Exclusive extracts from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s memoir of his presidency
My visit to Gujarat
One of the pillars of development that I have thought a lot about is that we have to create a nation where poverty has been totally eradicated and illiteracy removed. Alongside, we need to evolve a society where crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated. These thoughts were prominent in my mind during my visit to Gujarat in August 2002, which I took up as my first major task immediately after becoming President.
The State had been hit by riots a few months earlier, and their impact had left thousands of lives in disarray. It was an important and sensitive task, because it took place under unique circumstances, in a politically charged atmosphere. I decided that my mission was not to look at what had happened, not to look at what was happening, but to focus on what should be done. What had happened was already a point of discussion by the judiciary and the Parliament and continues to be discussed even now.
As no President had ever visited an area under such circumstances, many questioned the necessity of my visit to the state at this juncture. At the ministry and bureaucratic level, it was suggested that I should not venture into Gujarat at that point of time. One of the main reasons was political. However, I made up my mind that I would go and preparations were in full swing at Rashtrapati Bhavan for my first visit as President.
The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, asked me only one question, ‘Do you consider going to Gujarat at this time essential?’ I told the PM, ‘I consider it an important duty so that I can be of some use to remove the pain, and also accelerate the relief activities, and bring about a unity of minds, which is my mission, as I stressed in my address during the swearing-in ceremony.’…
I visited twelve areas — three relief camps and nine riot-hit locations where the losses had been high... I remember one scene, when I visited a relief camp. A six-year-old boy came up to me, held both my hands and said, ‘Rashtrapatiji, I want my mother and father.’ I was speechless. There itself, I held a quick meeting with the District Collector. The Chief Minister also assured me that the boy’s education and welfare would be taken care of by the government.
All through my visit only one thought occupied my mind… Should not development be our only agenda? Any citizen following any faith has the fundamental right to live happily. No one has the right to endanger the unity of minds, because unity of minds is the lifeline of our country, and makes our country truly unique.
After all what is justice, what is democracy? Every citizen in the country has a right to live with dignity; every citizen has a right to aspire for distinction. To access the large number of opportunities, through just and fair means, in order to attain that dignity and distinction is what democracy is all about. That is what our Constitution is all about. And that is what makes life wholesome and worth living in a true and vibrant democracy, the essence of which is tolerance for people’s belief systems and lifestyles…
The increasing intolerance for the views of others and increasing contempt for the way of life or religion of others, or the expression of these differences through lawless violence against people cannot be justified in any context. All of us have to work hard and do everything to protect the rights of every individual …
Returning the Office of Profit Bill
Broadly, the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act 1959, stipulates that certain offices of profit under the government shall not disqualify the holders thereof for being chosen as, or for being, Members of Parliament. During mid 2006, I received a number of complaints from MPs about certain fellow members holding office of profit. I had to deal with these complaints. I sent these to the Chief Election Commissioner to study and conduct an inquiry wherever considered essential … Meanwhile I received the Office of Profit Bill from the Parliament for approval.
I studied the Bill and found that it had many anomalies. In the proposed Office of Profit Bill, I did not find a systematic approach towards deciding the question of what constituted an office of profit. Instead exemption was given to only the existing offices which were occupied by MPs. I also discussed the anomalies and my concerns with three former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. I prepared a letter in consultation with my team and the three CJIs …
The Office of Profit Bill was not sent by the Cabinet for my approval but by Parliament. Hence, I returned the Bill to the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for reconsideration by both the Houses of Parliament. This was the first time in the history of Parliament or Rashtrapati Bhavan that a President returned a Bill for reconsideration….
The Bill was reconsidered and sent back for my approval. The Prime Minister met me and he was surprised, as I normally send the approved Bill the next day. Why were weeks rolling by with no action taken, he wondered. I said some action is needed from Parliament and I have not heard anything about it. The Prime Minister said the Parliament has already decided on the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for going into all aspects of the Office of Profit Bill as per my suggestions. …
I was on tour to the North-East and … received a message that the formation of a JPC on the Office of Profit Bill had been approved by Parliament. Once I got the confirmation about the action by Parliament, I immediately signed the Office of Profit Bill. After a few months, Parliament approved the JPC report which was not complete and did not address the problem which I had suggested. Parliament has to deal with such issues with care, otherwise it would be construed that the highest body of the nation is promoting wrong practices which may set a national trend in different echelons of the government…
Recently, we saw two fasting movements against corruption and many more may get inspired. I was asking myself, why are such movements taking place in our democratic country. This is basically due to the dilution of standards by Parliament itself …
On the death penalty
One of the more difficult tasks for me as President was to decide on the issue of confirming capital punishment awarded by the courts after exhausting all processes of appeals. As a substantial number of cases have been pending in Rashtrapati Bhavan for many years, it is one inherited task that no President would feel happy about. I thought I should get all these cases examined from a normal citizen’s point of view in terms of the crime, intensity of the crime and the social and financial status of the individuals who were convicted and awarded capital punishment. This study revealed to my surprise that almost all the cases which were pending had a social and economic bias. This gave me an impression that we were punishing the person who was least involved in the enmity and who did not have a direct motive for committing the crime. Of course there was one case where I found that the lift operator had in fact committed the crime of raping and killing the girl without doubt. In that case I affirmed the sentence…
We are all the creations of God. I am not sure a human system or a human being is competent to take away a life based on artificial and created evidence.
On Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister
One of the responsibilities of the President is to appoint the Prime Minister after every general election or whenever an occasion arises for change of the incumbent. On these occasions the President has to satisfy himself there is a party or a coalition which has the required number of members to form a stable government. The process of selection becomes more complex when there is more than one contender laying claim to government in view of none of the parties having a clear majority in the House. In this context, the 2004 election was an interesting event. The elections were over, the results had been announced and none of the parties had the strength to form the government on their own.
The Congress party had the largest number of members elected. In spite of that, three days had passed and no party or coalition came forward to form the government. It was a cause of concern for me and I asked my secretaries and rushed a letter to the leader of the largest party — in this case the Congress — to come forward and stake the claim for forming the government.
I was told that Sonia Gandhi was meeting me at 12.15 in the afternoon of 18 May. She came in time but instead of coming alone she came with Dr. Manmohan Singh and had a discussion with me. She said that she had the requisite numbers but she did not bring the letter of support signed by party functionaries. She would come with the letters of support on the 19th, she said. I asked her why do you postpone. We can even finish it this afternoon. She went away. Later I received a message that she would meet me in the evening, at 8.15 p.m.
While this communication was in progress, I had a number of emails and letters coming from individuals, organisations and parties that I should not allow Mrs Sonia Gandhi to become the Prime Minister of our country. I had passed on these mails and letters to various agencies in the government for their information without making any remarks. During this time there were many political leaders who came to meet me to request me not to succumb to any pressure and appoint Mrs Gandhi as the Prime Minister, a request that would not have been constitutionally tenable. If she had made any claim for herself I would have had no option but to appoint her.
At the allotted time, 8.15 p.m., Mrs Gandhi came to Rashtrapati Bhavan along with Dr. Manmohan Singh. In this meeting after exchanging pleasantries, she showed me the letters of support from various parties. Thereupon, I said that is welcome. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is ready for the swearing-in ceremony at the time of your choice. That is when she told me that she would like to nominate Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was the architect of economic reforms in 1991 and a trusted lieutenant of the Congress party with an impeccable image, as the Prime Minister. This was definitely a surprise to me and the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat had to rework the letter appointing Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister and inviting him to form the government at the earliest.
Finally, the swearing-in took place on 22 May with Dr. Manmohan Singh and sixty-seven Ministers in the splendid Ashoka Hall.
I breathed a sigh of relief that this important task had finally been done. However, I did puzzle over why no party had staked a claim for three days.
(Excerpted with permission from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges. Published by HarperCollins, 2012.)
Keywords: Abdul Kalam, Turning Points, A Journey Through Challenges, Abdul Kalam’s memoir, UPA government, Sonia Gandhi
It is not the approprate time,after long years of silence, to express in public the inner burnings of experience in the highest position, to be misinterpreted controversially in the media,as the election for the next incumbant of that office is knocking at the door.We understand,all is not well always,even in the Vatican too.It is better to upheld the spirit of the democracy and the continuity of constitutional due process in the best interst of the country and the good governance.India feels proud of its serving sons and daughters at high offices of national dignity and unity.
Dr. A.P.J. Kalam is a respected leader and whatever he writes is read and analysed.
Writing after 8 years after he left the office, one wonders how it is considered
"history" for the readers; most of the personalities whom Dr.Kalam refers to are
still active players on the Indian scene. In matters of state, confidentiality is the
hallmark. With diverse parties watching utterances of eminent history-makers of
recent years, disclosures of secret nature are to be avoided. Mr. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee is a leader looked up to with admiration for his service to the nation. He
seems to have been concerned with the timing of visit and not the visit as such. As
for the appointment of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it should have been a
matter of secret until it becomes history. If government functionaries from top to
bottom start divulging all that transpired between them during their tenures, there
will more controversies than could be convenient avoided to maintain decorum of
the high offices.
