Ravi Jadhav’s directorial drama film, Main Atal Hoon, incorporates the real-life struggles of India’s renowned political leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and helps the viewers understand his rise to power and the things he wanted to accomplish during his lifetime. Atal’s sacrifices and contributions for the sake of India are incredible, and the way he has sacrificed his entire life for the betterment of the country cannot be erased from our minds. How did Atal manage to toss the Congress party and rise to power? What did he do during his tenure to win the hearts of the people? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
How Was Atal Drawn To Politics?
Atal ji was well-known for his poems, aside from his political career. His passion for public speaking made him a good orator, eventually drawing him into politics. When Atal was just a college student, he was inspired by Keshav Baliram Hedgewarji, the founder of Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). He was extremely fascinated by the ideals of the party and also drew political inspiration from him. He had already started engaging in revolutionary ideals against the British Raj by 1944. He was arrested for hoisting an Indian flag in the territory of the British Government, rather than giving up this further ignited the fire of revolt in him. After India gained independence in 1947, Golwarkarji called Atal to Lucknow to help run a printing press called Rashtra Dharma (wanting to obliterate caste gaps and promote togetherness). However, after the press (a mouthpiece for the RSS) had been destroyed during the riots, he approached Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. He said that their propaganda had attracted the attention of the Central Minister, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who wanted to resign from the government and join Akhil Bhartiya Jana Sangh.
What Happened To Shyama Prasad Mukherjee?
After Shyama Prasad joined the party, he had just dreamt of a free Kashmir. Even after several attempts to curb poverty, the party had just secured 3% of the vote in October 1951. This pushed Mukherjee to go to Kashmir to spread awareness about their party so that they could attain more votes in the next elections. However, he was arrested under Section 370 for trying to spread propaganda in Kashmir to help Akhil Bhartiya Jana Sangh attain a greater hand. The arrest by the Kashmir police eventually led to Shyama Prasad’s death in jail.
What Happened After Congress Rose To Power?
The Akhil Bhartiya Jana Sangh had slowly been rising to power after it started winning territories one by one. Finally, after Atal won a ticket to be a member of the Lok Sabha parliament, the party only consisted of four representatives. Meanwhile, after Lal Bahadur Shastri rose to power, China immediately attacked, killing 3,000 Indian soldiers. The year 1965 also saw an attack from Pakistan, which led to people seeking a resignation from Shastri. Unable to decide the course of events, Shastri signed the Tashkent Treaty with Pakistan, ending the war between Pakistan and India, but was found dead the very next day under mysterious circumstances.
After becoming the next Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was adamant about devising new measures to remove the Jana Sangh party. Deen Dayal Upadhyay was found dead on the Mughal Sarai station under unknown circumstances, and there is a possibility of Congress intervention after they rose to power. The Jana Sangh party that was now left without a leader and was then taken charge of by Atal, who wanted to show the world the real face of the Congress party. He noticed how people had been suffering during the Congress’ reign. Later, the Allahabad high court also found Indira guilty of tampering with votes at the Bareilly elections, and hence she was punished, banning her from taking any posts for the next 6 years. Meanwhile, Indira had declared a state of emergency to create a state of chaos to evade her punishment. This state of emergency had brought great suffering to the people, snatching away their fundamental rights. The journalists and artists were restricted, and in June 1975, the opposition leaders were arrested under MISA law. The chaos continued for 21 months, during which 10,000 people were sent to jail, 22 of them died, and 12 million people were castrated. This atrocity finally came to an end after 2 years on January 23, 1977, when India announced elections.
How Did Atal Minimize The Chaos Created By The Congress Party?
When Atal formed the Janata Party, it secured 345 seats in the sixth Lok Sabha election and won by a majority of votes. Morarji Desai was chosen as the PM of the country. Despite winning the elections, Atal had respect for the opposition leaders and acknowledged their views. Later, Indira again played her game when she manipulated the next Prime Minister, Chaudhari Charan Singh, to leave Akhil Bhartiya Jana Sangh. As the party was falling weak, Atal opened doors to young and new politicians like Sushma Swaraj, forming the Bharatiya Janta Party in 1980. The events of Operation Blue Star, in which the Khalistani terrorists barged into the Golden Temple, angered the Sikhs. This led to Indira being murdered for not being able to handle the matter effectively. Right after her death, the empathetic country chose Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister.
In the 9th Lok Sabha results, the ruling Congress party got 197 seats while the BJP secured 85 seats, but they had yet to give up hopes of seeing a better tomorrow. They were moving forward with religious propaganda, which led to several riots in Ayodhya, leading to a socio-religious debate in India. Many people were beaten to pulps, creating chaos and leading to a loss of democracy. Atal decided to go to Ayodhya to talk about Kar Seva.
What Did Atal Do After Becoming The PM?
Atal Bihari had almost stopped attending party meetings after a point, which had caused a panic among the party as they thought that he would withdraw himself from the party proceedings. He was later chosen as the candidate for the presidential elections. He later managed to win by a majority, attaining 181 seats, and was hence chosen as the 10th Prime Minister of India. Immediately after rising to power, he started devising ways for the betterment of the country. It was under his supervision that Doctor APJ Abdul Kalam was able to ensure the Pokhran test was a successful project, after which India became a nuclear power. He also ensured that relations with Pakistan were mended, and hence he traveled to Lahore from Delhi in a bus.
Did Atal Stop Supporting The Cause Of His Nation?
As Atal was trying his best to help the country flourish, some of his own people backstabbed him. As the MPs in Sikkim and Manipur had been found guilty of corruption, the Congress had passed a no-confidence motion against the BJP government. Seeing this, Jayalalithaa joined Sonia Gandhi to support Congress. The votes in favor of BJP were 269, while votes of no-confidence were 270, leading to the toppling of the BJP government in 1998. Despite the party suffering a major blow, Atal did not waver from his ideals to protect his country. Parvez Musharraf, the then President of Pakistan, waged a war in Kargil to capture it. Pakistani soldiers tried to draw the Indian soldiers out of LOC to instigate war, which became a matter of international concern. Atal might have lent a hand of friendship to Pakistan previously, but when his country was under threat, he immediately ordered the air force to be put into action (Operation Vijay). Even though America had tried intervening to stop the war, Atal held the hand of Indians through the Kargil War, eventually leading to the triumph of Indian soldiers in 1999.
Final Words
Unlike corrupt politicians, who are concerned about securing wealth, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more interested in the progress of the country. He had left behind his own selfish needs to root for his own nation and stand by the side of his fellow politicians. The biopic is a true representation of what a real leader should be, serving as an example to current-day political leaders who think only about their selfish needs. However, this Pankaj Tripathi starrer has some discrepancies as it totally omits the events at the Babri Masjid (1992) and shows its obvious inclination to a single party.
