NEW DELHI – Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was a President like no other. The floppy silvery mop curling on his forehead, the twinkling eyes and the ever smiling visage seemed to radiate boundless infectious energy and positivity. Kalam embodied the new India story, born into a poor Muslim family in Tamil Nadu, he rose by sheer force of education to become a missile scientist, the “missile man of India” becoming chief scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, then secretary of the DRDO, and then President of India.
On Monday, the “People’s President” went as suddenly as he came centre stage to become a national icon. Kalam collapsed while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong at around 6.30pm. He was rushed to Bethany Hospital in Nongrim hills but the doctors couldn’t save him. Necessary arrangement were being made to fly in his body to Delhi on Tuesday morning.
To a new aspirational India he was a President refreshingly free of political affiliation, a genial figure who embodied the joy and adventure of science, whose messages were so attractive to the young precisely because they were so simple and straightforward.
Kalam’s weak moment may have been when he was forced to sign the controversial dissolution of the Bihar assembly in the infamous order at midnight in Moscow, but then he also showed he was no one’s man when he sent back a number of NDA proposals for reconsideration, just as he later sent back twice the file on Sonia Gandhi’s office of profit issue.
He also redefined the presidency in unique ways. His herbal garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the instant connect with kids, his own unquestioned integrity, even the fact that he was a lifelong bachelor, made him somewhat of an urban legend for a generation looking for homegrown heroes. As the Missile man of India — the fact that he was responsible for the development of the five missiles, Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and Agni — added to his charm for the young.
Kalam’s biggest asset for a changing India was that he was resolutely non-political, an outsider in politics, someone who instead of preserving Rashtrapati Bhavan only for high official ceremonies, opened it up for the public. In fact, he did to the Indian presidency what princess Diana to some extent did to the British monarchy, he demystified it, while making himself a feel good first citizen, as if his moral purpose lay not in ceremonial matters of state but among school and college students.
He himself seemed to prefer non politicians as president. Once when asked how he would feel if Narayana Murthy succeeded him as President, Kalam beamed, “fantastic, fantastic, fantastic.” Indians relied on Kalam to do the right thing. When the prospect of being drawn into a contest against Pranab Mukherjee arose, Kalam said, “My conscience is not permitting me to contest.” After he ceased being president, travellers were often pleasantly surprised to see Kalam standing in queue at security check at airports, accepting no special VIP privileges.
His messages were always simple. His books contained simple inspiring messages and became best sellers. His mantra was in no-nonsense prescriptions on the way forward. In India 2020 he wrote, “I have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action: (1) agriculture and food processing; (2) education and healthcare; (3) information and communication technology; (4) infrastructure, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country; and (5) self-reliance in critical technologies.”
His best-selling autobiography Wings of Fire was written in a beguilingly simple style and told a story of journey from hardship to professional success in a way that mirrored the aspirations of India in the 21st century.
Even when he was no longer president, Kalam tended to top popularity charts. Perhaps that’s because he constantly came across as someone bursting with new ideas, ever enthusiastic, someone who after piloting a Sukhoi at the age of 74, exulted that his childhood dream had been fulfilled.
Kalam was the president that 21st century India warmed to, an India that was trying to wrench itself free of the clutches of caste religion and family. He was the presdient who embodied high science as well as one who knew about the life of third class train travel and long queues for water. He was the president who designed missile programmes and flew Sukhois but one whose message was primarily for kids and not for ceremonial high grandees. His magnificent eccentricites made him lovable, his life was a mirror of an aspirational India seeking a new narrative.
