Kumar Sikka, Director; Thermonuclear Weapon Development.
• Dr. M.S. Ramkumar, Director of Nuclear Fuel and Automation Manufacturing Group; Director, Nuclear Component Manufacture.
• Dr. D.D. Sood, Director of Radiochemistry and Isotope Group; Director, Nuclear Materials Acquisition.
• Dr. S.K. Gupta, Solid State Physics and Spectroscopy Group; Director, Device Design & Assessment.
• Dr. G. Govindraj, Associate Director of Electronic and Instrumentation Group; Director, Field Instrumentation.

Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO)[link]

• Dr. K. Santhanam; Director, Test Site Preparations.
• Dr. M.Vasudev; Range Safety Officer.

Devices[link]

A total of five nuclear weapons were detonated during Operation Shakti. They were:

Shakti I[link]

A two stage thermonuclear device with a boosted fission primary, its yield was downgraded from 200 kt (theoretical) to 40 kt for test purposes.

Shakti II[link]

A pure fission device using the Plutonium implosion design with a yield of 15 kt. The device tested was an actual nuclear warhead that can be delivered by bombers or fighters and also mounted on a missile. The warhead was an improved, lightweight and miniaturized version of the device tested in 1974. Scientists at BARC had been working to improve the 1974 design for many years. Data from the 1974 test was used to carry out computer simulations using the indigenous PARAM supercomputer to improve the design. The 1998 test was intended to prove the validity of the improved designs.

Shakti III[link]

An experimental boosted fission device that used reactor grade Plutonium for its primary with a yield of 0.3 kt. This test device was used to test only the primary stage. It did not contain any tritium required to boost the fission. This test was designed to study the possibility of using reactor grade plutonium in warheads and also to prove India's expertise in controlling and damping a nuclear explosion in order to achieve a low (sub-kiloton) yield.

Shakti IV[link]

A 0.5 kt experimental device. The test's only purpose was to collect data about the explosion process and to study the performance of various bomb components.

Shakti V[link]

A 0.2 kt experimental device that used U-233, an isotope of uranium that is not found in nature but is produced in India's fast breeder reactors that consume Thorium. This device too was used to collect data.

Production and preparation of devices[link]

Three laboratories of the DRDO were involved in designing, testing and producing components like advanced detonators, the implosion systems, high-voltage trigger systems. They were also responsible for weaponization, systems engineering, aerodynamics, safety interlocks and flight trials. The nuclear devices were moved from their vaults at the BARC complex in the early hours of 1 May, around 3 a.m., by four Indian Army trucks under the command of Col. Umang Kapur. They were transported to Mumbai airport and flown at dawn in an Indian Air Force AN-32 transport plane to the Jaisalmer military base. An Army convoy of four trucks transported the explosive devices to Pokhran. Three trips were required to complete the delivery of the devices and associated equipment. The devices were delivered directly to the device preparation building in the range which was designated as the 'Prayer Hall'.

The tests were organized into two groups that were fired separately, with all devices in a group fired at the same time. The first group consisted of the thermonuclear device (Shakti I), the fission device (Shakti II), and a sub-kiloton device (Shakti III). The remaining two sub-kiloton devices made up the second group (Shakti IV & V). It was decided that the first group consisting of three devices would be tested on 11 of May and the second group on 13 May. The thermonuclear device was placed in a shaft code named 'White House' (over 200 m deep), while the 'Taj Mahal' shaft (over 150 m deep) was assigned to the fission bomb, and 'Kumbhkaran' to the first sub-kiloton shot. The other two shafts for the second test series were designated NT 1 & NT 2.The first three devices were placed in their respective shafts on 10 May, the day before the tests. The shafts were L-shaped, with a horizontal chamber for the test device. The first device to be placed was the sub-kiloton device in the 'Kumbhkaran' shaft. The Army engineers sealed the shaft at around 8:30 PM. Then the thermonuclear device was lowered into the 'White House' shaft and sealing this shaft took until 4 a.m. the next morning. By then the fission device was being placed in the 'Taj Mahal' shaft. It was sealed at 7:30 a.m., just 90 minutes from the planned test time.

The actual timing of the tests depended on the local weather conditions. It was hot in the Pokhran desert in early May, it reached 43°C on the day of the test. But the critical factor was the wind. Although the tests were underground, they were shallow tests and the sealing of the shaft could not be guaranteed to be leak-proof (a number of shaft seal failures had occurred during tests by USA, USSR and UK despite the shafts being much deeper). Winds blowing toward inhabited areas, as occurred on the morning on 11 May were not acceptable. But by early afternoon the winds had died down and the scientists decided to go ahead with the tests. Dr. K. Santhanam of the DRDO, who was in charge of the test site preparations, gave the two keys that activated the test countdown to Dr. M. Vasudev, the range safety officer, who was responsible for verifying that all test indicators were normal. After checking the indicators, Vasudev handed one key each to a representative of BARC and the DRDO, who together unlocked the countdown system. At 3:45 p.m. the three devices were detonated.

Detonations[link]

The three devices (Shakti I, II & III) were detonated simultaneously at 3:43:44.2 p.m. IST; 10:13:44.2 UTC +/-0.32 sec; as measured by international seismic monitors. Seismic data collected by stations outside India have placed the total magnitude of the first event at 5.3 (+/- 0.4), making it one of the largest seismic events in the world during the 24 hr period during which it occurred. The measured seismic center of the triple event was located at 27.0716 deg N latitude, and 71.7612 deg E longitude, which places it only 2.8 km from the 1974 test site (which was at 27.095 deg N, 71.752 deg E). The combined force of the three blasts lifted an area about the size of a cricket ground to a few metres above the earth kicking up dust and sand into the air. Three craters were sunk on the desert surface.

Just two days later on 13 May, at 12.21 p.m.IST 6:51 UTC, the two sub-kiloton devices were detonated underground. This event was not detected by any seismic stations as they were of very low yield.

With the five explosions, India declared the series of tests to be over.

Reactions to the tests[link]

Reactions in India[link]

Shortly after the tests, a press meet was convened at the Prime Minister's residence in New Delhi. Prime Minister Vajpayee appeared before the press corps and made the following short statement:

News of the tests were greeted with jubilation and large-scale approval by the society in India. The Bombay Stock Exchange registered significant gains. Newspapers and television channels praised the government for its bold decision; editorials were full of praise for the country's leadership and advocated the development of an operational nuclear arsenal for the country's armed forces. The scientific establishment was thankful to the government for having been given the opportunity to prove their capabilities. More significantly, all doubts were erased from the minds of people who questioned India's nuclear capability after the testing in 1974.

U.N. Sanctions[link]

The reactions from abroad started immediately after the tests were advertised. The United Nations issued a statement expressing its disappointment. On June 6, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1172 condemning the test and that of Pakistan's. The United States issued a strong statement condemning India and promised that sanctions would follow. The American establishment was embarrassed as there had been a serious intelligence failure in detecting the preparations for the test. Canada, which had earlier supplied the CIRUS nuclear reactor to India which was the source of plutonium for the 1974 tests, reassured the world that the CIRUS reactor was not in any way connected to the 1998 tests. China issued a vociferous condemnation calling upon the international community to exert pressure on India to sign the NPT and eliminate its nuclear arsenal. With India joining the group of countries possessing nuclear weapons, a new strategic dimension had emerged in Asia, particularly South Asia.

