Politics, by its very nature, is polarising. It is characterised by hard positions, strong likes, perhaps stronger dislikes. In recent years, it has become even more so on all aspects around the world. Maybe this is because the stakes are higher now. Maybe this is because politicians are under constant scrutiny, with their words and actions not just being covered by traditional and new media, but also being widely transmitted and amplified through social media. Maybe this is because everything has to happen in real time in 280 characters, with quick comebacks mattering more than nuanced objections. And maybe this is because politics and power have become ends in themselves, not mere means to achieve larger, more meaningful things. The achievements of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister in a six-year-period between 1998 and 2004 across two terms need to be seen in this context. Vajpayee was head of a coalition government with a comfortable majority, so there is no telling how his leadership and management style and politics would have been different had he presided over a government where his Bharatiya Janata Party BJP had the numbers required on its own. Vajpayee was a pragmatist who managed seeming contradictions, encouraged views different from his own, got the big picture and acted accordingly , maintained the decencies of debate, and respected, even liked, his political opponents. The first is an understanding of the big picture, something which is perhaps lost in the hyper-competitive politics of today. Vajpayee put India and its democratic traditions above all else — indeed, saying as much during a no-confidence vote his government lost in 1999. Over the past decade-and-a-half, this is a notion that seems to have lost ground, as is evident from frequent disruptions of Parliament and the fading importance of legislative procedure. The third is the ability to tolerate, if not encourage, differences of opinion and dissent. This also translated into his approach to resolving impasses. In his case, this perhaps came from his understanding of the big picture, of what really mattered, from his being pro-India and pro-democracy. Then, this is what it takes to be a nationalist.
