Atal Bihari Vajpayee: 10 lesser-known facts on his 98th birth anniversary

New Delhi, Dec 25: "Indian democracy's greatest strength is that we have always put the nation ahead of politics" - such an amazing quote was written by one of the tallest leaders of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He was such an incredible personality, who cemented his name as one of the inspirations for our next generations. On his entire life journey, presented himself in pivotal roles to make our motherland a better place.

Vajpayee served as the 10th prime minister of India in three different terms. The first term was for 13 days in the year 1996. Thereafter, he continued the second term for 13 months from 1998 to 1999. And finally, he was sworn in as a full-term PM from 1999 to 2004. Apart from this, Vajpayee also conducted the first nuclear test and helped India to be a nuclear power successfully. While China was trying to defeat India, he knew that the only answer to an atom bomb was an atom bomb.

However, today on his 98th birth anniversary, let's take a dive into some lesser known facts about him :

⦁ Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday, 25 December, is celebrated as Good Governance Day since 2014.

⦁ He was a great admirer of dignitaries like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Munsi Premchand, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Maithli Sharan Gupta.

⦁ The former PM had also worked in journalism field before joining politics. His works were published in newspapers - Rastradharma, Panchjanya, the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun.

⦁ He was passionate about poetry and art, moreover, released two albums with veteran singer Jagjit Singh featuring two poems titled Nayi Disha and Samvedna.

⦁ Jawaharlal Nehru once openly quoted that one day Vajpayee will become the Prime Minister of India.

⦁ He was also praised for his oratorical skill and became the first person to speak Hindi language at the United Nations General Assembly in 1977.

⦁ He was a member of the Indian Parliament for over four decades. As he was elected to the lower house for ten times and two times for the upper house.

⦁ Vajpayee was unmarried throughout his life journey. But later, he decided to adopt a daughter named Namita.

⦁ Atal ji was referred as the Bhishma Pitamaha of Indian Politics by Manmohan Singh.

⦁ He pursed Law degree from DAV College in Kanpur. Interestingly, his father also joined the same course as his classmate. They were also stayed as hostel-mates during the course.

For the unversed, Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924 into a Hindu Brahmin family in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. His father Krishna Bihari Vajpayee was a school teacher and mother's name was Krishna Devi.

Wishing him a very happy birthday!