Really a great and altruistic person.Dr Kalam sir had traced out where
problem lies and he said no for some of the amendments ....so he
is not accepted as president for 2 nd time... he really deserves to be
president
why this paper is picking up and quoting only issues raised by Dr
Kalam that suits this paper eg Gujarat. He would have said the same thing if he has also visited the families of those who were burnt in the train accident prior to the riots.
Our Nation Needs this sort of tall abilites who can reach down troden &
youngsters for selfsufficent India tomorrow. His powerful simple
messages have reached Youngsters ...A leader At His Best Always in All
Ways that is our Abdul Kalamji..Kudos...
Thanks to "The Hindu",for bringining up such a nice artice.Kalam sir is a true indian who always thinks of our nation and wants to sees our country with zero poverty, illitericy,unemployment and infant mortality rate.Your thought to visit the roits area in 2002 for making the minds of people "united" is good and is a lesson for the peopel and politicians.
A true patriot and a grand visionary that is what A.P.J is all about,
it is a shame for us that he is also being dragged into the political
ruses. It is a well known fact that President in our country doesn’t
enjoy any real power but one has to admire the way A.P.J really
understood and carried the fundamental necessities of this nominal
post. He, in true terms used his discretion and did the very best as
per the power vested on him by the constitution. This is the stuff
true leaders should be made off. Posterity demands such kind of
leaders but our political environment is hostile to them. What we see
today is power obsessed politicians. "Absolute Power corrupts
absolutely" may sound cliche but becomes more relevant today.
This man deserves to be president again and it is the right time to have a person like him to head the country.
Dr. Kalam is a living inspiration for us today, a hope which strengthens
our confidence in our democratic system.Even if India becomes a
constitutional monarchy, he will be the best leader to head this
country.
People might be right on revering the thinking and intellect of the missile man as the most suited qualities of a ruler. Even I admire Dr. Kalam to be man of wits and brain. But certainly there are evidences that raise questions on his liability towards his nation being the President. One Ex is 2005 dissolution of Bihar Assembly. The cabinet decision to dissolve assembly came in the wake of some parties, rather anti-congress party if precise, stepped forward in making govt at Bihar. Otherwise cabinet could have waited for the president to come back to India. That decision was unconstitutional and that was confirmed by the judgement of the highest Judiciary. If Dr. Kalam seriously wished to resign then he should have no matter what prime minister saw his party's future. Because if decision of the president is unconstitutional and he admits that then morally he can't stand as the first citizen of a nation. I think the wits of a soldier somehow couldn't get into the nerves of politics.
Visit to riot hit place such as Gujrat can be said as difficult decision
for anyone, including President. but appointment of PM, Bill, Capital
punishment pardon are very much the standard role that President has.
It could be the ongoing politics surrounding these issues puzzled Mr.
President ??
People of India have not once but twice expressed their faith in the
leadership of Ms Sonia Gandhi by voting UPA-1 And UPA-2 to power.They
are generally broad minded and do not bother about her foreign
origin.Indians also bye and large uphold the philosophy of lord
Krishna which is 'Vasudhaiva kutumbakam' ie the whole universe is one
family.This has been what we followed for more than 5000 years.A few
madcaps claiming themselves as the custodians of ancient Hindu
culture had objections which the then president wisely
disregarded.Their objections are also the result of their inability to
defeat Ms Sonia Gandhi electorally.Is it not a little strange that
Mr.kalam chose to reveal all these when all chances of his becoming
president again simply do not exist.It never existed as those sending
SMS to him do not have votes.
The great man has given his honest version of events first hand. One can
agree or disagree but cannot question his love towards this great
nation. Only if this publication would have come a few days earlier,
many would have had different view point in accepting him as President
once again.
After"Wings of Fire" another 'must read' book from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.Candid,forthright, unambiguous and clear Dr Kalan unravels inside events in Rashtrapathi Bhavan to Indians to read and be proud of.Thousand salutes to him for clearing the clouds of suspecion,ambiguity and distortion during his period of Presidency.After reading the full book, I will find Dr A P J Abdul Kalam in his true Indian form-Indian first and for ever-.
Now, we come to feel Dr Kalam is a down-to-earth in all spheres of life.but there is some suspicion on why Ms.Sonia did not want to adorn Kalam as president.all the people over India need Kalam as president. Knowing this clearly,Sonia disrespect him,why? This question will rise to an ordinary person too because he is expecting Dr Kalam to be projected.
It Is Really Nice and proud Feeling, That This Country has Salt Like Kalam, He Is Really Awesome at his Transparent Attitude..Kalam Is an Inspiration, And we all must inherit the purity and giving nature, what kalam possess.
