Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Kalam is making news. Last month, the former president urged the BJP, which pitchforked him into Rashtrapati Bhavan, to go along with the Indo-US nuclear bill since “it does not compromise India’s sovereignty”. Last week, the UPA government shot down a request by the “People’s President” to be provided with a plane to help him jet around to his various engagements at public expense, stating he was not entitled to it and that it would set an improper precedent.
And now, a cover story by Seema Mustafa in M.J. Akbar‘s new fortnightly magazine Covert suggests that the 76-year-old celibate, vegetarian, teetotaller Muslim who recites the Thirukkural and plays the veena, may be quietly mending his fences with the Congress and UPA by supporting the N-deal for a “political future” and seeking to work as a mediator between the Congress and the opposition. In other words, with elections round the corner, Kalam may be positioning himself to test the political waters.
Seema Mustafa writes that the proposal of a “national government”, first mooted during the fag end of Kalam’s stint, may be revived once again. Can a Congress-BJP coalition, now being assiduously mooted by the RSS leader M.G. Vaidya find favour? Will Kalam find favour of Sonia Gandhi and L.K. Advani? is Kalam a better bet than Advani and whoever the Congress throws up? Will politician Kalam be as acceptable as President Kalam? Or will the nationalist missile technologist end up being exposed as “The Secret Politician”?
Photograph: courtesy Rashtrapati Bhavan
Tags: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, BJP, Congress, Covert, Indo-US N-Deal, L.K. Advani, M.G. Vaidya, M.J. Akbar, RSS, Seema Mustafa, Sonia Gandhi
17 June 2008 at 11:34 am
it is ridiculous! Outrageous! Meaningless! Unbelievable! Perhaps covert needs sensational stories to bang. But this is just too much!
17 June 2008 at 2:10 pm
Can any of your readers tell me what are the various achievements of Mr. Kalam during his presidentship that changed the life of the common man?
Agreed he was a likeable individual, but the moot question is : Did his tenure change people’s lives? Or did it change only his life?
17 June 2008 at 3:49 pm
Kalam cannot be Prime Minister. Never.
He cannot become the PM because,
(1) We as a nation have followed an unwritten convention that only Hindus, that too of higher castes could occupy the top post. And eighty percent of the PMs were brahmins. Agreed. Kalam reads Thirukkural daily. Yes He is fond of voice of MS Subbulakshmi. He plays vena. He prefers curd rice. He drinks hot coffee. He has not married. But these things does not make him brahmin. One should borne in mind that he is still Abdul Kalam. He is still a Muslim. That makes a lot of difference.
(2) He is not affliated to any political party. He does not know the pulse of the people. There is a disconnect there. We still do not know what his political beliefs are. His vision for the nation are romantic. But still he cannot be called as a statesman.
(3) Yes. He is not corrupt. But this virtue is the real stumbling block. He is unfit to the top post as he is uncorrupt and very much honest. He calls spade a spade. He dreams. But does not give any tall promises. This trait itself is a disqualifier for him.
17 June 2008 at 4:12 pm
What a joke(er)!
17 June 2008 at 4:28 pm
Dear WrongFact,
I doubt that the powers of the President of the country allow him to change the lives of the people significantly. The best he can do is to be a likeable individual which he has done. He has also inspired a lot of young people of the country towards education albeit more biased to scientific studies than towards social or human sciences.
As far as the article goes, I feel that there is nothing wrong in people having ambitions and making their voices heard. It is always for the people to decide (through the ballot) whether the person is worthy of his ambitions or not.
17 June 2008 at 4:31 pm
WrongFact,
Your comment had zero effect on the common man (shall I also add working class?).
17 June 2008 at 5:13 pm
What a far-fetched story.
17 June 2008 at 5:53 pm
Well said, Shravan.
17 June 2008 at 6:32 pm
“…76-year-old celibate, vegetarian, teetotaller Muslim who recites the Thirukkural and plays the veena…..”. Is there any other thing that has been missed?
17 June 2008 at 7:18 pm
Dear Wrongfact,
Well said. I fully endorse your views. Reciting Thirukkural, and playing Veena? Even a third standard student in Tamilnadu recites Thirukkural. My 2-year old granddaughter recites two kurals already! As for the “Veena” hype, how many of you know the exact truth about his veena learning? From whom, where, and for how many minutes in a month?
17 June 2008 at 7:43 pm
He’s a good man, but something tells me not many people in power take him seriously.
17 June 2008 at 8:18 pm
*WrongFact*
Kalam’s political achievement is to have inspired millions of young Indians to appreciate science in a framework of democracy. He taught young Indians the power of positive thinking — having a positive attitude while look forward — in a particularly divisive and cynical period of our national politics.
Kalam’s scientific achievements may be mediocre — he was famously declined a leadership position in IISc. because of a relatively poor journal publication record, as well as mediocre grant-writing success (as chief of DRDO he made little difference to that non-achieving behemoth, even though he delegated jobs wisely according to most accounts).
Kalam’s leadership has been in bringing disparate people together, in developing a national vision, and in keeping popular faith alive in our national politics. You should read his books to appreciate his credentials as a Bharat Ratna.
