All India Radio - Akashvani

Former PM Shri Atal BIhari Vajpayee
at an AIR children's
programme recording in 2000

F. Sheheryar,
DG, AIR

ATAL, THE AJAATSHATRU

                                                                      (AIR captures facets, some of them little known)

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, freedom fighter, parliamentarian, Prime Minister, visionary, poet, indeed a multi-faceted personality, is a name to conjure with when one is talking about world leaders that left an indelible mark on history of nations and world leaders. 

              

            Atal Ji, as he is fondly called, is enemy to none, a quality that endeared him to the people at large.  As a true karmayogi, he focused on development per se rather than politicizing development which tends to impede progress.  His style of good governance – unobtrusive and yet effective – had an imprint of his personality and is worth emulating by every leader irrespective of his/her political affinities and ideological predilections.  A grateful nation is observing the 25^th December as the Good Governance Day.

Eradication of illiteracy was another goal close to his heart and he contributed a lot to popularizing school admission through his own methods to arrest the drop-out level of children which created a nation-wide buzz----- ‘School Chalein Hum’.

            His vision in consolidating the Indian Diaspora and people of Indian origin to help the country making rapid strides on the path of development will always be remembered.  He was the one who hailed Mahatma Gandhi as the first Pravaasi Bharatiya who had returned to India to lead the freedom struggle.  India celebrates the Pravaasi Bharatiya Diwas every year, to rekindle the interest of all non-resident Indians and PIOs in addressing the problems that bedevil the country. 

            All India Radio is putting out a plethora of programmes over its vast national network on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  The Organization, with its love for the legendary leader, has abandoned the beaten track to put out programmes in a style that is non-conformist and suited to the demands of modern sound Broadcasting and contemporary milieu.

            We wish him long life and many more years of guidance to us all.

This article is a contribution by F. Sheheryar, Director General, All India Radio