Saswat Panigrahi
From the small village of Ambajogai in Maharastra to the corridors of power in Indian Politics, Pramod Mahajan traveled a long way. He was instrumental in giving a new colour, a new shape, a new style and a new dimension to the Indian politics. Mahajan redefined Indian politics in his own style. Very obviously he had succeeded in carving out a larger then life image of his own in the National political scene.
For him politics was a choice, and a full time vocation. He had a strong belief that politics was not a profession, but a platform to raise issues, a means to solve the problems of the common man and ultimately a tool to set the speed for the development of the nation. For him politics was a convergence of political situation, economic spectrum, corporate arena, technological advancement, media vehicle, and the list goes on. With that thinking Mahajan left some foot prints for the generation-next politicians to emulate.
Representing a new India and playing a crucial role in nation-building, Mahajan proved himself as a creative politician. Young at heart, dynamic in his work, pragmatic in his outlook, Pramod Mahajan had always been an inspiration for youth power of the nation.
Mahajan was often referred as the Mr. Possible of Indian politics, a Lakshman of the Bharatiya Janata Party and even a rainmaker in Indian Political scene. He blended modern political thoughts with the traditional Sangh Parivar values. He was a bridge between the old and new generation politicians. From Hindutva to laptop politics, the techno-savvy General Secretary of the cadre-based Bharatiya Janata party indeed emerged as a sophisticated mascot for nation-building.
He was a politician’s politician. The master strategist was instrumental in moving the BJP from the pre-rath yatra era to a party in power. Yes, under his managerial skill, the party had grown leaps and bounds. He was never bothered about the controversies that cropped up around him.
As a leader, he rightly observed the whole gamut of Indian politics. He had a mastery over understanding the statistics and speculations of the political lingua franca. From Maharastra to the national capital Delhi, from Assam to Rajastan, from Orissa to Karnataka, he mastered over understanding politics of different parts of the country. To understand the issues and to raise them at the right time was another facet of his political profile. From grassroots to the State corridors, from State politics to national political scene, from national politics to international politics, he read, understood and mastered the language of politics. And for him, perhaps, that was a political right.
Mahajan was also popular for his capacity of networking. He was known for his brilliant oration skill. As a speaker he captured the audiences’ imagination and brought a number of important issues to the public gallery. A master strategist, a leader in many roles, Mahajan was always was willing to take on the ladder. His was a meteoric rise in the country’s political landscape. A great survivor in the saffron politics, Mahajan climbed different ladders and hierarchy with quite an ease, beginning with Vidyarthi Parishad, RSS, passing through Jan Sangh and later Bharatiya janata Party. From a teacher to a pracharak, from the Editorial Desk of Tarun Bharat to the office of Communication Minister, from the Parliament to the organisational responsibility, a nirala andaaz of Mahajan was painted every where.
He had a mastery over coalition politics. He knew very well that tomorrow is an era of alliance. He successfully nurtured the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharastra in 1995. His art of building alliance was not just confined to Sena and Maharastra, but he was widely credited for building up the alliance with Jaylalithaa, Karunanidhi and George Fernandis. His alliance mantra was a catalyst for BJP to run a complete five-year term of non-Congress Government, comprising of as much as 24 parties, for the first time ever in the history of Indian politics.
Mahajan was very popular among the oppositions. Rising above to party line, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee proposed his name for best parliamentarian. At times, while speaking in the parliament he left the opposition with no choice but to accept his schools of thought. He had close friends in almost all the parties.
His tenure as a Communication Minister ushered in a new era in technological advancement. Under his tenure, number of telephonic service in the rural area witnessed a quantum leap. He was also credited for piloting the Information Technology Bill in 2000.
A key members of second generation of BJP and one of the dynamic leaders the party had ever had, Mahajan was an inspiration for the party cadres across the country. He was always considered as a sankat mochak (crisis alleviator) of the saffron party.
Mahajan’s skills in linking the masses with the party, raising funds, and managing elections for the party were indeed commendable. A leader with a vision and a calculated thinking power, he wanted to see BJP as a moderate party. Carrying a dimensional facet, he showcased a very offbeat modus operandi to manage and run the party. The leader who was considered as a king-maker of BJP once said, “I do not want to be the captain. I will always be a player in BJP.”
Life, they say, is like a bubble. It takes seconds to change a situation. Something similar happened to Mahajan also. After twelve days of battle with life and death, in Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai, he succumbed to his three fatal bullet injuries, after he was shot point blank by his own younger brother.
Mahajan was cremated with full state honour at 42 Sivaji Park crematoria, amid the chants of Vedic-mantras. Thousands of mourners bid a tearful adieu to one of the country’s promising politicians amid the slogans “Pramod Mahajan Amar Rahe” and “Jab Tak Sooraj Chand Rahega, Promod Ji ka Naam Rahega.” An era came to an end!
