A mass leader

Vajpayee's career altered the trajectory of India's history

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was thrice sworn in as prime minister, has been mourned across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the current leaders of the party he founded, the Bharatiya Janata Party, walked in his funeral procession and stood by as he was cremated near the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Members of the Opposition, including in the Congress, were effusive in their praise. This response is a reminder of exactly how influential Vajpayee’s time in power was — and indeed, how much his entire career mattered to the trajectory of Indian history.