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Although he leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his priority seems to be raising India's profile as an aspiring world power, rather than making war on Pakistan.
Since a 13 December suicide attack on India's parliament by militants allegedly based in neighbouring Pakistan, Mr Vajpayee has taken a tough line.
Yet those close to him say his personal mission has been to improve relations with Pakistan.
As foreign minister in the 1970s, he managed to forge closer links with India's rival nuclear power. Later, he transcended his political roots in the right-wing Rashtriya Swamyamsevak Sangh (RSS) to emerge as the moderate voice of the BJP.
The party's Hindu revivalism is unacceptable to most Muslims and other minorities, and even many moderate Hindus. Undeterred by radicals who accused him of embarking on a charm offensive to Pakistan, Mr Vajpayee rode triumphantly into the Pakistani city of Lahore in 1999 aboard the first direct bus from India.
But his diplomatic breakthrough - hailed as the dawn of a new era - was followed only months later by hostilities in disputed Kashmir that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
Perhaps alone in the BJP leadership, Mr Vajpayee is seen as a statesman and a pragmatist, capable of initiatives reaching far beyond the Hindu nationalist political agenda. But given the current tension with Pakistan, his party may not allow him to be too conciliatory. It could even prove difficult for the 77-year-old Mr Vajpayee to stay in office and avoid war with Pakistan, some analysts say. Hardliners in the BJP are also ill at ease with Mr Vajpayee's liberal economic policies which have opened India's economy and brought the country closer to the West.
Critics say that behind Mr Vajpayee is his right-hand man, the powerful hardline Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Mr Advani and most BJP politicians supported the 1992 destruction of a mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya. Mr Vajpayee, however, went out on a limb to condemn the attack unequivocally.
He has, at times, tried to appeal to Muslims and other minority groups, and he has been a reassuring figure for India's mainly secular establishment.
A high caste Brahmin, he was born in 1926 in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. As a teenager he was jailed briefly for opposing British colonial rule, but played no major part in the freedom movement.
He dropped out of law school to run an RSS magazine in the early 1950s. The RSS enforces strict discipline and its members wear military-style uniforms. Many BJP leaders including Mr Advani began their careers as members.
Mr Vajpayee first became prime minister in 1996 - after four decades in opposition. But his coalition government was weak, and he lasted only 13 days as prime
minister. The lack of a powerful majority hampered his second stint in power from
1998. His government collapsed after a politician from the southern state of Tamil
Nadu - Jayalalitha - withdrew her party's support from the coalition.
He was re-elected in 1999 at the head of a more stable coalition. But to win the backing of more secular groups, he had to abandon some of the cornerstones of BJP policy. These had included scrapping special autonomy for Kashmir, building a Hindu
temple on the site of the Ayodhya mosque and abolishing India's separate
civil code for India's Muslims.
A lifelong bachelor, he lists cooking as one of his hobbies and writes intellectual poetry in his spare time.
Excerpts of the Interview:
G21: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told you that Pakistan's President Musharraf had promised to stop the flow of militants into India-controlled Kashmir. Do you believe these promises?
G21: Did Musharraf also promise to get rid of the training camps in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and in Pakistan?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: That was the promise. There are 50 to 70 terrorist-training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in Pakistan.
G21: Do you think Musharraf is trustworthy?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: [Laughs] We are prepared to deal with him as he is, but we are cautious this time. Our past experience is not very encouraging.
G21: Is this just a pause between crises?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: If Pakistan implements all the assurances given to us, then a new beginning can be made.
G21: If Musharraf ends terrorism from Pakistani soil, what moves will India make
in response?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: India will be ready to have talks with Pakistan and discuss all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
G21: Would you meet with Musharraf?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: If his promises are implemented.
G21: When will you pull some of your troops back from the Line of Control?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: It will take some time. Let us see what happens on the ground.
G21: How close were Pakistan and India to war?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: It was a touch-and-go affair... I did not rule out the possibility of war. Until the last minute we were hoping that wiser counsels would prevail.
G21: Did the U.S. make a mistake in making Pakistan a partner in the war against
terror?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: No, it was the right policy. Pakistan should be pressured to fight terror not only in Afghanistan but inside Pakistan itself.
G21: The U.S. has not succeeded in capturing the leadership of Al Qaeda. Where
are they?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: They may be in Pakistan.
G21: Do you think that Osama bin Laden is alive?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: Yes.
G21: Do the Pakistanis know where he is?
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: Of course.
G21: So they know where he and his key lieutenants are hiding?.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: Not every movement, but broadly speaking, they know where the rest of Al Qaeda and the Taliban are.
G21: Are there elements of Al Qaeda in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir?.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: The terrorist organizations operating in Kashmir are closely linked to Al Qaeda and other "Jihadi" organizations directly supported and directed by Pakistan.
G21: How do you view the fall elections in [Indian-held] Kashmir? Will they be
free and fair?.
G21: Some say that India has rigged the elections in the past..
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: This time elections will be free and fair.
G21: Is autonomy the long-term solution for Kashmir?.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: We are for the devolution of power.
G21: What should the U.S. role be in the future?.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: That of a facilitator.
G21: India used to say it didn't want a third party to the Kashmir dispute. Hasn't the U.S. emerged as a third party?.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: No, thats why I said a facilitator, not a mediator.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: There has been no change in Pakistan's policy so far as cross-border infiltration is concerned. Every day we are getting reports that infiltration [by militants into Kashmir] continues unabated.
PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE: The elections will be held under the supervision of the Central Election Commission. We have made a commitment that the elections will be free and fair.
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Copyright Dhamaka News Network 2003