U.S. and Japanese reaction[link]

In keeping with its preferred approach to foreign policy in recent decades, and in compliance with a 1994 anti-proliferation law, the United States imposed economic sanctions on India. The sanctions on India consisted of cutting off all assistance to India except humanitarian aid, banning the export of certain defense material and technologies, ending American credit and credit guarantees to India, and requiring the U.S. to oppose lending by international financial institutions to India.^[7]

Japan also imposed economic sanctions on India. The sanctions consisted of freezing all new loans and grants except for humanitarian aid to India.^[8]

Some other nations also imposed sanctions on India, primarily in the form of suspension of foreign aid and government-to-government credit lines.^[9] However, the overall effect on India's economy and technological progress was marginal. Most nations did not sanction India, and India's exports and imports together constituted only 4% of its GDP, with U.S. trade accounting for only 10% of this total. Far more significant were the restrictions on lending imposed by the United States and its representatives on international finance bodies. Most of the sanctions were lifted within five years.

Support for India[link]

However, other nuclear powers, such as Israel, France and Russia, refrained from condemning India.

Israel issued a statement 'praising' India's tests and declaring that India's reasons for carrying out nuclear tests were the same as Israel's.^[10].

China[link]

The tests "seriously" concerned China but ultimately refrained to gave criticism to India on May 12.^[11] The next day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued the statement clearly stating that "it shocked and strongly condemned" the Indian nuclear tests and called for the international community to "adopt a unified stand and strongly demand that India immediate stop development of nuclear weapons".^[12] China further rejected India's stated rationale "totally unreasonable", that it needs nuclear capabilities to counter a Chinese threat.^[12] In a meeting with Masayoshi Takemura of Democratic Party of Japan, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Qian Qichen quoted in television: "India's nuclear tests were a "serious matter," particularly because they were conducted in light of the fact that more than 140 countries have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. It is even more unacceptable that India claims to have conducted the tests to counter what it called a "China threat".^[12] On 24 November 1998, the Chinese Embassy, New Delhi issued a formal statement:

(sic).... But regrettably, India conducted nuclear tests last May, which has run against the contemporary historical trend and seriously affected peace and stability in South Asia. Pakistan also conducted nuclear tests later on. India's nuclear tests have not only led to the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and provocation of nuclear tests have not only led to the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and provocation of nuclear arms races in South Asia, but also dealt a heavy blow to international nuclear disarmament and the global nonproliferation regime. It is only natural that India's nuclear tests have met with extensive condemnation and aroused serious concern from the international communit

—Chinese Embassy, New Delhi, source^[13]

Pakistan[link]

The most vehement reaction to India's nuclear test was Pakistan's. Great ire was raised in Pakistan, which issued a severe statement blaming India for instigating a nuclear arms race in the region. Pakistan Prime Minister Navaz Sharif vowed that his country would give a suitable reply to the Indians. The day after the first tests, Pakistan Minister of Foreign Affairs Captain (retired) Gohar Ayub Khan indicated that Pakistan was ready to conduct a nuclear test of its own. As he said: "[Pakistan] is prepared to match India, we have the capability ... We in Pakistan will maintain a balance with India in all fields", he said in an interview. "We are in a headlong arms race on the subcontinent."

Prime Minister Navaz Sharif was much more subdued, refusing to say whether a test would be conducted in response: "We are watching the situation and we will take appropriate action with regard to our security", he said. Sharif sought to mobilize the entire Islamic world in support of Pakistan and criticized India for nuclear proliferation.

Given authorization by Prime minister Navaz Sharif, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) carried out nuclear testing under the codename Chagai-I on May 28, 1998 and Chagai-II on May 30, 1998. These six underground nuclear tests at the Chagai and Kharan test site were conducted just fifteen days after India's last test. The total yield of the tests were reported to be 40 kt (see codename: Chagai-I).

Pakistan's subsequent tests invited similar condemnations from multiple nations ranging from Argentina to Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[14] American president Bill Clinton was quoted as saying "Two wrongs don't make a right", criticizing Pakistan's tests as reactionary to India's Pokhran-II.^[14] The United States, Japan, and a number of other states reacted by imposing economic sanctions on Pakistan.

Pakistan's leading nuclear physicist and one of the top scientists, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, held India responsible for Pakistan's nuclear test experiments in Chagai.^[15]

Test yields[link]

The yields from the three tests on 11 May 1998 were put at 58 kilotons by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre based on seismic data obtained at the test site 3 kilometres from the test shafts. The tests were defined as a complete success, and it was determined that all the devices and their components had performed flawlessly. To remove all doubts, the senior scientists involved in the Pokhran operations addressed the press on the 17th of May. In this press meet the scientists claimed that the fission device produced a yield of 15 kt and .3 kt was obtained from the low yield device. They also claimed that the thermonuclear device gave a total yield of 45 kt, 15 kt from the fission trigger and 30 kt from the fusion process and that the theoretical yield of the device (200 kt) was reduced to 45 kt in order to minimize seismic damage to villages near the test range. The village closest to the test range, Khetolai, was a mere 5 kilometres away. Neutral assesement by western scholars show that Shakti-I was 32 Kt as claimed to 43Kt, however results of Shakti-2 was 13Kt according to western scholars as claimed by BARC.^[16]

Recent allegations
In 2009 it was widely reported that a retired atomic scientist, K. Santhanam who was closely associated with the tests, claims that the 1998 tests were not as successful as the then BJP government had claimed they were.^[17][18] These claims were widely dismissed in India, including a specific dismissal by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who cited evidence and data to prove his point.^[19]

Legacy[link]

May 11 has been officially declared as National Technology Day in India to commemorate the first of the five tests that were carried out on May 11, 1998. The day was officially signed by the then Prime Minister of India. The day is celebrated by giving awards to various individuals and industries in the field of science and industry.^[20]

Images[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nuclear Weapons Archive: Operation Shakti
• 'India aborted nuclear bomb plans in 1994'
• India's Pathway to Pokhran II: The Prospects and Sources of New Delhi's Nuclear Weapons Program

Books[link]

• How the CIA was Fooled written by Raj Chengappa

See also[link]

• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, kjain
• R. Chidambaram,
• Anil Kakodkar
• India and weapons of mass destruction
• Pokhran-I - First nuclear test explosion by India on May 18, 1974
• Chagai-I - Pakistan's nuclear test on May 28, 1998
• Chagai-II - Pakistan's second nuclear test on May 30, 1998

