I think that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an outstanding man. Being from the right wing of the Indian political spectrum, the kind of realistic appreciation of relations with Pakistan he had can only be lauded.
The bus journey to Lahore, the things he said in front of the Pakistan Minar. That could have been the beginning of a new relationship. This was really screwed up by Kargil.
But knowing that the person responsible for Kargil is now the head of Pakistan, yet to invite him for the Agra summit, that was again something commendable. Something could have come out of the Agra summit if –we subcontinentals, both Pakistanis and Indians—sometimes we take pride in displaying our small-mindedness. It was the smallness of our minds which led to the sabotaging of the Agra summit.
The breakfast remarks that Pervez Musharraf made in Agra about Kashmir, the way Prannoy Roy made those remarks public, and what Sushma Swaraj said (‘there was not a word on Kashmir during the discussions’). Those remarks were taken amiss by the Pakistani side. The whole right wing of the BJP, including Advani, weren’t happy with Vajpayee’s outreach.
The excuse came in the form, not because of Musharraf’s breakfast remarks, but because of what Prannoy did. Prannoy did ask Pakistan TV for permission to play the quotes, which they refused, which was very foolish on their part. Then Sushma weighed in with her remarks, and by the evening the whole thing was screwed.
Vajpayee was able to transcend narrow political boundaries from which he arose as a political leader. In Pakistan, Vajpayee was not seen as a BJP leader, he was not seen as an RSS product. Narendra Modi is seen as one.
If the history of India-Pakistan relations is written, among the blunders made from our side, the biggest was Kargil. If there was any good to come out of Vajpayee’s journey to Lahore, that was completely sabotaged.
I think a lesser man would not have agreed to Musharraf coming to Agra after that. On the other side, Musharraf made amends, which opened him to the charge in Pakistan that the military regime was giving open-sided concessions to India.
Then, during the Saarc summit in Islamabad, India’s NSA and Musharraf’s aide Tariq Aziz signed a declaration about terrorism. That wasn’t liked in Pakistan.
Vajpayee was also a great orator. He had a way of putting across complex ideas in a manner that would connect with his audiences. He was an orator in the subcontinental tradition of great orators, a breed that is dying now. It was a breath of fresh air to know that he liked his evening drink. We need more people like him.
(As told to Ramananda Sengupta)