In the week that it was decided to confer the Bharat Ratna on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, we take a closer look at one of India's most celebrated and fascinating political figures. Was Vajpayee, as some described him, a 'mask' to legitimise the excesses of his ideological parivaar or was he a moderating influence on Hindutva politics, earning the sobriquet of Nehru of the Right?
In the week that it was decided to confer the Bharat Ratna on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, we take a closer look at one of India's most celebrated and fascinating political figures. Was Vajpayee, as some described him, a 'mask' to legitimise the excesses of his ideological parivaar or was he a moderating influence on Hindutva politics, earning the sobriquet of Nehru of the Right?