Coordinates: 27°04′44″N 71°43′20″E / 27.07884°N 71.722113°E / 27.07884; 71.722113

v t e Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti) Sites 58th Regiment of the Army Engineering Corps · Pokhran · CIRUS reactor · Department of Atomic Energy · Rajasthan  · Trombay  · Thar Desert Research Institutes Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) · Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) · High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) · Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Administrators Atal Bihari Vajpai  · George Fernandes  · Brijesh Mishra · Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana · Ved Prakash Malik · Jaswant Singh · Saleem Iqbal Shervani · K. Subrahmanyam · Scientists Raja Ramanna · Homi Sethna · Abdul Kalam · Satinder Kumar Sikka · Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan · P. K. Iyengar · Rajagopala Chidambaram · Ravi Grover  · Anil Kakodkar · M. P. Parameswaran · Srikumar Banerjee · D.D. Sood · M.S. Ramkumar Chronological list of nuclear tests Trinity  · Little Boy  · Fat Man  · Test Able  · Test Baker  · RDS-1  · Operation Greenhouse  · Operation Hurricane  · Ivy Mike  · Joe-4  · Castle Bravo  · RDS-37  · Operation Grapple-X  · Gerboise Bleue  · Tsar Bomba  · 596  · Test No. 6  · Canopus  · Operation Smiling Buddha  · Operation Phoenix  · Kirana-I  · Operation Shakti  · Pokhran-II  · Chagai-I  · Chagai-II  · 2006 N-Korea Test  · 2009 N-Korean Test See also: Nuclear power in India

v t e Military of India Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force Indian Coast Guard Topics History Academies Ranks and insignia Army Air Force Navy Special Forces Indian Peace Keeping Force Paramilitary forces Strategic Forces Command Strategic Nuclear Command Ballistic missiles Weapons of mass destruction Defence Research and Development Organisation Wars and conflicts Indo-Pakistani wars 1947 1965 1971 Operation Polo Operation Vijay Sino-Indian War Chola incident Siachen conflict Blue Star Woodrose 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Operation Cactus Kargil War Kashmir insurgency 2001 Indian–Bangladeshi border conflict Operation Parakram Piracy in Somalia v t e Indian Military honours and decorations Wartime Param Vir Chakra Maha Vir Chakra Vir Chakra Peacetime Ashoka Chakra Kirti Chakra Shaurya Chakra Wartime / Peacetime Service & Gallantry Sena Medal (Army) Nao Sena Medal (Navy) Vayusena Medal (Air Force) Wartime Distinguished Service Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Yudh Seva Medal Peacetime Distinguished Service Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal v t e Indian military academies and colleges Education & Training Armed Forces Medical College Belgaum Military School Chail Military School Rashtriya Indian Military College Sainik School Amaravathinagar Balachadi Bijapur Chittorgarh Ghorakhal Goalpara Kapurthala Kazhakootam Korukonda Kunjpura Lucknow Purulia Rewa Sujanpur Tihra Tilaiya Tri Service Defence Services Staff College National Defence Academy National Defence College Army Army Cadet College Army War College College of Military Engineering Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare School High Altitude Warfare School Indian Military Academy Military College of Telecommunication Engineering Officers Training Academy AirForice Air Force Academy Indian Air Force Test Pilot School Navy Indian Naval Academy Military academy Military education and training Military of India Portal Category Army Navy Air Force Coast Guard

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Rajiv Radheshyam Dixit was an Indian social activist. He started social movements in order to spread awareness on topics of Indian national interest through the Swadeshi Movement, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and various other works.^[1] He served as the National Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan he is the founder of bharat swabhimaan andolan ]^[2] He was a strong believer and preacher of Bharatiyata.^[3] He had also worked for spreading awareness about Indian history, issues in the Indian constitution and Indian economic policies.^[4]

Life[link]

Dixit was born on 30 November 1967 in Naah village, Atrauli tehsil of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh . Under the tutelage of his father RadheShyam Dixit, he was educated till the 12th grade in the village schooling system in Firozabad district. In 1994, he moved to Allahabad (Prayaag) for higher studies. He pursued his M.Tech degree in Satellite Telecommunications from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and pursued his doctorate in telecommunications in France. Subsequently, he worked at CSIR as a scientist. But his passion for his motherland made him give up a paid-position for the sake of Indian culture and Swadeshi movement, serving the cause of "Rashtra Dharma". His audio cassettes on Indian Nationalism and greatness of India's past did well in 1999. He had been recording them over months traveling across India spreading his message of great optimism about India and its enormous contributions to the human civilization. He was a Brahmachari and never married. He was influenced by the ideologies of Indian revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. Later in life, he began to appreciate the early works of Mahatma Gandhi. His life was dedicated to not just ideas with high ideals, but also causes like stopping alcohol and "gutka" production, cow-butchering and social injustices. On the 9th of January 2009, he became one of the founders of "Bharat Swabhiman" movement. He died on 30 November 2010, while in Bhilai in Chattisgarh. The circumstances around his death are uncertain and the cause of his death is unknown. In his memory, the constructed Bharat Swabhiman building in Haridwar has been named "Rajiv Bhawan". He refused to take any modern medicine on his death bed, insisting instead on Ayurvedic medicine.

Work[link]

Dixit suggested that the Indian supreme court should declare money held by Indians in Swiss banks as national property so that foreign banks would have to legally hand over this money to India.^[5]

He fought various MNCs like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Colgate as he considered that these companies are draining wealth in their country making India poorer.^[6]

Initiated and supported movements[link]

• Dixit supported the movement of opening a chain of Swadeshi General Stores, where only Indian-made goods are sold.

He believed in swadeshi. He initiated movements like the Swadeshi Movement and Azadi Bachao Andolan and became their spokeperson.^[7] He addressed a rally of over 50,000 people under the leadership of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in New Delhi.^[8] He also took leadership of the programme held at Calcutta which was supported and promoted by various organizations and prominent personalities and was celebrated all over India on the eve of the 150th Anniversary of the 1857 war of Indian Independence.^[8]

• He demanded decentralization of taxation system, saying that the current system is the core reason for the corruption in bureaucracy. He said that 80% of taxes is being used to pay the politicians and bureaucrats and just 20% for development purposes for the people. He compared the current budget system of the Indian government to the earlier British budget system in India, presenting statistics to show that they are the same. Recently he was working with Swami Ramdev in Bharat Swabhiman Trust as national secretary.^[9]

• He also doubted the terrorist attack on the United States Twin Towers, claiming that it was stage managed by U.S. Government itself, and supported the claims of the Lone Lantern Society of the U.S.^[10]

• He also said that "liberalization, privatization and globalization, the three evil faces staring at us today, have pushed us towards a suicidal state."^[1]

• He argued that modern thinkers have neglected agricultural sectors and farmers have been left to feed themselves and commit suicide.^[1] Expressing his views on the Indian judiciary and legal system, he said that India is still following the laws and acts enacted during the British era and had not taken the burden of changing them as per the requirement of Indian people.^[2]

• He accused the current Indian Government (Congress person Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India) of being an agent for USA. He claimed a huge stock of radio-active elements is buried in Indian sea below Setu Samudram, also known as Sri Ram Setu. These radio-active elements could be used to produce electricity and Nuclear weapons for coming 150 years. He also accused that Indian government is trying to break that bridge, which is more than 700,000 years old. ^[1]

Sudden death[link]

Dixit was in Bhilai to deliver lecture as a part of his Bharat Swabhiman Yatra, where he died on 30th November 2010. His death was unexpected. The cause of death is still unknown, though it was initially believed that he died of a cardiac arrest.

