Posted on 07/29/2002 5:50:59 PM PDT by swarthyguy
Regardless of any comment on the reasons for electing the Indian nuclear scientist Avul Pakir Jainulabuddin Abdul Abdul Kalam as the successor to President K.R. Narayanan, the event confirms a number of things.
First, India is still a democratic secular state in which any citizen, irrespective of his ethnic, religious or class background, can reach the highest levels of authority if he (or she) works hard, perseveres, involves in the existing institutional structures, and puts his country's interests above the interests of his own class, religion and ethnicity.
That is how we can interpret the arrival of former President Narayanan, a Dalit (lower class), to the Presidency five years ago.
Further, that is how we can interpret that the state, which is described in our usual press comments as being prejudiced against its Muslim faction, kept at the helm of its nuclear programme a Muslim figure and at the head of its Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) a Muslim citizen, namely Nejma Heptullah, the granddaughter of the prominent independence leader Mullana Abul Abdul Kalam Azad.
Also the title of the richest man in India was given to a Muslim, Azim Hashim who controls a fortune estimated at around $3 billion and is described as India's Bill Gates due to his information technology business.
This is not to speak of the thousands of Muslims who hold key positions in the civil service, diplomatic corps and the military.
Only the complacent, lazy and those who yield to the speeches of some Imams do not achieve anything but blame their backwardness on the acts of repression and discrimination.
This talk does not mean that the Indian Muslims are without problems and their conditions are in the best possible shape.
What we want to emphasise is that their problems and grievances, which have recently increased as a result of the emergence of a fanatic Hindu trend, could only be solved through earnest and positive interaction and participation in the political life within the framework and channels provided by the Constitution not through complacency, complaints and hiding behind poor slogans or recourse to violence.
Being well aware of Indian affairs, I can say that Indian Muslims, in spite of all that happened in recent years, do have a wide margin of liberties and rights that their counterparts in purely Islamic countries do not enjoy.
The second fact highlighted by the election of Abdul Abdul Kalam as President of the Republic is that India is notably faithful towards those who are known for their innovation and usually rewards them for their creative skills by raising them to the top positions.
This happened before with former Presidents such as Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. This is also happening today with Professor Abdul Abdul Kalam.
In all cases, the religion of any candidate has not had any bearing on electing anyone for the Presidency as proved by the fact that three Muslims out of 11 Presidents were appointed in this high position while no Christian and only one Sikh (Zail Singh) was elected for the Presidency.
There are some who claim that the support by the ruling right wing Hindu for Abdul Abdul Kalam's nomination came merely for election purposes and as a means of winning over Muslim voters following the massacres against Muslims in Gujarat.
If this is true how can we interpret the position adopted by the opposition, with all its factions (except for the Communists whose own candidate was Lashkmi Saghal) along the same line while it always seized all opportunities to undermine the ruling coalition's plans ?
Another group claims that giving the Indian Presidency to a Muslim does not mean anything since it is merely an honorary position that does not affect politics.
However, who can deny that the holder of this position plays a crucial role in nominating the heads of government at times of political crisis arising from failure of any of the political parties in gaining a clear majority in the general parliamentary elections and also plays an effective role in deciding whether or not to dissolve the Parliament?
Who can deny the importance of the role of his direct annual address to the nation to strengthen the position of the ruling party by praising its achievements or to destroy its popularity by criticising its policies?
Meanwhile, there are some who allege that Abdul Abdul Kalam is only a Muslim on paper as mentioned recently by a female Arab journalist.
She merely relied on an information saying that he had studied the holiest Hindu book, Bhagavad Gita, and was influenced by some of its philosophical implications.
Nevertheless, what this journalist failed to say was that Abdul Abdul Kalam also read the Holy Quran and learned by heart a number of its verses, let alone the fact that reading others' holy books should not be a justification for casting doubts over a Muslim's faith so long as such reading serves the purpose of learning about the beliefs and ways of life of those with whom he lives and deals.
Devout Muslim
On the contrary to what is uttered by this Arab journalist, Abdul Kalam's acquaintances confirm that he is a devout Muslim who performs the prayers on time except in extreme emergencies, observes the fast in Ramadan and the only drink he consumes is tea. He is also very keen on carrying out his duties towards his relatives.
All these claims and others could not undermine the event nor reduce its importance at the time when India is governed by a coalition of parties dominated by Bhartiya Janata Party which came to power through an agenda based upon the transformation of India into a nation of a single culture.
With the consensus over his person and the respect he enjoys as well as his known history of having no political affiliation to a certain grouping, there are some who bet on Abdul Kalam's ability to give a new flavour and role to the position of Presidency in India and to encourage India's Muslims to become more deeply involved in the political life and in the civil society's activities.
If we look closely at Abdul Kalam's biography, we will find that it is not much different from those of his counterparts in the scientific community or of the contemporary Indian leaders.
His story is one of struggle, patience and perseverance for a prosperous academic and practical future against a bleak social and living background. His story is indeed fit to give an example to others about facing the challenges. It is also a good example of putting aside selfishness, blind fanaticism for a community, group or ethnicity.
It is enough to say that Abdul Kalam began his career as a small boy selling and delivering newspapers.
Indeed, the young boy who used to deliver papers carrying the news of makers of events has become in his sixties a maker of events himself.
He came to the front as a prominent scientist who led more than 35,000 scientists and researchers and as an intellectual who participated in qualifying India to enter the nuclear club.
This took place through a 40-year career in the field of science during which he achieved a great deal for his country from the rocket launch pad in the early eighties and ending with the missiles that can carry nuclear heads in the 1990s.
All these outstanding achievements did not make Abdul Kalam suffer from the epidemic of greed and arrogance. He is still the same modest man that he has always been. He is close to the poor people and is still faithful to his family, friends, acquaintances and town people. He is still kind to his juniors and students.
Moreover, he does not care much for the luxuries of life and is satisfied with living lonely in a two-room furnished apartment. He is also a vegetarian and does not indulge in any hobbies except for the simplest.
During his leisure time he enjoys reading and writing poetry. When he was once asked about why he shunned marriage, he replied by saying: "Had I been married, I would not have been able to achieve half that I could do in my career." So he seems to say that he has devoted himself to science and nothing else.
Underneath his pure Indian features and his thick gray hair dangling on his forehead and cheeks, he conceals a quiet nature as he rarely becomes emotional and angry. He also has unique courage in decision making like that of military leaders.
He has a sharp tendency for exploration and uncovering mysteries very much like the natural curiosity of children of the genius type. All these qualities are accompanied by an amazing ability to work continuously without being tired or bored.
Commenting on his early distinguished success, S. T. Manickam, who owned a library in Rameswaram , said that Abdul Kalam as a child was always there asking for books and used to read everything he could catch hold of.
The talk, or Kalam, about Abdul Kalam can go on and on but I wish to say that the best and shortest description of this figure, his ethics and achievements is that he is a genius full of patriotism.
Abdullah Al Madani is a Gulf researcher and an Asia expert.
SYmbolism is important, too. The only Arab country with a non-muslim is a position of power has been Iraq, with its former Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz.
Nice to see this coming from the Arab world, albeit the moderate Dubai press and a writer in Bahrain.
If so, great! This is exactly how we want the world to look like after we have defeated the radical Islamic terrorists and their supporters.
I could not care less how often they pray and to whom. As long as they are responsible citizens, non-violent, and working toward progress, they can worship fish if that's what makes them happy.
Thanks for the post.
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