17 June 2008 at 9:02 pm
I am amazed that people over here constantly berate someone so distinguished as APJ. Sure, there were Presidents in the past who have been exemplary. Presidents like Narayan who showed what Presidents can achieve.
But do we love APJ for what he has done and what he hasnt? For a post whose nomination is decided by political rambling, APJ was one person who had the wishes of everyone in this country. That in itself speaks a lot of what APJ was. For the first time, Indians throughout the world found someone proud enough to associate themselves too and say, “Look at this Guy. He is a Missile Man, he is our President”. With dictators and communism ruling all developing countries, India was one of the first that appointed a seasoned technocrat as the Supreme Commander of a Country.
Lets just forget what he has or hasnt done. His appointment in itself was a major boost to Indian self-confidence worldwide. Good things sometimes come in small un-intentional packages. Can we put a tab on the “feeling of goodness” measure?
Just to give an indication, how many of you can really identify with Prathiba Patil? Sure, as some might say, she is a President because she is a Women just like APJ became a President because he was a Muslim. Why is it, that we are proud of a Muslim and not this Women?
17 June 2008 at 9:03 pm
Prime minister’s post is a political executive post. He/she should be able to handle different pressures that come with the job and be in a position to skillfully manage them. He/she should be able to take even unpopular decisions, if they are in the country’s interest. He should have the respect of members of parliament.
Abdul Kalam is a likeable person, but he is not a political person and therefore may not be a good candidate for an executive post.
17 June 2008 at 10:11 pm
When Priyanka Gandhi Vadraa can get all the facilities by the govt, why not our former president get it?
17 June 2008 at 10:24 pm
He is the only true ‘Rock star’ of India
17 June 2008 at 10:25 pm
“Prime minister’s post is a political executive post. He/she should be able to handle different pressures that come with the job and be in a position to skillfully manage them. He/she should be able to take even unpopular decisions, if they are in the country’s interest. He should have the respect of members of parliament.”
By this token of requirement …. 2/3rds of all the have-been and current PMs don’t qualify by a mile!!!!!!!
17 June 2008 at 11:24 pm
Dear Sandesh,
I completely agree. Manmohan Singh has been a failure as a Prime minister. As a finance minister he used to talk about ‘reforms’, and was probably one of the best that India had. It has been years since anybody in the UPA government talked about reforms. He is heading a ‘tax and spend’ government with very little to claim as achievement.
18 June 2008 at 12:09 am
Vishveshwara Bhat once wrote that hardly anyone invites current president Mrs Patil for functions while Kalam still is in high demand and organizers have to wait for several months to get his dates…
Still I feel demand for a personal plane is not justified-it sets a wrong trend, with every ex PM, president and others start insisting on one…
18 June 2008 at 4:54 am
In short time he might not have changed anything visible but by firing the imagination of the young mind and youth he has laid the foundation for a chanage that is bound to have beneficial effect on the future of Inida.
18 June 2008 at 4:55 am
Well, it is unfortunate that no one cares for the current president Mrs. Pratibha Patil. Let alone functions, it was reported that even at state visits abroad, the audience to her speeches is very low. I feel for public posts such as the president where duties are mostly ceremonial, it is a lot about charisma. For that, credit should be given to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as no one expected him to be charismatic. People thought he is good to be in his labs especially with that hairstyle of his. But he made a mark and managed to capture the imagination of people at large by his books. His visits and talks to school children made him a youth icon.
18 June 2008 at 4:55 am
Youth Icon According to MTV I think.
18 June 2008 at 8:35 am
You people fully deserve that ghost talker as your president.
76-year-old celibate, vegetarian, teetotaller Muslim who recites the Thirukkural and plays the veena,
You left out his alleged tambrahm lineage! I never imagined that venerable Rafeeq Zakaria can stoop so low to the levels of Akhtar and co.
18 June 2008 at 8:48 am
Well the very fact that he recites Thirukukural makes him unfit for the job:)
19 June 2008 at 10:05 am
Kalam can be made a honorary prime minister much like honorary doctorates he has got!!!
19 June 2008 at 12:17 pm
Kalam has always favoured the nuclear deal. He believes in nuclear power. Other than the Indo-US nuclear deal, he has not made any comment in any political issues. To insinuate that he is looking for PM’s post is patently unfair to the man. Anyway, he is not cut out for that job, which requires deft handling of uncouth politicians.
2 December 2008 at 3:35 pm
Some of u say that Kalam is a muslim, so he can’t become a PM.
India is a secular republic following no religion. Dr. APJ Abdul kalam has the vision, the popularity, and the charisma to reform India. With him in the seat of power, with help of the people, he can work miracles. He believes in power, and he will make India a powerful nation. He believes in peace, and he also says that for peace, one needs strength.
In Todays india, with with such high insecurity, he would work wonders and restore India, to a position of monetary, internal , and international security.
So what if he is a scientist? The only thing that proves is that he has the grey cells to perform, to lead and to win.
I conclude though, that do not assume that only ‘high class’ hindu’s become PM’s, times change with neccessities, and our main necessity now is an able, clean and a visionary leader.