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Media silent on the death of Rajiv Dixit
• [2] Rajiv Dixit and his Articles (New Website)
• Rajiv Dixit and his Articles
• mp3-of-rajiv-dixit-lectures
• Complete Mp3 Lectures on History of Ancient & Modern India
• [3]
• Swabhiman Yatra Videos

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
11th Prime Minister of India
In office 19 March 1998 – 19 May 2004
President	K. R. Narayanan& A P J Abdul Kalam
Deputy	L. K. Advani
Preceded by	I. K. Gujral
Succeeded by	Manmohan Singh
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Preceded by	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	H. D. Deve Gowda
Minister of External Affairs
In office 26 March 1977 – 28 July 1979
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
Succeeded by	Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
Personal details
Born	(1924-12-25) 25 December 1924 (age 87) Gwalior, British India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–present)
Other political affiliations	Bharatiya Jana Sangh (Before 1980)
Alma mater	Victoria College (Now Laxmibai College), Gwalior DAV College, Kanpur
Profession	Poet, Politician
Religion	Hinduism
Signature

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Hindi: अटलबिहारी वाजपेयी, Birth: 25 December 1924 in Gwalior) is a veteran Indian statesman who served as a non congress Prime Minister of India three times, viz. 13 days in 1996, 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and lastly a five year's term from 19 March 1998 until 19 May 2004. A parliamentarian for over four decades, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha a record nine times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha.^[1] He also served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, until 2009, when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. Vajpayee was one amongst the founder members of erstwhile Jana Sangh and had been its president also. He was also the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Morarji Desai. When Janata government collapsed Vajpayee merged his entire party into a fresh party and named it as Bharatiya Janata Party in the interest of nation. A poet-politician Vajpayee has been the liberal face of BJP.

Early life and Education[link]

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25th December, 1924 in a respected middle class Brahmin family. His birthplace was Shinde Ki Chhavani, a small town in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh (then known as Central Province). His grandfather, Pandit Shyam Lal Vajpayee, had migrated to Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh and his father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, was a poet and a schoolmaster in his hometown. Vajpayee attended Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College), and graduated with distinctions in Hindi, English and Sanskrit. He completed his Post Graduation with a (M.A.) degree in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur, securing first-class.^[2] Later he became a full time worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and served the Rashtradharma, Veer Arjun and Panchjanya newspapers as a journalist. Like other full time workers of the Sangh, Vajpayee never married and decided to dedicate his entire life for the service of the nation.

Early political career[link]

Vajpayee's first tryst with politics occurred in 1942, when he was arrested for his participation in the Quit India movement.^[3][4][5] In 1951, He was deputed to work for the newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a right wing political party associated with the RSS and espousing the Hindu cause. He soon became a close follower and aide of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). In 1953, Vajpayee was at Mukherjee's side when he went on a fast-unto-death in Kashmir to protest against perceived inferior treatment of non-Kashmiri Indian visitors to the state. Mukherjee died in prison during this strike. The protest and martyrdom of Mukherjee ended the identity card crisis, the centerpiece of Indian national security at that time. In 1957, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha, where his oratorical skills so impressed the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he predicted that Vajpayee would someday become India's Prime Minister.^[6] By his oratorical and organizing skills, he became the face of the Jana Sangh. After the tragic death of Deendayal Upadhyaya, the mantle of the leadership of Jana Sangh fell on the shoulders of the young Vajpayee. He became the National president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 and along with Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and Lal Krishna Advani led Jan Sangh to national prominence.

He was arrested during the Emergency clamp down against the opposition and was detained in Bangalore during 1975-77. In 1977, Heeding the call of Jayaprakash Narayan for all the opposition parties to unite against the Congress; Vajpayee led the Jana Sangh to merge with the Janata Party. Following the massive and historic victory of the Janata Party in the 1977 general elections, he became the Minister for External Affairs in the Janata government headed by Morarji Desai. That same year, he also became the first person to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi. By the time the Janata government crumbled in 1979, Vajpayee had established himself as an experienced statesman and a respected political leader.^[7]

The rise of the BJP[link]

The Janata Party was dissolved soon after Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister in 1979. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh had devoted its political organization to sustain the coalition, and was left exhausted by the internecine political wars within the Janata Party.

Vajpayee joined many of his Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh colleagues, particularly his long-time friends Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to found the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. He became the BJP's first President. He emerged as a strong critic of the Congress (I) government that followed the Janata government.

While the BJP opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for her divisive and corrupt politics that fostered such militancy at the expense of national unity and integrity.^[8] The BJP did not support Operation Bluestar, and strongly protested against the violence towards Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984 following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards. During this bloody period, more than 3,000 Sikhs were massacred. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; however, the party had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began expanding its organization to attract young Indians throughout the country. During this period, Vajpayee remained at the center-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament.

The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and which sought to build a temple dedicated to Lord Rama at the site of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindus believed that the site was the birthplace of Rama, and thus qualified as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism.

Victory in the assembly elections in Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994, propelled the BJP to greater political prominence. During a BJP conference in Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President L.K. Advani declared that Vajpayee would become the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won in the May 1996 parliamentary elections.^[9]

As Prime Minister of India[link]

Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India from 1996 to 2004 in three non-consecutive terms:

First term: May 1996[link]

The BJP grew in strength in the early 1990's riding on the Hindutva wave. In the 1996 general elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha. The then president Shankar Dayal Sharma invited Vajpayee to form the government in accordance to the Westminster custom. Vajpayee was sworn in as the 11th Prime Minister of India, but the BJP failed to muster enough support from other parties to obtain a majority. He resigned after just 13 days, when it became clear that he could not garner a majority.

Second term: 1998–1999[link]

After the fall of the two United Front governments between 1996 and 1998, the Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections were held. The 1998 general elections again put the BJP ahead of others. This time, a cohesive bloc of political parties joines the BJP to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and A.B. Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister.^[10] The NDA proved its majority in the parliament. This government lasted 13 months as in mid-1999, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under J. Jayalalitha withdrew its support to the 13-month old government.^[11] The government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by a single vote. As the Opposition was unable to come up with the numbers to form the new government, the country returned to election mode with Vajpayee remaining the "care-taker Prime Minister".

Nuclear tests[link]

In May 1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan. The five tests shocked and surprised the world, especially considering that the government had been in power for only a month. 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,^[12] 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 and Vajpayee's popularity as well as the BJP's prestige rose in response.

The Lahore summit[link]

In late 1998 and early 1999, Vajpayee began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and mutual friendship and envisaged a goal of denuclearized South Asia. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations, but also in South Asia and the rest of the world.

The Vajpayee led government was faced with two crises in mid 1999. The AIADMK had continually threatened to withdraw from the coalition and national leaders repeatedly flew down from Delhi to Chennai to pacify the AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha. However, in May 1999, the AIADMK did pull the plug on the NDA, and the Vajpayee administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending fresh elections scheduled for October 1999.

Kargil War[link]

In a stunning development soon after, it was revealed that militants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications and Pakistan Army's custom weaponry) had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley and captured control of border hilltops, unmanned border posts and were spreading out fast. The incursion was centered around the town of Kargil, but also included the Batalik and Akhnoor sectors and include artillery exchanges at the Siachen Glacier.

