“What road should I go down? Honor lost at busy crossroads, Knights defeated by pawns:Do I make my final move, or do I withdraw from battle?
What road should I go down?
A dream was born, and died,
The garden dried up in the season of spring:
Do I gather these scattered leaves, or do I fashion a new universe?
What road should I go down?”
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his poem Raah Kaunsi Jaaoon Mein?
When a person chooses a difficult path to reach out to the people, one should be prepared to face a lot of hurdles and turbulence. Some time or the other, everyone faces a dilemma over whether to go ahead braving all odds, or beat a retreat. Those who lack courage prefer to step back, but a leader forges ahead, crossing every hurdle and ultimately achieving the desired goal. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is one such leader.
It was no smooth journey for Atalji. The son of an ordinary school teacher, he began his career as a journalist. He took part in the Quit India movement, played an active role as a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and edited popular journals like Swadesh, Veerarjun, Rashtra Dharma and Panchajanya. During the Emergency, he was arrested by the Indira Gandhi government. Yet he did not lose his commitment for the uplift of the masses. As the president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later transformed into the Bharatiya Janata Party, he made relentless efforts to build it from scratch.
Between 1957 and 2009, Vajpayee was elected to Parliament 10 times. As Minister for External Affairs in the Janata Party government, he left his impression on India’s foreign policy. Even after he became prime minister, he had to face several hurdles. He was in the post for 13 days in his first stint, and then for 13 months; but finally, he emerged as the first non-Congress prime minister to rule the country for nearly five years.
During his tenure, Vajpayee implemented several development programmes which provided long-term benefits for the people.
The “Golden Quadrilateral” and Grameen Sadak Yojana projects taken up by his government are major milestones in the history of the country. Vigorously pursuing the economic reforms introduced by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee did not hesitate to privatise public sector undertakings like Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited in the interest of economic progress. He established several SEZs and industrial parks, and initiated major changes in the IT industry, completely transforming the country’s economy. He also launched the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas to involve non-resident Indians in the country’s development. He launched several pro-poor schemes, including the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan that brought literacy to millions.
Soon after becoming prime minister, Vajpayee conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran, putting India in the club of nuclear-powered countries. Though the US, Britain and Canada imposed economic sanctions, they were forced to withdraw them eventually. Subsequently, Vajpayee took several measures to improve foreign relations in his inimitable style.
He extended a friendly hand to China to improve trade relations, while working to resolve the border disputes through bilateral negotiations. There was also a qualitative change in Indo-US relations. Former US president Bill Clinton came on an official tour to India, the first such visit since President Jimmy Carter’s visit 22 years before. As for Pakistan, while launching a counter-offensive against cross-border terrorism, Vajpayee also extended a friendly hand by launching his bus yatra to Lahore.
Under his leadership, the armed forces successfully evicted the enemy from Kargil. Despite that, Vajpayee sought peace by holding discussions with then Pakistan president General Musharraf. “We always believed in the process of peace negotiations. At the same time, we will not hesitate to deal with an iron hand any attempt to trespass into our territory,” he asserted.
“We have been fighting with each other for the last 50 years. How long do you want to continue this fight?” he asked Pakistan from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi after hoisting the tricolour on August 15, 2001.
Vajpayee’s primary strength is his oratorical skill, which helped him become the leader of the Jan Sangh and BJP. When he got elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1957, his poetic speech impressed then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who hugged Vajpayee and predicted that he would someday become the leader the country. Nehru’s words came true after nearly four decades.
Vajpayee’s second major strength is that he has no enemies. Whether he was in the Opposition or in the prime minister’s position, he commanded respect from everybody.
“We believe that empowering the individual means empowering the nation. And empowerment is best served through rapid economic growth coupled with rapid social change,” he said while addressing the Asia Society in New York on September 7, 2000. Commemorating his birthday on December 25, the NDA government has decided to observe the day as Good Governance Day.
Like Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too started his career as an RSS activist. Both believe in the same ideology, same mission and same goal. Modi took on the task of carrying forward the legacy of Vajpayee and fulfil his dreams on good governance. Like Vajpayee, Modi believes that in democracy, lawmakers are not the rulers, they are the servants. He calls himself the “pradhan sewak” of the people and not their “pradhan mantri”.
Corruption and black money have become impediments to good governance. They have exploited the poor and snatched away the rights of the people. Hence, Modi declared a war on black money and corruption.
After all, what is good governance? It centres on the responsibility of governments to meet the needs of the people. Even the weakest and most vulnerable sections of society should have an equal stake in the country’s growth. It’s about transparency, efficiency and responsiveness. It is about a clean government free of corruption. In good governance, there is no place for favouritism, archaic modes of governance and delay in decision making. For example, with the prime minister’s intervention, all income tax refunds are processed within 15 days and if there’s any delay, the concerned assessment officer would be held responsible for it. Modi outlined the JAM initiative to uproot corruption in the country by linking the Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts with Aadhaar cards and with mobile governance.
Direct Benefit Transfer and digital or electronic payments are all part of good governance initiatives. The idea behind these decisions is to root out corruption by middlemen. To make the lives of people easy and comfortable, the Modi government has not only repealed more than 1,000 outdated and redundant laws in Parliament but also simplified procedures in the government. Earlier, a pensioner used to submit a life certificate issued by the authorities.
With the launching of Jeevan Praman, an Aadhaar-based digital life certificate for pensioners, they need not submit a physical life certificate every year in order to ensure continuity of pension. With the introduction of Mygov and Narendra Modi apps, people are actively participating in the country’s governance and development. These apps have become platforms for people to share their ideas and contribute on various government projects and plans.
There is no doubt that Modi has expanded the path of good governance laid out by Vajpayee. His motto is ‘reform, perform and transform’. He wants to make India strong, stable and prosperous. His priorities are gaon (village), garib (poor), kisan (farmer), mahila (women), yuva (youth) and antyodaya (uplift of the poorest of the poor).
“I will not concede defeat” (haar nahi manunga) said Vajpayee in one of his famous poems. Taking this as an inspiration, Modi is determined to fight for the cause of people in order to find a permanent place in the hearts of the people.