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Governor & former BJP MP Lalji Tandon, who joined the RSS at the age of 12 and had been in active politics since early 1960s, died Tuesday at the age of 85.
Contract for construction of four MILGEM-class ships was signed in 2018. PNS Bedir is to be delivered by June 2026, while PNS Tariq is due for delivery in first quarter of 2027.
If Pathaan gave both conservatives and liberals room to hide, Dhurandhar extends no such courtesy. Aditya Dhar ripped open that tent of hypocrisy and turned the knife.
Vajpayee’s success with regard to the economy – as in most other things – lay in his ability to build a talented team of minsters and give them free rein. He was not insecure or wont to take credit or to project himself as some sort of superman who knew it all. He was not dogmatic, he did not seek to impose his own thinking on anyone. He listened to all shades of opinion and respected professional advice. He brought people together, united rather than divided them, gave credit where due, and thus motivated everyone to give their best. He invited trust and confidence, his motives were never suspect. That is why, despite lacking a majority for his own party in parliament, he ran a successful government of disparate parties from all over India for 5 years and delivered strong economic growth. Not only that, he did it when India faced a full blown war in Kargil and suffered severe economic pressure and global isolation for testing the nuclear weapons. Sadly, the tradition of dignified, competent governance that he brought seems to have gone for ever.
When I read Jugalbandi, the comparison that came to mind was Dev Anand. Both men became, in their own ways, stars at a young age. Vajpayeeji knew in his bones, when his party simply did not have the horsepower in Parliament, that he would one day become Prime Minister. When he showed the glittering lights of nighttime Singapore from the rooftop restaurant of the Shangri La Hotel to Jaswant Singh, telling him that it used to be like Calcutta before it was transformed by PM LKY, his thoughts must certainly have gone back to the Central Hall of Parliament. Of the insularity and licence permit raj that suffused its spirit. So why agonise whether he was a liberal, a free market guy, whatever. He was a good human being and a great Prime Minister. Travelled a long way in life from a humble school teacher’s home. Wanted his country to develop, his countrymen to prosper. As someone so fond of travel, he must have seen similar transformations in so many other countries as well. Have never understood why our leaders forget all the wonderful things they see in the rest of the world the moment they step on the sacred soil of Hindustan.
Vajpayee was truly India’s most liberal PM, both politically and economically. Unfortunately India has had the misfortune of being ruled for the longest periods by illiberal PMs starting with J. Nehru to the present incumbent. Except for PVNR and ABV. Not much is known about LBS, so he is excluded. The rest have ensured that even after 70 years India remains a desperately poor country with abysmal living conditions.
Vajpayee’s success with regard to the economy – as in most other things – lay in his ability to build a talented team of minsters and give them free rein. He was not insecure or wont to take credit or to project himself as some sort of superman who knew it all. He was not dogmatic, he did not seek to impose his own thinking on anyone. He listened to all shades of opinion and respected professional advice. He brought people together, united rather than divided them, gave credit where due, and thus motivated everyone to give their best. He invited trust and confidence, his motives were never suspect. That is why, despite lacking a majority for his own party in parliament, he ran a successful government of disparate parties from all over India for 5 years and delivered strong economic growth. Not only that, he did it when India faced a full blown war in Kargil and suffered severe economic pressure and global isolation for testing the nuclear weapons. Sadly, the tradition of dignified, competent governance that he brought seems to have gone for ever.
When I read Jugalbandi, the comparison that came to mind was Dev Anand. Both men became, in their own ways, stars at a young age. Vajpayeeji knew in his bones, when his party simply did not have the horsepower in Parliament, that he would one day become Prime Minister. When he showed the glittering lights of nighttime Singapore from the rooftop restaurant of the Shangri La Hotel to Jaswant Singh, telling him that it used to be like Calcutta before it was transformed by PM LKY, his thoughts must certainly have gone back to the Central Hall of Parliament. Of the insularity and licence permit raj that suffused its spirit. So why agonise whether he was a liberal, a free market guy, whatever. He was a good human being and a great Prime Minister. Travelled a long way in life from a humble school teacher’s home. Wanted his country to develop, his countrymen to prosper. As someone so fond of travel, he must have seen similar transformations in so many other countries as well. Have never understood why our leaders forget all the wonderful things they see in the rest of the world the moment they step on the sacred soil of Hindustan.
Vajpayee was truly India’s most liberal PM, both politically and economically. Unfortunately India has had the misfortune of being ruled for the longest periods by illiberal PMs starting with J. Nehru to the present incumbent. Except for PVNR and ABV. Not much is known about LBS, so he is excluded. The rest have ensured that even after 70 years India remains a desperately poor country with abysmal living conditions.