Indian army units were swiftly rushed into Kashmir in response. Operation Vijay (1999), launched in June 1999, saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers amidst heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600-4,000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well. India pushed back the Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India. With news of Pakistan planning to launch a nuclear attack in the face of a loss in the war with India, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was summoned to the US by Bill Clinton and warned against any such mis-adventure.^[12] After heavy losses and a recalcitrant general in Musharraf, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, Nawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC. The militants were not willing to accept orders from Sharif while the NLI soldiers withdrew.^[12] The militants were killed by the army or forced to withdraw in skirmishes which went beyond the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan. The victory in Kargil bolstered the image of Vajpayee and he was hailed across the country for his bold and strong leadership. It also, gave a tremendous boost to the morale of the Indian public and bolstered National pride.

Third term: 1999–2004[link]

In the 1999 General elections, the BJP-led NDA won 303 seats out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, in the aftermath of the Kargil operations,^[13] thereby securing a comfortable, stable majority. On 13 October 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time. The coalition government that was formed lasted its full term of 5 years – the only non-Congress government to do so.

Indian Airlines hijack[link]

A national crisis emerged in December 1999, when Indian Airlines flight (IC 814) en-route Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists and flown to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.^[14] The hijackers made several demands including the release of certain terrorists like Maulana Masood Azhar from prison. Under extreme public pressure for the safe release of the hostages, the government ultimately caved in and Jaswant Singh, the then Indian External Affairs minister, flew with the terrorists to Afghanistan and exchanged them for the passengers.

A.B.Vajpayee meeting President Bush in the White House in 2001

National Highways Development Project, Foreign policy and Economic reforms[link]

During his administration, Vajpayee introduced many important economic and infrastructural reforms domestically including, encouraging the private sector and foreign investments; reducing governmental waste; encouraging research and development and privatization of some government owned corporations.^[15]

Vajpayee's pet projects were the National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, two high profile and popular projects in which he took a personal interest.

In March 2000, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, paid a state visit to India. His was the first state visit to India by a US President in the past 22 years. President Clinton's visit to India was hailed as a significant milestone in the relations between the two countries. Since the visit followed barely two years after the Pokhran tests, and one year after the Kargil invasion and the subsequent coup in Pakistan, it was read to reflect a major shift in the post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy. The Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President discussed strategic issues, but the major achievement was a significant expansion in trade and economic ties. The Historic Vision Document on the future course of relations between the two countries was signed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton during the visit.

Domestically, the BJP-led government was under constant pressure from its ideological mentor, the RSS, and the hard-line VHP to enact the Hindutva agenda. But owing to its dependence on coalition support, it was impossible for the BJP to push items like building the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, repealing Article 370 which gave a special status to the state of Kashmir, or enacting a uniform civil code applicable to adherents of all religions. The BJP was however accused of saffronising (Saffron is the color of the flag of the RSS, symbol of the Hindu nationalism movement) the official state education curriculum and apparatus. Also, Home Minister L.K. Advani and HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi were indicted in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case for inciting a mob of activists. The RSS also routinely criticized the government for free-market policies which introduced foreign goods and competition at the expense of 'swadeshi' industries and products.

Vajpayee's administration earned the ire of many trade unions and government workers for its aggressive campaign to privatize government owned corporations. Vajpayee promoted pro-business, free market reforms to reinvigorate India's economic transformation and expansion that were started by the former PM Narasimha Rao but stalled after 1996 due to unstable governments and the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Increased competitiveness, extra funding and support for the information technology sector and high-tech industries, improvements in infrastructure, deregulation of trade, investments and corporate laws - all increased foreign capital investment and set in motion an economic expansion.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Russia's then president Vladimir Putin.

These couple of years of reform however were accompanied by infighting in the administration and confusion regarding the direction of government.Vajpayee's weakening health was also a subject of public interest, and he underwent a major knee-replacement surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to relieve great pressure on his legs.

In March 2001, the Tehelka group released incriminating videos of the BJP President Bangaru Laxman, senior army officers and NDA members accepting bribes from journalists posing as agents and businessmen. The Defence Minister George Fernandes was forced to resign following the Barak Missile Deal Scandal, another scandal involving the botched supplies of coffins for the soldiers killed in Kargil, and the finding of an inquiry commission that the Government could have prevented the Kargil invasion. These developments as well as an ambiguous response of the economy to the reforms, reduced the Vajpayee administration's popularity and undermined its future^{[citation needed]}.

Vajpayee again broke the ice in the Indo-Pak relations by inviting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Delhi and Agra for a joint summit and peace talks. His second major attempt to move beyond the stalemate involved inviting the man who had planned the Kargil invasions. But accepting him as the President of Pakistan, Vajpayee chose to move forward. But after three days of much fanfare, which included Musharraf visiting his birthplace in Delhi, the summit failed to achieve a breakthrough as President Musharraf declined to leave aside the issue of Kashmir.

In 2001, the Vajpayee government launched the famous Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which aimed at improving the quality of education in primary and secondary schools.

2001 attack on Parliament[link]

On 13 December 2001, a group of masked, armed men with fake IDs stormed the Parliament building in Delhi. The terrorists managed to kill several security guards, but the building was sealed off swiftly and security forces cornered and killed the men, who were later proven to be Pakistan nationals. Coming just three months after the September 11 attacks upon the United States, this fresh escalation instantly enraged the nation. Although the Government of Pakistan officially condemned the attack, Indian intelligence reports pointed to a conspiracy rooted in Pakistan. Prime Minister Vajpayee ordered a mobilization of India's military forces, and as many as 500,000 servicemen amassed along the international boundary bordering Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir. Pakistan responded with the same. Vicious terrorist attacks and an aggressive anti-terrorist campaign froze day-to-day life in Kashmir, and foreigners flocked out of both India and Pakistan, fearing a possible war and nuclear exchange. For as long as two years, both nations remained perilously close to a terrible war.

The Vajpayee administration also passed the Prevention of Terrorist Act against vigorous opposition of non-NDA parties. Human rights groups have condemned the act which gives wide authority to the government to crack down and hold anybody. Its repeal was advocated by human rights organisations.^[16]

But the biggest political disaster hit his government between December 2001 and March 2002: the VHP held the Government hostage in a major standoff in Ayodhya over the Ram Mandir. At the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque, the VHP wanted to perform a shila daan, or a ceremony laying the foundation stone of the cherished temple at the disputed site. Tens of thousands of VHP activists amassed and threatened to overrun the site and forcibly build the temple. A grave threat of not only communal violence, but an outright breakdown of law and order owing to the defiance of the government by a religious organization hung over the nation.^[7] But to the relief of Vajpayee, this crisis tided over rather smoothly.

