Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Bachelor Vajpayee's love story!?
The personal lives of some of the notables who participated in the indian freedom movement were very different.
Mahatma gandhi openly experimented with celibacy. On the other hand, there were many stories about Jawaharlal Nehru's relationship with Edwina Mountbatten and Padmaja Naidu after the death of his wife.
Socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia used to live with Rama Mitra. Both of them are not married.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee also falls in this category. Rajkumari Kaul has a special place in his life.
While studying at Victoria college (now Maharani Lakshmibai College) in Gwalior, Vajpayee became attracted to Rajkumari Hakshar Kaul.
Famous journalist Sagarika Ghosh has written these things in the recently published book of Vajpayee's biography "Atal Bihari Vajpayee". "At that time there were very few girls in that college. Kaul was the most beautiful among them. Vajpayee was very fond of her. Kaul also likes him a lot," he wrote in the book.
Vajpayee first came into contact with Kaul's brother Chand Hakshar. It was through him that he met Kaul. But the Kaul family did not agree with Vajpayee on the matter of marriage. Kaul was married off by her parents to Braj Narayan Kaul, who teaches philosophy at Ramjus college in Delhi.
Kaul also openly acknowledged his association with Vajpayee.
This is explained by Kingshuk Nag in another biography of Vajpayee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The Man of All Seasons. Vajpayee put a love letter in a library book and gave it to Kaul. But he did not get any answer. In fact, Kaul replied agreeing to this. But that letter did not reach Vajpayee.
After coming to delhi as an MP, Vajpayee started meeting Kaul again.
Braj Narayan Kaul was the mentor of Hardeep Singh puri, who is a minister in the current prime minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. Puri met Vajpayee for the first time at Braj Narayan's house.
"Bachelor, not celibacy"
In the 1960s, there were many reports that Kaul wanted to divorce her husband and marry Vajpayee. However, political elites were analyzing that the RSS felt that this marriage would affect Vajpayee's political career and their party.
Vajpayee was never married. However, Kaul has a special place in his life.
Vajpayee even admitted in a program that he is a bachelor, not a celibate.
Vajpayee also mentions this love story in another biography Har Nahi Manoonga. This love story lasted almost five decades. "Perhaps there is no other love story in our indian politics without such a name," wrote author Vijay Trivedi.