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Poverty, our worst enemy: Kalam

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore June 7. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was in familiar surroundings and obviously enjoying his role more as a senior scientist talking to young researchers than another Head of State visiting a research facility.

Speaking to scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Studies at Jakkur on the outskirts of Bangalore on Saturday, Dr. Kalam said: "More than 260 million people in the country live below the poverty line, and poverty is our worst enemy." This "enemy" could be best fought with the findings of research in our national laboratories, he added.

Scientists must fight poverty through their research in biosciences and other technology advancements in their labs, and make sure that their research gave happiness to the nation, the President said. "I would like to see industrial research start in basic sciences too," he added. The Science and Technology Policy announced by the Union Government early this year gave more freedom for scientists.

Looking very much at home with the scientists at the institute, Dr. Kalam talked about the days when he used to spend a lot of his time with fellow scientists in research labs. He had a word of advice for younger scientists: "Do not get disheartened by failures; they are sometimes part of research work." The work carried out at the institute created by an eminent scientist such as C.N.R. Rao was remarkable, Dr. Kalam said. The Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi, and the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, were present when Prof. Rao took the President around the research facility.

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