Remainder of term[link]

In late 2002 and 2003 the government pushed economic reforms, and the country's GDP growth accelerated at record levels, exceeding 6–7%. Increasing foreign investment, modernization of public and industrial infrastructure, the creation of jobs, a rising high-tech and IT industry and urban modernization and expansion improved the nation's inter-national image. Good crop harvests and strong industrial expansion also helped the economy. The Government reformed the tax system, increased the pace of reforms and pro-business initiatives, major irrigation and housing schemes and so on. The political energies of the BJP shifted to the rising urban middle-class and young people, who were positive and enthusiastic about the major economic expansion and future of the country. He faced stiff opposition from other equally strong originations within Sangh Parivar such as Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. However, he continued with his aggressive economic reform policy. In August 2003, He announced before Parliament his "absolute last" effort to achieve peace with Pakistan. Although the diplomatic process never truly set-off immediately, visits were exchanged by high-level officials and the military stand-off ended. The Pakistani President and Pakistani politicians, civil and religious leaders hailed this initiative as did the leaders of America, Europe and much of the world. In July 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee, visited China, and met with various Chinese leaders. He recognized Tibet, as a part of China, which was welcomed by the Chinese leadership, who in the following year, recognized Sikkim, as a part of India. Sino-Indian Relations, improved greatly, in the followsing years. In November–December 2003, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three major state elections, fought mainly on development issues, without ideological campaigns. A major public relations campaign was launched to reach out to Muslims and stop the 2002 communal riots controversy from haunting the party's future. But the attention of the media and of millions now moved from Vajpayee to his more possible successor, L.K. Advani, although the question was never directly raised or contested in any way. Vajpayee's age, failing health and diminished physical and mental vigor were obvious factors in such speculations. Advani assumed greater responsibilities in the party, and although no perceivable conflict has been known to arise between the longtime friends and political colleagues, several embarrassing statements were made. Once Vajpayee said "Advani would lead the BJP in the elections," prompting Advani to clarify that he would merely lead the election campaign, not the party. And then the BJP President Venkaiah Naidu used mythological references to depict Vajpayee as Vikas Purush (Man of Progress) and Advani as Loh Purush(Man of Steel).

As the BJP prepared for general elections in 2004, Vajpayee was still the choice of the BJP and of the wider NDA, for the Prime Minister's job.

2004 general election[link]

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was widely expected to retain power after the 2004 general election. The 13th Lok Sabha had been dissolved before the completion of its term to capitalize on the perceived 'Feel-good factor' and BJP's recent successes in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The BJP hoped to capitalise on the slogan "India Shining" and released many ads touting the economic growth of the nation.

However, the coalition sidestepped controversial and ideological issues in favour of economic and security issues during the campaign^{[citation needed]} and subsequently lost almost half its seats, with several prominent cabinet ministers being defeated. The Indian National Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi became the single largest party and, along with many minor parties, formed the United Progressive Alliance. With the conditional support of the leftist parties from the outside, the UPA formed a government under Dr Manmohan Singh. Vajpayee resigned as Prime minister and promised co-operation to the new government.^[17]

Vajpayee was criticized within his party and by the Sangh Parivar for sacrificing core issues like Hindutva and the Ram Temple to please the Muslim voters (the BJP lost the Muslim vote by a heavy margin)^{[citation needed]}. Accepting moral responsibility for the defeat, he decided not to take up the position of the Leader of the Opposition and passed on the leadership mantle to Lal Krishna Advani. However, he retained his post as Chairman of the NDA.

Later career[link]

In December 2005, Vajpayee announced his retirement from active politics, declaring that he would not contest in the next general election. In a famous statement at the BJP's silver Jubilee rally at Mumbai's historic Shivaji Park, Vajpayee announced that "Henceforth, Lal Krishna Advani and Pramod Mahajan will be the Ram-Laxman (the two godly brothers much revered and worshipped by Hindus) of the BJP."^[18]

Vajpayee was referred to as the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his speech in the Rajya Sabha.^[19]

Vajpayee was hospitalized at AIIMS for chest infection and fever on 6th February 2009. He was put on ventilator support as his condition worsened but he eventually recuperated and was later, discharged.^[20] Unable to participate in the campaign for the 2009 general election due to his poor health, he wrote a letter urging voters to back the BJP. His protege Lalji Tandon was able to retain the Lucknow seat even though the NDA suffered electoral reverses allover the country. The tall apolitical image of Vajpayee was said to be the main reason behind Lalji's success in Lucknow even though BJP's performance was poor elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh.^[21]

About his poetry[link]

Vajpayee has expressed very clear thoughts about his poetry: "My poetry is a declaration of war, not an exordium to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier's drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior's will to win. It is not the despirited voice of dejection but the stirring shout of victory.^[22]"

Awards[link]

• 1992, Padma Vibhushan^[23]
• 1993, D.Lit from Kanpur University^[24]
• 1994, Lokmanya Tilak Award^[24]
• 1994, Best Parliamentarian Award
• 1994, Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant Award^[23]

Works[link]

Social and political[link]

• Nayi chunauti, naya avasara (Hindi Edition). (2002). ISBN 978-81-7016-501-9.
• India's Perspectives on ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Region. (2003). ISBN 978-981-230-172-7.
• NEW DIMENSIONS OF INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY. (1979).
• Decisive days. (1999).
• When will atrocities on Harijans stop?: A.B. Vajpayee's speech in Rajya Sabha. (1988).
• Heal the wounds: Vajpayee's appeal on Assam tragedy to the parliament. (1983).
• National integration. (1961).
• Sakti se santi. (1999).
• Rajaniti ki rapatili rahem. (1997).
• Vicara-bindu (Hindi Edition). (2000). ISBN 978-81-7016-475-3.
• Bindu-bindu vicara. (1997).
• Kucha lekha, kucha bhashana. (1996).
• Back to square one. (1998).
• Dynamics of an open society. (1977).
• Na dainyam na palayanam (Hindi Edition). (1998).
• Bindu-bindu vicara (Hindi Edition). (1997).
• Kucha lekha, kucha bhashana (Hindi Edition). (1996).
• Sekyularavada: Bharatiya parikalpana (Da. Rajendra Prasada Smaraka vyakhyanamala). (1996).

Autobiography[link]

• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, meri samsadiya yatra (Hindi Edition). (1999). ISBN 978-81-7315-281-8.
• Four decades in parliament. (1996).
• Atala Bihari Vajpayee, samsada mem tina dasaka. (1992).
• Pradhanamantri Atala Bihari Vajapeyi, chune hue bhashana. (2000).
• Values, vision & verses of Vajpayee: India's man of destiny. (2001).
• India's foreign policy: New dimensions. (1977).
• Assam problem: Repression no solution. (1981).
• Suvasita pushpa: Atala Bihari Vajapeyi ke sreshtatama bhashana. (1997).
• A"

Poetry[link]

• Twenty-One Poems. (2003). ISBN 978-0-670-04917-2.
• Kya khoya kya paya: Atala Vihari Vajapeyi, vyaktitva aura kavitaem (Hindi Edition). (1999). ISBN 978-81-7028-335-5.
• Meri ikyavana kavitaem. (1995).
• Meri ikyavana kavitaem (Hindi Edition). (1995).
• Sreshtha kabita. (1997).
• Nayi Disha - an album with Jagjit Singh (1999)
• Samvedna - an album with Jagjit Singh (2002)

Speeches[link]

• Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, selected speeches. (2000). ISBN 978-81-230-0834-9.
• President's addresses, 1980-1986. (2000).
• Presidential address. (1986).
• Presidential address: Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha session, Bhagalpur (Bihar), 5 6 & 7 May 1972. (1972).
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pokhran Test.

