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?
