Interesting and lesser known facts about Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India, who passed away on Aug 16 at the age of 93
#1. STAYING WITH COLLEGE SWEETHEART
Even when Vajpayee's college sweetheart married someone else, the two continued to stay together in Delhi's Ramjas College campus. Vajpayee lived life on his own terms and had a very unconventional relationship with his lover. It was a daring thing to do for somebody in those days but Vajpayee could not care less!
#2. EDUCATION SPONSORED BY SCINDIAS
During the late fifties, Vajpayee's education was sponsored by the Royal Scindia family of Madhya Pradesh. He received Rs 75 as a monthly stipend which, at that time, was a princely sum. Vajpayee was very close to the Scindias and in 1984, while campaigning in Gwalior, had asked people to vote for Congress and show that no one could get away with assassinating the prime minister of the country, referring to the assasination of Indira Gandhi. This also turned out to be the only election when he lost from Gwalior against Madhav Rao Scindia.
#3. WHEN HE SAVED TAXI DRIVERS IN 1984 RIOTS
In November, 1984, Vajpayee saved a group of sikh taxi drivers from an angry mob who wanted to burn the taxis and lynch the Sikh drivers after Indira Gandhi's assasination. This happened just opposite Vajpayee's house on Delhi's Raisina Road and when the leader heard the loud commotion, he immediately went outside and intervened. Since he was a man who commanded enormous respect from all sections of the society, the mob had to eventually leave the taxi stand. Vajpayee even waited at the spot till everyone was gone!
#4. WHEN HE REFUSED TO HAVE A CT SCAN
Author and journalist Ullekh NP, in his book, The Untold Vajpayee - Politician and Paradox, mentioned an interesting incident about the former Prime Minister disagreeing to go for a CT scan. Vajpayee had been advised by doctors to undergo a CT scan after he reported of feeling vobbly. When Vajpayee saw the CT scan machine, he got scared and refused to undergo the test. It's interesting because such a brave man, who could save people from an angry mob and who did not even shy away from criticising political stalwarts, got scared by a machine!
#5. CLASSMATE OF HIS FATHER
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the classmate of his father! Yes, you read that right! Vajpayee and his father Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, a poet and schoolmaster, were classmates at the law college in Kanpur's DAV College. Not only did they attend the same class, the father-son duo even shared the same hostel room. What an experience it must have been! Vajpayee also went to jail with this brother. In 1942, while participating in The Quit India Movement, Vajpayee and his elder brother Prem were arrested and put in jail together for 23 days.
#6. WHEN TIMES CALLED HIM AN ALCOHOLIC
Times Magazine alleged that Vajpayee was a heavy drinker and continued to enjoy a nightly whisky or two in an article titled "Asleep at The Wheel", which was published in June 2002. The article even commented on Vajpayee's deitary habits and said that he used to consume fried food and fatty sweets. The article went too harsh on him when it said that he had trouble with his bladder, liver and "one remaining kidney'. It also alleged that Vajpayee used to take a three-hour long snooze every afternoon and would often fall asleep during important meetings. The whole point behind the article was to prove that Vajpayee was not suitable to be a leader who would control a nuclear arsenal. Responding to the article, foreign ministry officials had rubbished it and said that the article was totally biased and ill informed.
#7. A NON-VEGETARIAN & NATURE LOVER
Even though, Atal Bihari Vajpayee belonged to a Brahmin household, he was a connoisseur of non-vegetarian cuisine and would relish scrumptous Mughali food at Delhi's famous Karim's Restaurant. His favourite non-veg dish was prawns. Not a bad taste, we would say! Being the great poet that he was, Vajpayee also loved nature and visiting himalayan towns. His famous hill station happened to be Himachal Pradesh's Manali.
#8. WHEN NEHRU PREDICTED HIS FUTURE
The fact that Atal Bihari Vajpayee greatly admired Jawaharlal Nehru is known to all but only few people know that Nehru himself was a great admirer of Vajpayee when he was a young lad. Vjapayee had left Nehru impressed with his excellent oratory skills. Listening to his speeches, Nehru had predicted that one day Vajpayee would go on to become the prime minister of the country and Vajpayee, did not disappoint him!
#9. A COMMUNIST FIRST
Before he joined the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS), a hardcore right-wing organisation, Vajpayee was associated with the student wing of the Communist Party of India, SFI, as a student leader. He was deeply inspired by Babasaheb Apte which led him towards communism. In 1939, however, he joined the RSS and became one of its Pracharaks in 1947.
#10. AN ACCIDENTAL POLITICIAN
Vajpayee did not wish to become a politician in the first place. He was rather intrigued by journalism and always wished to become a scribe. It was fate which brought him into politics. But he did live his dream of becoming a journalist for a short while when he was sent to Uttar Pradesh to assist the team behind Deendayal Upadhyaya's newspapers Rashtradharma, which was a Hindi monthly, Hindy weekly Panchjanya and the dailies Veer Arjun and Swadesh.
