From Pokhran to Lahore bus yatra: Key events of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure as PM

Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister three times - first for a term of 13 days in 1996, for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and then for a full term from 1999 to 2004. He was the first prime minister from a non-Congress party to serve a full five-year term. 

He was a Member of Parliament since 1957. He was elected to the 5th, 6th and 7th Lok Sabha and again to the 10th, 11th 12th and 13th Lok Sabha and to Rajya Sabha in 1962 and 1986. He is the only parliamentarian elected from four different States at different times - UP, Gujarat, MP and Delhi. 

His legacy as the PM included several key events and numerous important decisions. Here is a list of some of the important highlights from his three terms as the PM:

Pokhran -II nuclear tests

Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998, just a few months after Vajpayee's government came to power. The test was conducted twenty four years after the first nuclear test Smiling Buddha was held in 1974.

Pokhran-II was a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions. On 11 May 1998, Pokhran-II was initiated with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs and on 13 May, two more fission devices were detonated. Soon after Vajpayee declared India a full-fledged nuclear state.

Lahore bus yatra

With an aim to normalise ties with Pakistan and to resolve the Kashmir dispute, Vajpayee government launched the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999. A Lahore Declaration was signed speaking of the commitment to dialogue, trade relations and bettering ties between the two neighbouring nations. 

Kargil War

Ties between India and Pakistan worsened after terrorists and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers infiltrated into Kashmir. Operation Vijay was launched in June 1999 to push out the infiltrators out of the country. The war that continued for over three months saw at least 500 Indian soldiers being killed. However, India succeeded in pushing the Pakistanis out and recapturing the Indian posts. The victory in Kargil bolstered Vajpayee's bold image and strong leadership. 

Agra summit

The historic two-day Agra summit was held with an aim to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan in July 2001. It was then proposed to drastically reduce nuclear arsenals and resolve the decades-long Kashmir dispute. Various rounds of one-to-one talks were held between the then Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf and Vajpayee. However, the peace process collapsed and no signatures were attained for the Agra treaty.

Indian Airlines hijack

In December 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists and flown to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Several demands were made by the hijackers including the release of certain terrorists like Masood Azhar from the Indian prison. The government had to succumb to pressure, and Masood Azhar had to be released in exchange for the passengers.

Creation of three states Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh

The new states of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand were formed on the 1st, 9th, and 15th of November 2000, respectively. With the creation of these three states, the total count of Indian states rose from 25 to 28. Chhattisgarh reconstituted Madhya Pradesh; Uttarakhand reformed Uttar Pradesh; and Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar.

Parliament attack

On 13 December 2001, a group of armed terrorists stormed Parliament House in Delhi. Several security men were killed in the attack. In the aftermath of the attack, Vajpayee ordered a mobilisation of military forces along the international boundary bordering Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kashmir. It was called Operation Parakram. For nearly two years following the attack, both nations remained close to a terrible war.

Operation Parakram

The second major military standoff between India and Pakistan took place in 2001-2002. The standoff between India and Pakistan resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the border and along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

Gujarat riots

Over a thousand people were killed in Gujarat in a Hindu-Muslim violence that took place in 2002. Vajpayee was accused of not doing enough to stop the violence in the state. He later admitted to his mistakes in handling the events.