Front Page
Today, the country mourns a cherished prime minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee. At five past five Thursday, Vajpayee succumbed to the complications of a urinary tract infection and chest congestion. He was 93 years old.
His death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where he had been admitted for the past 9 weeks. Below is the official announcement.
‘BJP’s gentle colossus fades away’ reads The Hindu headline; The Indian Express calls his death “A Nation’s loss”, and says below that “He gave BJP its first light – then faded into the shadows”. The Times of India calls him “PM, Poet, Statesman, Gentleman”, while Hindustan Times says “Politics loses its poetry”: Today, all the newspapers are paying tribute to Vajpayee who, in his demise, is “uniting an otherwise deeply divided political class in grief”.
Condolences (and tributes) flooded newspapers, Facebook and Twitter. Politicians, journalists, famous and non-famous personalities from across the political spectrum took to social media to remember the leader whose government defeated Pakistan in the Kargil war, delivered a speech in Hindi at the UN for the first time, and sent a searing message to PM Modi on the Godhra riots of 2002. Here’s what Twitter had to say about the death of Vajyapee:
Today India lost a great son. Former PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, was loved and respected by millions. My condolences to his family & all his admirers. We will miss him. #AtalBihariVajpayee
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 16, 2018
I have lost a father figure.
Atal Ji taught me vital facets of both ‘Shaasan’ and ‘Sangathan.’
His noble thoughts will live on and we will fulfil his dreams for the country. pic.twitter.com/qr755OQ72o
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2018
Vajpayee Sahib is no more & I feel a personal sense of loss at his passing. Thank you sir for the opportunities, for the trust you reposed in me, for the opportunities to travel with you & to learn from you. You will be greatly missed #AtalBihariVajpayee
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 16, 2018
Very very saddened that the great statesman and former PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji is no more with us. His passing away is a very big loss to our nation. I will always cherish the many fond memories. Condolences to his family and his many admirers
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 16, 2018
असंभव की किताबों पर जय का चक्रवर्ती निनाद करने वाले मानवता के स्वयंसेवक, परम आदरणीय अटल जी को श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित की।
अटल जी के निधन के साथ ही भारतीय राजनीति का ध्रुवतारा अस्त हो गया।
आप सदैव हमारे हृदय में रहेंगे। pic.twitter.com/yo5va77CHx— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 16, 2018
Among the eulogies were voices that recalled his warning to Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat, to remember his “raj dharma” during the post-Godhra riots…
Ask any Kashmiri which Prime Minister they liked best and the reply will invariably be #AtalBihariVajpayee He reminded Modi that he should have upheld “Raj Dharam” – over Gujarat riots. He attempted to resolve the Kashmir issue. He spoke a language of humanity. RIP Atal Ji!
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) August 16, 2018
मोदी जी को राजधर्म की नसीहत देनेवाला भी अब कोई नहीं रहा। अब कौन उनका कान पकड़ेंगा? 2002 के दंगों के वक्त राजधर्म का पालन करने की नसीहत देने के लिए और खुद उस मामलें में कुछ नही करने के लिए भी हम अटल जी को याद रखेगे।इतनी तो अंजली उनको बनती है। बाय ध वे, अटलजी भी संघी ही थे।
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) August 16, 2018
…And those critical of his politics, for having sown the seeds of divide over the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the horrors of which continue to haunt today’s political atmosphere.
ABV's tukde-tukde moment in Assam just b4 Nellie: "Foreigners have come here; and the Government does nothing. What if they had come into Punjab instead, people would have chopped them into pieces and thrown them away.” BJP then disowned the rhetoric they've now mainstreamed https://t.co/uF72CGThdb
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) August 16, 2018
Meanwhile the floods in Kerala have claimed close to 100 lives since 8 August. According to The Times of India, “Authorities said the death toll was expected to rise as rescuers were struggling to reach far-flung locations where hundreds of people were trapped on terraces of homes, atop tall buildings, and in one case, in a marooned church”.