Kalam is an Example, What should a president Look Like in terms of Dealing with complex Issues and How broad vision that persona should attain when it comes to decide the criticals, this is clearly visible from the decision.
.Hatts off to Kalam..
Kalam should explain why he refused to make public the letters written by late K.R. Narayanan to Vajpayee during the Godhra riots... enough of this pseudo-secularism.
This is the first insight of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan's working, i'm
eagerly looking forward to read that book. Mr. Kalam was fantastic in
the Wings of Fire, this extracts are also too good, we the people need
to know the working of the highest office of India. Thanks Mr. Kalam.
And not being a rubber stamp, you proved your mettle.
I wonder why Mr.Kalam has not given cogent reasons for not accepting the legal objections raised by the opposition and the people and legal luminaries of India and what convinced him to accept Sonia as the PM.
A fundamental point is, do we really need a President? He/she costs a mindboggling amount to maintain but his contribution to good governance is zero. For instance, what prevented the President of the day to directly order the Army Chief to deploy the army to stop the massacre of innocent Sikhs and Muslims in 1984 and 2002 respectively? Does the Constitution prevent him from using his authority as our First Citizen to ensure the safety and security of his fellow citizens? What has the President done to eradicate corruption, criminalisation of politics, terrorism, caste warfare, and so on? Zilch! All that he does is delivers gratutious lectures that no one takes seriously. To my mind, this post should be abolished.
the book and its presentation might have been applauded by many
but what I would comment that this excerpt gives a vivid hint how
the Indian democracy works, there as more flaws than fruits and
we can have hopes only after failure and failure.the excerpt
raises more questions than it answers about much hyped presidency.a president in times of pain to his people is asked to stay away from them because govt. is for the people
only in happy times.
I do not quite agree that Dr Kalam's journey and the decisions to be taken as India’s President were as difficult as portrayed in his book. He carried no less an impeccable persona than Dr Singh and was revered as one of the best Presidents we have ever had. His decisions would have always been honoured by us anyway. So the difficulty was not from people’s acceptability angle but, perhaps, from his own conflicting views. Otherwise, his decisions to visit only the post-Godhra riots victims, without even expressing a desire to visit the train-carnage victims certainly had the potential to attract many queries like the one from Mr Vajpayee. His approval of the office of profit bill rightly haunts him. God helped him escape the guilt of inviting Sonia Gandhi to form Govt. Where was the need, when she was eyeing a super-PM position with no accountability and responsibility?
That the Mr.Kalam chose to visit Gujarat, soon after he become President - clearly illustrates how seriously he viewed the situation prevailing at that time. I was moved by the account of a six year old child approaching him and saying that he wanted his brother and father back.
The SIT report may contradict its own earlier findings while giving a clean chit to Mr.Modi ; the almost cult like following that Modi enjoys on Internet may give a false impression of him as a great leader. But his complicity while Gujarat was burning ,his inflammatory speeches and his sinister attempt to use the communal riots to win elections can never be forgotten or forgiven.
India at present need inspiring leaders like Mr. Abdul Kalam at the helm. We as a nation are never short of money or muscle. Its the intellectual and moral guidance of such noble men we seek in these times of financial and social chaos. Wish our political system opens up to such fine and virtuous men often. Jai Bharath!!
Brilliant Piece. Helps us understand the decisions made by the President in crucial moments of our recent history.Examples like these -High standards followed by Shri APJ Kalam reaffirms our faith in the democracy, despite its many failings mainly by the political class and the bureaucracy.
I am really proud and extremely happy that our country had a person like Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam as Honorable President in its real sense. Plato the Greek philosopher, while describing an Ideal Republic, recommends a philosopher to be the head of the welfare state, who being in the society can visualize it from outside. Dr. Kalam very well fits in to this Plato's Ideal Republic Theory. Thanks to The Hindu for this exclusive extracts of the memoirs of our ex-president.
Kudos to Dr. Kalam. Usually any news on Gujarat riots are marked by anti-Hindu rants by those who know that this will definitely polarize minds and will benefit them by improving their vote share.
But in reality, what is needed is unity of minds , as Kalam had rightly put. Indeed intolerance and aggression are the reasons for riots. And we need more Kalams to promote inclusive development and less of those who instigate communal and casteist politics.
"I decided that my mission was not to look at what had happened, not to look at what was happening, but to focus on what should be done" Sigh. How is progress possible without justice? How is justice possible without looking back? It shows how ineffectual the higher offices are in delivering justice. A decade has gone by with very little done to bring perpetrators to court.Wonder where that 6 year old is now? What shame!!!
Please Email the Editor