References[link]

• In India's Spotlight, He Was Both Director and Audience - NYTimes

Further reading[link]

• L.K. Advani. My Country My Life. (2008). ISBN 978-81-291-1363-4.
• M.P. Kamal. Bateshwar to Prime Minister House - An Interesting Description of Different Aspects of Atalji's . (2003). ISBN 978-81-7604-600-8.
• G.N.S. Raghavan. New Era in the Indian Polity, A Study of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the BJP. (1996). ISBN 978-81-212-0539-9.
• P. R Trivedi. Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The man India needs : the most appropriate leader for the twentyfirst century. (2000). ISBN 978-81-7696-001-4.
• Sujata K. Dass. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (2004). ISBN 978-81-7835-277-0.
• Chandrika Prasad Sharma. Poet politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A biography. (1998). ASIN: B0006FD11E.
• Sheila Vazirani. Atal Bihari Vajpayee; profile & personal views (Know thy leaders). (1967). ASIN: B0006FFBV2.
• Dr. C.P. Thakur. India Under Atal Behari Vajpayee: The BJP Era.(1999). ISBN 978-81-7476-250-4
• Sita Ram Sharma. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee: Commitment to power. (1998). ISBN 978-81-85809-24-3.
• Bhagwat S. Goyal Values, Vision & Verses of Vajpayee: India's Man of Destiny 2001 Srijan Prakashan R-6/233 Rajnagar Ghaziabad 201002 ISBN 81-87996-00-5.
• Darshan Singh. Atal Behari Vajpayee: The arch of India. (2001). ISBN 978-81-86405-25-3.
• Yogesh Atal. Mandate for political transition: Reemergence of Vaypayee. (2000). ASIN: B0006FEIHA.
• Sujata K. Das. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (2004). ISBN 978-81-7835-277-0.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• Profile Govt. of India
• Profile at BBC News
• Annotated Bibliography for Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Complete List of Poems by Atala Bihari Bajpai
• अटलजी की रचनाएँ
• BJP website
• A. B. Vajpayee at BJP leaders, India
• Atalji's life journey poems and songs collection
• Read few poems of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Hindi Script
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Atal Bihari Vajpayee in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Works by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Open Library at the Internet Archive
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Notable Names Database

v t e Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi Morarji Desai Charan Singh Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral Manmohan Singh

v t e Bharatiya Janata Party Presidents Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1980 - 1986) · Lal Krishna Advani(1986 - 1991, 1993-1998, 2004-2006) · Murli Manohar Joshi (1991 - 1993) · Kushabhau Thakre (April 1998 - August 2000) · Bangaru Laxman (August 2000 - March 2001) · Jana Krishnamurthi (March 2001 - July 2002)  · Venkaiah Naidu (July 2002 - October 2004) · Rajnath Singh (January 2006 - December 2009) · Nitin Gadkari (December 2009 - incumbent) Branches Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Party leaders Sushma Swaraj · Arun Jaitley · Venkaiah Naidu · Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi · Narendra Modi · Sushil Kumar Modi · Murli Manohar Joshi · Shivraj Singh Chauhan History Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh  · Bharatiya Jana Sangh  · Janata Party  · Organisation

Shri Kasturiranga Santhanam (1895 – February 28, 1980), also known as Kumitithadai Santhanam, was an Indian politician. He was a conservative Iyengar from Tamil Nadu and acquired the appellation 'Pandit' for his erudition.^[1]

Santhanam obtained a Master of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Madras (St. Joseph's College, Trichy) and later a law degree from the Law College of Madras, now known as Chennai. He joined the Indian National Congress and participated in the Indian Independence Movement at an young age and was imprisoned once for that. He was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife died while at the Gandhi Ashram, while he was in jail. From 1937 to 1942, he was a member of the Imperial Legislative Assembly, and from 1946 was a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly, from 1948 serving as Union Minister for Railways and Transport in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. He stood as a Congress candidate for the House of the People from Mayuram in Tanjore district, but lost to a Communist. In February 1952, he was appointed as the Governor of Vindhya Pradesh.^[2]

In 1963, Lal Bahadur Sastri appointed Santhanam to preside over the corruption committee. Because of its thorough investigative work and recommendations, the Committee earned a reputation as Santhanam's Committee on Corruption. In his 1976 'Code of Conduct for persons in power, authority or positions of trust in our country', he explicitly included ministers and members of Parliament and state legislatures. There should be no use of position for personal or family advantage, read his code; no actions motivated by considerations of party, religion, caste, or community; no unofficial dealings with businessmen or hospitality or gifts accepted from them or other private persons.^[3]

Santhanam was also instrumental in shaping the politics in post-Independence Tamil Nadu, through his close association with Rajaji and Kamaraj. He served as the first editor of the Indian Express (1933–1940) and later worked as the joint editor of the Hindustan Times (1943–1948). He was well-versed in Tamil, Sanskrit, and English. His literary contributions are many. Most of Santhanam's work was published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, including An Anthology of Indian Literature (1969), Gospel of Gandhi (1967), and British Imperialism and Indian Nationalism (1972). Santhanam also translated Kālidāsa's Shakuntala and Bhavabuti's Uttara Rama Charitam, both from Sanskrit.

Santhanam died in 1980 and was survived by two sons - K.S. Rajagopalan was a noted international expert on electro-chemistry, corrosion theory and corrosion control, and was a prominent research director at the Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Another noted son of his was K.S. Ramanujan, who was a well known journalist serving as Associate Editor for Hindustan Times.

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.write2kill.in/reports-editorials/people/936.html
2. ^ The Hindu dated February 15, 1952, New Lieutenant-Governors online
3. ^ Austin, Granville (1999). Working a Democratic Constitution - A History of the Indian Experience. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 642. ISBN 019565610-5. 

See also[link]

• Central Vigilance Commission

External Links[link]

Tummala, Krishna T (2009): Combating Corruption - Lessons out of India, International Public Management Review (IPMR), Vol.1, Issue 10, 2009

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam at the 12th Wharton India Economic Forum, 2008
President of India
In office 26 July 2002 – 24 July 2007
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee Manmohan Singh
Vice President	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by	Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Succeeded by	Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Personal details
Born	(1931-10-15) 15 October 1931 (age 80) Rameswaram, British India (present day Tamil Nadu, India)
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli Madras Institute of Technology
Profession	Professor, Author, scientist Aerospace engineer
Religion	Islam
Website	abdulkalam.com

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( pronunciation (help·info); born 15 October 1931) usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is an Indian politician and scientist who served as the 11th President of India. Apart from being a professor of aerospace engineering, he is also famous for his contribution to missile technology for India, pertaining to which he has been honoured Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian honour.

He was born and brought up at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, being born in a poor family he had to work his way through average grades and financial hard ships, completing his studies in aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai). He joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India and is known for his many contributions to Aeronautical and Missile technology of India.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was elected president of India in 2002, defeating Lakshmi Sahgal, and was supported by both National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and BJP, then major political party of India. After serving office as a president till 2007 he is now a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management, Indore; Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), JSS University (Mysore), and an adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India and is involved in philanthropic work as on 2012 .

