We Will Miss You, Mr.President !!

Yesterday(July 24,2007) was President APJ Abdul Kalam's last day in office. For all practical reasons, he could be hailed as the best President we have ever had. The closest, any other President I can think of was Dr.S.RadhaKrishnan who was another exemplary First Citizen. Dr.Kalam had all the qualities which one can associate with a President and a perfect role model for the youth of the country. An 'F'(the highest) grade Scientist, he emphasised that its upto the youth of the country to make India a developed country. The kind of speeches he has given in various forums has always emphasised that youth are the future of the nation. I was fortunate enough to attend one of the speeches given by him when he visited our college. It is his dream to see that India becomes a Developed nation by 2020 and has also laid out a vision 2020 plan for the government to follow which could take India to great heights. Whether his vision will be put to task or not, that is an issue which we would not discuss here.

One more point I would like to discuss here is the manner in which he was insulted by the political parties. Having been told by Congress that they would not be supporting him for another term, he was very much ready to step down from his post, before the UNPA decided to float his name for another term. And for his part, he made it clear that he was ready to contest in case it was sure that he would be win the contest. I can't see any mistake in his statement here but this did not go down with the powers-be and a lot of hue-and-cry was raised over this issue. The effect was that the President's name was tarnished. Such is the state of Politics in India that even a person of Kalam's stature is not spared.

There is a thought process that it was in some ways better that Kalam has stepped down. He can give to the nation far more being a scientist than being a President whose role in the Indian politics is nothing but a farce. Now that he has stepped down, we can hope for some big contributions from him in the field of science & technology. I would also like to congratulate the new President, Prathibha Patil on her election, the first woman President of India, though her credentials for the post may not be spot-free. Anyways, here's wishing Mr.APJ Abdul Kalam, a very best in his future endeavours. He can live peacefully in the knowledge that he has given to the Indian public more than any other President has ever had. Thank You, Sir!