Mahajan’s career as a politician had witnessed many ups and downs. He joined the Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) as a child. It was during his college days when Mahajan was actively involved with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Sang Parivar. A Bachelor in both Physics and Journalism, and a Masters in Political Science, Mahajan started his career as a Sub-editor in Tarun Bharat, a Marathi RSS mouthpiece in the early 1970s. For some years he also worked as a school teacher. In 1974, he left teachership to join as a RSS pracharak. He was jailed during the emergency. In those days, Mahajan was actively involved with Jana Sangh. Soon after, Atal Bihari Vajpayee noticed his oratorial skills at a rally in 1977, his political rise had begun. His national break came in 1983 when he made his mark as a remarkably successful “media manager”. Doing justice with his job, he stared arguing eloquently that the BJP was the party of the future. After serving as the BJP’s Maharashtra unit General Secretary from 1978 to 1983, he contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections and lost. He was made president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in 1986. It was during the Ram rath yatra of 1990, that his tremendous organisational skills were noticed. Five years later, Mahajan’s managerial skills won the BJP an alliance with the Shiv Sena, and an election victory in Maharashtra. In 1996, he became the country’s Defence Minister, albeit for 16 days. In 1998, he was appointed advisor to Prime Minister Vajpayee. In the same year he was re-elected to Rajya Sabha. He successfully handled important cabinet ministries. He had served as Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Information Technology and Communications. In the year 2003, he was dropped from the Union cabinet and appointed as the BJP general secretary. He was also widely credited with building a consensus for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s candidacy for the country’s presidency. The 2004 General Elections were a huge thumb-down as BJP performed unexpectedly poorly. Candid and moderately, Mahajan, the key poll manager of the BJP, personally accepted responsibility for the defeat. In the reshuffle of the party ranks, Mahajan was acknowledged as the future leader of the party, who was capable of playing many roles.
As soon as the news of Mahajan’s death broke, BJP put its flag half mast to pay its homage to its favourite leader who represented a generational change within BJP. The most shining star of BJP was lost in the remote horizon. It was indeed a painful sunset for the party. The sense of loss is palpable. The truth is that the void which has been created by Mahajan’s demise can never be filled up. Mahajan’s tragic and untimely death has thrown the party in the hands of endless chunautis (perils). But there are hopes in the air; someone else would step in to fill the void.
The nation bid adieu to the promising leader with drops of tears. It is not just a loss for the BJP, but a grave loss for the country. The country perhaps would not be able to create a second Pramod Mahajan.
-- Appeared as an obituary in May 01, 2006 issue of Day After newsmagazine
From the small village of Ambajogai in Maharastra to the corridors of power in Indian Politics, Pramod Mahajan traveled a long way. He was instrumental in giving a new colour, a new shape, a new style and a new dimension to the Indian politics. Mahajan redefined Indian politics in his own style. Very obviously he had succeeded in carving out a larger then life image of his own in the National political scene.
For him politics was a choice, and a full time vocation. He had a strong belief that politics was not a profession, but a platform to raise issues, a means to solve the problems of the common man and ultimately a tool to set the speed for the development of the nation. For him politics was a convergence of political situation, economic spectrum, corporate arena, technological advancement, media vehicle, and the list goes on. With that thinking Mahajan left some foot prints for the generation-next politicians to emulate.
Representing a new India and playing a crucial role in nation-building, Mahajan proved himself as a creative politician. Young at heart, dynamic in his work, pragmatic in his outlook, Pramod Mahajan had always been an inspiration for youth power of the nation.
Mahajan was often referred as the Mr. Possible of Indian politics, a Lakshman of the Bharatiya Janata Party and even a rainmaker in Indian Political scene. He blended modern political thoughts with the traditional Sangh Parivar values. He was a bridge between the old and new generation politicians. From Hindutva to laptop politics, the techno-savvy General Secretary of the cadre-based Bharatiya Janata party indeed emerged as a sophisticated mascot for nation-building.
He was a politician’s politician. The master strategist was instrumental in moving the BJP from the pre-rath yatra era to a party in power. Yes, under his managerial skill, the party had grown leaps and bounds. He was never bothered about the controversies that cropped up around him.
As a leader, he rightly observed the whole gamut of Indian politics. He had a mastery over understanding the statistics and speculations of the political lingua franca. From Maharastra to the national capital Delhi, from Assam to Rajastan, from Orissa to Karnataka, he mastered over understanding politics of different parts of the country. To understand the issues and to raise them at the right time was another facet of his political profile. From grassroots to the State corridors, from State politics to national political scene, from national politics to international politics, he read, understood and mastered the language of politics. And for him, perhaps, that was a political right.
Mahajan was also popular for his capacity of networking. He was known for his brilliant oration skill. As a speaker he captured the audiences’ imagination and brought a number of important issues to the public gallery. A master strategist, a leader in many roles, Mahajan was always was willing to take on the ladder. His was a meteoric rise in the country’s political landscape. A great survivor in the saffron politics, Mahajan climbed different ladders and hierarchy with quite an ease, beginning with Vidyarthi Parishad, RSS, passing through Jan Sangh and later Bharatiya janata Party. From a teacher to a pracharak, from the Editorial Desk of Tarun Bharat to the office of Communication Minister, from the Parliament to the organisational responsibility, a nirala andaaz of Mahajan was painted every where.