Early life and education[link]

Kalam was born on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, the son of Jainulabdeen, a boat owner and Ashiamma, a housewife.^[1][2][3][4] He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income.^[5] He was brought up in a multi-religious environment but did follow a religious routine. As a child, he had a discipline of starting the day at 4:00 am following the footsteps of his father^[3] to do homework before going to school to attend mathematics classes.^[6] After completing school, Kalam distributed newspapers in order to financially contribute to his father's income.^[5] In his school years, he had average grades, but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn and who spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics.^[6]

"I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my father; from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness as did my three brothers and sisters."

—A quote from Kalam's autobiography^[3]

After completing his school education at the Rameshwaram Elementary School, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli where he graduated in physics^[5] in 1954. Towards the end, he was not enthusiastic the subject, and would later regret the four years he studied it.^[6] He then moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering.^[4][6] While Kalam was working on a senior class project, the Dean was dissatisfied with the lack of progress and threatened the revoking of his scholarship unless the project was finished within the next two days.^[6] He worked tirelessly on his project, and met the deadline, impressing the Dean who later said, "It was a test, and under extreme stress, Kalam met a difficult deadline to complete the project".^[6]

Career as scientist[link]

After graduating from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai) in 1960, Kalam joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defense Research and Development Organization as a chief scientist. There, Kalam started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced with the choice of his job.^[6] Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Vikram Sarabhai.^[4] In 1969, Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near earth orbit in July 1980. Joining ISRO was one of Kalam's biggest achievements in life and he is said to have found himself when he started to work on the SLV project. Kalam first started work on an expandable rocket project independently at DRDO in 1965.^[8] In 1969, Kalam received the government's approval and expanded the program to include more engineers.^[7]

In 1963–64, he visited Nasa's Langley Research Center in Poquoson, Virginia, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility situated at Eastern Shore of Virginia.^[9][2]

From the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar SLV and SLV-III project which proved to be a success. In 1974, Kalam was shifted to the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a subsidiary of DRDO.

Dr. Kalam addresses young engineers at IIT Guwahati

Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear test, Smiling Buddha as the representative of TBRL, even though he had not participated in developing or even taken part in the test site preparations or weapon designing. In the 1970s, a landmark was passed when ISRO first launched into space the locally built Rohini-1, using the SLV rocket.^[10] In the 1970s, Kalam also directed Project Devil and Project Valiant – which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of Kalam's successful SLV programme.^[10] Despite the disapproval of Union Cabinet, Premier Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's directorship.^[10] Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects.^[10]

His research and educational leadership brought him great laurels and prestige in 1980s, which prompted the government to initiate an advanced missile program under his directorship.^[10] As Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P), he played a major part in developing many missiles in India including Agni and Prithvi, although the projects have been criticised for mismanagement and cost and time overruns.^[11] He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999. The Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period where he played an intensive political and technological role. Kalam served as the Chief Project Coordinator, along with R. Chidambaram during the testing phase.^[2][12] Photos and snapshots of him taken by the media elevated Kalam as the country's top nuclear scientist although Kalam was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.^{[citation needed]}

In the year 1998, with cardiologist Dr.SomaRaju, Kalam developed a low cost Coronary stent. It was named as "Kalam-Raju Stent" honouring them.^[13][14] In 2012, the duo, designed a rugged tablet PC for health care in rural areas. It is named as "Kalam-Raju Tablet".^[15]

Presidency[link]

Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. He served from 25 July 2002 to 24 July 2007.

On 10 June 2002, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which was in power at the time expressed to the leader of opposition, Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi that they would propose Kalam for the post of President.^[17] The Samajwadi Party and the Nationalist Congress Party backed the his candidacy.^[18][19] After the Samajwadi Party announced its support for him, the then president K. R. Narayanan chose not to seek a second term in office and hence left the field clear for Kalam to become the 11th President of the country.^[20]

I am really overwhelmed. Everywhere both in Internet and in other media, I have been asked for a message. I was thinking what message I can give to the people of the country at this juncture.

—Kalam post the announcement of his candidature by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee^[21]

On 18 June, Kalam filed his nomination papers in Parliament of India, accompanied by Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues.^[22]

Kalam along with Vladimir Putin and Manmohan Singh during his presidency

The polling for the presidential election began on 15 July 2002 in the Parliament and state assemblies with media claiming that the election was a one-sided affair and Kalam's victory a foregone conclusion. The counting was held on 18 July.^[23] Kalam won the presidential election in a highly one-sided contest. He became the 11th president of the Republic of India.^[24] He moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan after he was sworn in on 25 July.^[25] Kalam was the first President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. He was also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.^[26]

At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007, Kalam's expressed his willingness to consider a second term in office provided there was certainty about his victory in the 2007 presidential election.^[27] However, two days later, he decided not to contest the Presidential election again stating that he didn't want Rashtrapati Bhavan to become involved in any political process.^[28] He did not have the support of the Left parties, BJP ally Shiv Sena and UPA constituents to receive a renewed mandate.^[29][30] During his term as President, he was affectionately known as the People's President.^[31][32][33] On his words, signing the Office of Profit Bill was the toughest decision he had taken during his tenure.^[34]

Nearing the term expiry of the 12th President Pratibha Patil, who's tenure ends on 24 July 2012, media reports in April claimed that Kalam was likely to be nominated for his second term.^[36][37][38] After the reports, social networking sites were in buzz with users extended their support with activity to mobilise support for him.^[39][40] BJP potentially backed his nomination, saying that the party will lend their support if Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress proposes his name for the 2012 presidential election.^[41][42]

Criticisms and controversies[link]

The controversy that surrounds Kalam's role as a nuclear scientist, is the lack of reliable and factual reporting of the yield of Pokhran-II tests. The director of the site test, K. Santhanam, publicly admitted that the thermonuclear bomb was a "fizzle" test, criticising Kalam for issuing the wrong report. However, Kalam dismissed the claims, and R. Chidambaram, a key associated with Pokhran-II, had also described these claims as incorrect.^[43] In spite of his leading role in the development of Indian nuclear programme, Kalam has received criticism from many of his peers who claimed that Kalam had "no authority" over nuclear science.^[44] Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer criticised Kalam claiming that Kalam had no background in publishing articles in nuclear science, even in nuclear physics. Sethna maintained that Kalam received his doctorate in aerospace engineering which is a completely different discipline from nuclear engineering, and what various universities awarded him for his achievements had nothing to do with nuclear physics. Sethna, in his last interview, maintained that in the 1950s, Kalam had failed advanced physics courses during his college life, and quoted "What does he know (about [nuclear] physics)....?", on national television.^[45] Others felt that Kalam had never worked in any of the Indian nuclear power plants and had no role in developing the nuclear weapon which was completed under Raja Ramanna.^[46] Kalam worked as an aerospace engineer in a SLV project in the 1970s and from the 1980s onwards as a project director before he was shifted to Defence Research and Development Organisation, Sethna concluded.^[45]