‘PEOPLES’
PRESIDENT’
BY
J.L.
GUPTA
A Constitutional office certainly
carries with it certain unwritten fringe benefits. I experienced this during my
short stint in the State of Kerala. It was the year 2003. The President of
India, Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM was visiting the State. I was one of the persons invited to receive His Excellency
at the Naval Airport in Cochin. Normally, the invitation posed no problem. But
on this occasion, the visit was on a day when the Court was open and I had to
be on duty at the time of the landing of the President’s plane. So, a letter of
Regrets and request for meeting during
the Lunch interval was sent. It was graciously accepted. I was with the President at the appointed
time of 1.20PM.
He was not a person who could be a
mere figurehead. No! Far from it. I was
face to face with an extremely curious, intelligent and sharp person who was
accurate on facts and precise in his language. Talking to me, he wanted to know
the cause of delay in the decision of cases; the reasons for still following
the archaic and old laws and also the justification for more than one Appeal in
every case. And so on. It was clear that there were good reasons for which, he
had earned the respect of everyone. Not
only in India but Internationally.
He did not merely occupy the
Rashtrapati Bhawan. He brought dignity, grandeur and honour to the Office. Sanctity
to the Presidential Seal. Unfortunately,
the cruel hands of death have snatched him from us. Today, he is no more in
flesh and blood. But he would stay in our hearts as a great Indian patriot (was not a politician)who, unlike
many others devoted himself to making India richer, self-reliant and stronger. He
made India a member of the ‘select nuclear club.’ He made every Indian feel ten
feet tall. Shall we ever have another
who may be like him.
Depends upon what we want. The Able
or the Pliable.
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam's untimely death is indeed a great loss for India and also for the scientific community of the world.Your heartfelt tribute is from your personal knowledge of this great man.
ReplyDeleteHe was a humble person and one of the most respected persons in India, very fondly tagged as the “People’s President”. Because of his great pioneering efforts in the development of SLV and the ballistic missiles he was also called the "Missile Man of India”. He was recipient of Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian honors and other great laurels and was conferred honorary doctorate by 20 prestigious universities worldwide. He was the first scientist and the first bachelor to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
His vision for India’s future was depicted in his must read popular book “India 2020 –A vision for the New Millennium”. He was a symbol of inspiration for the youngsters. United Nation recognized Dr. Abdul Kalam's 79th birthday as World Students' Day. He died doing what he loved the best – inspiring young students and urging them to “dream so that dreams can come true”.
May Allah grant a special place in Jannah to this great gentle person.
Jai Hind