Shades of Vajpayee: From an unmarried father to a poet in a politician’s shoes

A Poet by heart, politician by nature

He was a rarity in many ways but being a poet alongside a successful politician is a rare combination. A senior journalist rightly portrayed him “as a poet among politicians and a politician among poets.” Though, mainstream members of the Hindi poetry genre did not consider him as a serious poet. Some of his poems are considered a fine example of his poetic talent.

Among others, his collection of 51 poems “Meri Ekyavan Kavitayen” is famous for their philosophical depth and lyrical values. Poems such as Maut se than gayi, Geet naya gata hu, Kadam Milakar chalna hoga are particularly considered to be fair examples of Vajpayee’s lyricism. In an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai in 2004, Vajpayee conceded that his ambition was to be a successful Sahityakar (writer).

A journalist who became PM of the country

He was a journalist among the political activists of his time and an activist among the journalists. Again, a non-typical combination. There are only a few examples in history where a journalist rises to become the prime minister of the country; but BJP founder, AB Vajpayee - who worked with Hindi dailies like Veer Arjun, Swadesh in various capacity - successfully straddled between the two. He began his journalistic career in late 40s with the Hindi monthly Rashtra Dharma (founded by DD Upadhyay) and became Prime Minister in 1996. Even after becoming the Prime Minister, he continued writing for different publications.

A Right winger with a centrist outlook

The tallest leader that the Indian right wing produced so far, Vajpayee had a centrist outlook about the socio-political situation of the country. He was regarded as a modest face among hardliners and a right-wing ideologue in the liberal-socialist fold. But he was both. Cleverly, he switched over between two opposites as per the need of the hour. For example – he propagated RSS’ version of Hindutva but did not act upon them strongly. He continued with liberal economic policies started by his predecessor, PV Narsimha Rao, who was a Congress leader. He talked about Swadeshi model of economy but never gave a free hand to his RSS’s affiliates such as Swadeshi Jagran Manch to intervene. Similarly, his understanding of the Opposition in a democracy was contrarian to the current right-wing government. He was extremely tolerant of the Opposition. Following the slogan of Gair Congressvad, coined by Ram Manohar Lohia, Vajpayee was vehemently opposed to Indira Gandhi, but he never stood by the “Congress Mukt Bharat” ideology.

A Brahmin who loved eating fish

He was a Brahmin, that too an RSS activist but never hid his love for meat. In the present time, when people are being killed for eating beef, his life stands as a case study for food politics. Chef Hemant Oberoi, who regularly accompanied Vajpayee on foreign trips, told media that he was fond of Amritsari-style fish and Kerala prawn curry. It is hard to imagine that someone from the RSS and the BJP would be so open about his food preferences. “His life style was a rebuke to the BJP-RSS fundamentalists who justify killing in the name of beef and cow protection,” said a Delhi based BJP observer.

A dedicated Pracharak, an unmarried father

In RSS’ ideology, if being Brahmachari (celibate) is a virtue, then Vajpayee was certainly an offender. He must be given credit for having demolished the moral demagoguery of the RSS that took place from within. He remained unmarried till end but by his own confession he was “not a bachelor.” He had a life-long relationship with a woman who was already married to someone and had a daughter as well. Vajpayee later adopted her daughter too and invited her to live with him in his residence when he became PM. Only Vajpayee could do this.

An individualist in RSS camp

A political commentator described Vajpayee as “a right person in the wrong team” right after he lost to UPA in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. Vajpayee had many shades, but the axis of his revolving personality was his adhesiveness to certain independence era political values. Born in a modest family in the erstwhile state of Gwalior, he was influenced by the RSS since childhood but never fully surrendered his individuality to them. Vajpayee remained a non-conformist till the end in the RSS fold which was known to demand complete surrender from its cadres.

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