Remembering Vajpayee, warrior with will to win
We were at the helipad when Pakistan army started shelling Kargil. I told the Prime Minister that the helipad was in the artillery guns trajectory shadow so nothing would happen here. While some people in his party panicked, Vajpayee watched the shelling and kept chatting calmly.
On Christmas, India remembered former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the beginning of his centenary year. As army chief, I had the privilege to work with him from March 19, 1998, till I retired on September 30, 2000.
Vajpayee was a statesman and visionary. During decision-making on national security issues, I found him open-minded. He would consult everyone around before taking a decision. After a decision was made, he would face any amount of criticism with confidence and poise.
His three fixed ideas were on (a) carrying out nuclear weapons tests (b) improving relations with Pakistan, and (c) building bridges with an estranged J&K population through ‘Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat’, while security forces were engaged in eliminating violence.
On the nuclear tests, he followed his predecessors’ policy and told us, “Saamigri tayyar thi, maine toh sirf visphot kiya.”
Vajpayee took the bus journey to sign the Lahore Declaration with then prime minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. Many would look at that as misplaced because Pakistan followed it up with the Kargil intrusion. But it was his bold attempt to pursue a radical security paradigm.
The intrusion by Pakistan army in Kargil sector was a shock for Vajpayee. He took some time to believe that the personal capital he had invested in Pakistan’s leadership had proved to be a liability. Immediately after I briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security on my assessment of the situation, he rang up Sharif and told him that India would take strong action to evict Pakistan army from its territory.
Once, when he spoke of his decision on not allowing us to cross the LoC/border, I advised him not to do so in public. I told him, “Sir, we will do our best to undo what Pakistan has done. But suppose we cannot do that in Kargil sector, as a military man I will have no option but to cross the LoC/border.” He didn’t say anything but the same evening, he sent Brajesh Mishra, the national security adviser, to a TV channel who announced, “Not crossing the LoC/border holds good today but we don’t know about tomorrow.” If the necessity arose, I believe, he would have permitted us to do so. We had kept our forces at short notice for such a contingency.
During the war, we went to Kargil on June 13, 1999. We were at the helipad when Pakistan army started shelling the town. We could see bombs falling a few kilometres away. I told the Prime Minister that the helipad was in the artillery guns trajectory shadow so nothing would happen here. While some people in his party panicked, Vajpayee watched the shelling and kept chatting calmly.
Throughout the war, I found him approachable and receptive. On several occasions, he would ring me up. I could do the same. We met almost every day; sometimes even twice. He was a good listener, would ask few questions but remained alert. When we were running short of spares for the Bofors guns and other weapons, he ensured that the ban on the Swedish manufacturer was lifted.
Throughout the war, he gave a free hand to the military. But he remained fixed on his political goal and when to call for a halt. The unparalleled success in Kargil was not only due to military actions. It was because of the cohesive and coherent national machinery knit together by Vajpayee.
Atal ji had a lot of respect for the men in uniform. He was a man of few words, but his expressions said everything. He was empathetic and concerned about soldiers’ welfare. He would be concerned about the number of casualties and visited wounded soldiers in the frontline army hospitals. After the war, he enhanced monetary and other grants for war casualties and wounded soldiers. He sanctioned the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme.
At my request, he started having a monthly informal meeting with the three service chiefs. No one else was present during those meetings.
Before retirement, I mentioned to him that earlier PMs used to have a meal in the Army House. He asked, “Toh aap mujhe bula rahen hain?” On the day dinner was fixed, he rang up to ask if he could bring along his foster daughter and son-in-law. It was a delightful, relaxed evening.
Vajpayee was a peace-loving poet. He conveyed his thoughts through his powerful oratory. On his poetry, he said once, “My poetry is a declaration of war. It is not rhetoric. It is not the defeated soldier’s drum beat of despair, but the fighting warrior’s will to win. It is not the de-spirited voice of dejection, but the stirring shout of victory.” vedmalik@gmail.com
The writer is a Panchkula-based former chief of the Indian Army