He had a mastery over coalition politics. He knew very well that tomorrow is an era of alliance. He successfully nurtured the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharastra in 1995. His art of building alliance was not just confined to Sena and Maharastra, but he was widely credited for building up the alliance with Jaylalithaa, Karunanidhi and George Fernandis. His alliance mantra was a catalyst for BJP to run a complete five-year term of non-Congress Government, comprising of as much as 24 parties, for the first time ever in the history of Indian politics.
Mahajan was very popular among the oppositions. Rising above to party line, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee proposed his name for best parliamentarian. At times, while speaking in the parliament he left the opposition with no choice but to accept his schools of thought. He had close friends in almost all the parties.
His tenure as a Communication Minister ushered in a new era in technological advancement. Under his tenure, number of telephonic service in the rural area witnessed a quantum leap. He was also credited for piloting the Information Technology Bill in 2000.
A key members of second generation of BJP and one of the dynamic leaders the party had ever had, Mahajan was an inspiration for the party cadres across the country. He was always considered as a sankat mochak (crisis alleviator) of the saffron party.
Mahajan’s skills in linking the masses with the party, raising funds, and managing elections for the party were indeed commendable. A leader with a vision and a calculated thinking power, he wanted to see BJP as a moderate party. Carrying a dimensional facet, he showcased a very offbeat modus operandi to manage and run the party. The leader who was considered as a king-maker of BJP once said, “I do not want to be the captain. I will always be a player in BJP.”
Life, they say, is like a bubble. It takes seconds to change a situation. Something similar happened to Mahajan also. After twelve days of battle with life and death, in Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai, he succumbed to his three fatal bullet injuries, after he was shot point blank by his own younger brother.
Mahajan was cremated with full state honour at 42 Sivaji Park crematoria, amid the chants of Vedic-mantras. Thousands of mourners bid a tearful adieu to one of the country’s promising politicians amid the slogans “Pramod Mahajan Amar Rahe” and “Jab Tak Sooraj Chand Rahega, Promod Ji ka Naam Rahega.” An era came to an end!
Mahajan’s career as a politician had witnessed many ups and downs. He joined the Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) as a child. It was during his college days when Mahajan was actively involved with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Sang Parivar. A Bachelor in both Physics and Journalism, and a Masters in Political Science, Mahajan started his career as a Sub-editor in Tarun Bharat, a Marathi RSS mouthpiece in the early 1970s. For some years he also worked as a school teacher. In 1974, he left teachership to join as a RSS pracharak. He was jailed during the emergency. In those days, Mahajan was actively involved with Jana Sangh. Soon after, Atal Bihari Vajpayee noticed his oratorial skills at a rally in 1977, his political rise had begun. His national break came in 1983 when he made his mark as a remarkably successful “media manager”. Doing justice with his job, he stared arguing eloquently that the BJP was the party of the future. After serving as the BJP’s Maharashtra unit General Secretary from 1978 to 1983, he contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections and lost. He was made president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in 1986. It was during the Ram rath yatra of 1990, that his tremendous organisational skills were noticed. Five years later, Mahajan’s managerial skills won the BJP an alliance with the Shiv Sena, and an election victory in Maharashtra. In 1996, he became the country’s Defence Minister, albeit for 16 days. In 1998, he was appointed advisor to Prime Minister Vajpayee. In the same year he was re-elected to Rajya Sabha. He successfully handled important cabinet ministries. He had served as Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Information Technology and Communications. In the year 2003, he was dropped from the Union cabinet and appointed as the BJP general secretary. He was also widely credited with building a consensus for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s candidacy for the country’s presidency. The 2004 General Elections were a huge thumb-down as BJP performed unexpectedly poorly. Candid and moderately, Mahajan, the key poll manager of the BJP, personally accepted responsibility for the defeat. In the reshuffle of the party ranks, Mahajan was acknowledged as the future leader of the party, who was capable of playing many roles.
As soon as the news of Mahajan’s death broke, BJP put its flag half mast to pay its homage to its favourite leader who represented a generational change within BJP. The most shining star of BJP was lost in the remote horizon. It was indeed a painful sunset for the party. The sense of loss is palpable. The truth is that the void which has been created by Mahajan’s demise can never be filled up. Mahajan’s tragic and untimely death has thrown the party in the hands of endless chunautis (perils). But there are hopes in the air; someone else would step in to fill the void.
The nation bid adieu to the promising leader with drops of tears. It is not just a loss for the BJP, but a grave loss for the country. The country perhaps would not be able to create a second Pramod Mahajan.
-- Appeared as an obituary in May 01, 2006 issue of Day After newsmagazine
