The Hindu : Kalam pledges unflinching commitment to secularism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 26, 2002

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Kalam pledges unflinching commitment to secularism

By Neena Vyas

The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on the ceremonial chariot, in New Delhi on Thursday. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

NEW DELHI JULY 25. The new President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today spelt out his vision of a resurgent India which was possible through respect for and upholding of constitutional processes, an unflinching commitment to secularism, national security as a priority, and speedy development aimed at elimination of poverty and unemployment.

It is this alone which can make India strong and self-reliant — economically, socially and militarily — Dr. Kalam said, delivering his first Presidential address minutes after he was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India, B.N. Kirpal, at a brief but impressive ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament.

Dr. Kalam, who was installed as the eleventh President, said the Government alone could not transform India. What was needed was a "movement'' and it was time "to ignite the minds of the people'' for achieving his vision of transforming this ancient land into a developed nation powered by economic strength and a value system. His message to the one billion strong Indian population was that they should "work and sweat'' to realise the vision. And "speed'' was the essence, Dr. Kalam stressed, quoting poet Kabir who in his wisdom had advised: nothing should be put off till tomorrow (Jo kaal kare so aaj kar, jo aaj kare so ab).

He also underlined the fact that India was a union of States based on cooperative federalism, within which States needed to develop their competitive strengths to excel at the national and global levels.

Quoting from the Tamil classic, Thirukkural, he said that "the important elements that constitute a nation are: being disease free; wealth; high productivity; harmonious living and strong defence.'' His view was that it was empowerment of the child at various phases of growth that makes him develop into a responsible citizen, a teacher empowered with knowledge and experience gives his students value systems, and when people, especially women, are empowered the nation can grow and become stable. "When political leaders empower the people with visionary policies, prosperity of the nation is certain,'' Dr. Kalam asserted.

CHANGE OF GUARD: The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the outgoing President, K.R. Narayanan, exchanging their seats after the swearing-in ceremony . — PTI

Several times during his 10-minute address, there was thunderous applause, but noticeably when he talked about his "unflinching commitment to secularism which is the cornerstone of our nationhood and which is the key to our civilisational strength'', the decibel sound from the applause was lower. He also mentioned "internal conflicts'' as one of the challenges facing the nation together with "cross-border terrorism'' and in both these instances, the events in Gujarat seem to have been on his mind, although there was no direct reference to the carnage in the State earlier this year. His speech emphasised the need for bringing about a "unity of minds'' among the "divergent traditions'' of our country.

About 100 school children witnessed the installation of the new President as his special guests. Dr. Kalam's relatives and distinguished friends watched as after taking the oath of office, he changed seats with his predecessor, K.R. Narayanan, and a 21-gun salute boomed in the background and reverberated in the Central Hall.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, were among the guests, as were the former Prime Ministers, I. K. Gujral and Deve Gowda, and the former President, R. Venkataraman. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament were present.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, and the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Krishan Kant, had earlier welcomed Mr. Narayanan and Dr. Kalam as they entered Parliament House and escorted them to the dais in a procession to the accompaniment of fanfare. After the ceremony, they went back in a procession and the President's Bodyguards presented a national salute, before they drove to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr. Narayanan then left for his new home on Prithviraj Road, escorted by Dr. Kalam.

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