According to a report by NDTV, “The government says 10,000 kilometres of Kerala roads have been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of homes lost.” The PM tweeted:
Had a detailed discussion with Kerala CM Shri Pinarayi Vijayan regarding the unfortunate flood situation in the state. Centre stands firmly with the people of Kerala and is ready to provide any assistance needed. @CMOKerala
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 15, 2018
The highest weather warning – a red alert – has been issued and relief operations are underway. “At this point of time, nothing can help as much as money,” chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said earlier this week.
The men who sought to shoot JNU scholar Umar Khalid have identified themselves in a video — terming the attempted murder an “Independence day gift”. In case you were wondering, police haven’t yet found the men, who, in the video, request that they be spared “harassment” by police since they were only “trying to do the country a favour”. You can watch the video here.
The opposition came together at the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao (save our shared heritage)’ sammelan, seeking to “stop the BJP from imprisoning India”, reported Scroll. In his address, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying, “We want to show them that our ideology is strong, sustainable and will defeat their ideology.” The other attendees included Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, and M.K. Stalin. Arvind Kejriwal was not invited.
To the Supreme Court’s question on whether the creamy layer idea applied to SC/ST reservations, the Centre said a firm no. The creamy layer — those in the community who are relatively privileged and educated — within the SC/STs could not be denied reservation because the entire community was recognised as backward, said the Centre.
News it’s just kinda cool to know:
India’s first penguin was born Wednesday night at Mumbai’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, popularly known as the Byculla zoo, Manasi Phadke reports for ThePrint. Its parents were brought here from Seoul in South Korea. The penguin has been nicknamed ‘Freedom Baby’ since it was born on India’s Independence Day.
A study in London has found that children are more likely to have their opinions swayed by robots, PTI reports. Though adults regularly have arguments and are swayed by the opinions of peers, they are unlikely to side with a robot. Children aged seven and nine, however, were likely to “give the same responses as robots, even if they were obviously incorrect”. Black Mirror, anyone?
Business Class
The rupee is in terminal decline against dollar. But is there a sector in India that will gain? Yes! The export sector. The Economic Times explains.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has beaten Samsung, by some estimates, to emerge as the leader in the Indian smartphone market, reports The Economic Times.
Point of View
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last Thursday. The Hindu writes in its editorial, “Ever the contrarian, Vajpayee was equally the consensus-seeker and the alliance-builder who could traverse ideological divides and overcome political animosities with a skill set that was a throwback to the Nehruvian era.”
Is there a word that can describe the persona of Atal Bihari Vajpayee? Ashoka University vice-chancellor Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes in his column in The Indian Express, “‘Fakiri’ — that almost untranslatable word, captures the essence of Vajpayee and the paradox of his career. Fakiri does not mean renunciation, as much as it means total spontaneity in enjoyment of the moment, without any instrumental concern for the future.”
Kerala is facing its worst floods since 1924. The Indian Express writes in its editorial, “The Southwest monsoon that began on 1 June has been 30 per cent in excess in the state. All 44 rivers in the state are in spate and 35 of its 39 dams are overflowing. A red alert has been sounded in all 14 districts while 12 of them are already flooded.”
Prime Time
Republic TV paid tribute to former Prime Minister Vajpayee with a discussion on his seven-decade political career. It aired some of his most memorable speeches and poems.The panelists included Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s former aide and translator of his poems, Pavan Varma, who hailed him as one of India’s tallest leaders. Shahid Siddiqui, editor-in-chief of the Urdu weekly Nai Duniya who had worked closely with Vajpayee during his premiership, shared his experiences and learnings from the former PM’s grand vision and persistent efforts for peace with Pakistan.
NDTV aired a special programme on the enduring legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with references to his ability to calibrate ideology and reach out to potential allies in the Indian polity. The panelists referred to Vajpayee’s immense contributions to India’s policy-making sphere as well, especially in spearheading innovative technologies, economic reforms, disinvestment and privatisation, among others, which had only been possible previously during P.V. Narasimha Rao’s premiership.
(With inputs from Avishek Jha)