PJ Abdul Kalam was buried today. He died in action. Contributing towards education with his last breath, in a manner of speaking. He led a remarkable life. From an ordinary, poor Muslim household, he educated himself to become a well known engineer, beloved of the hawks, who christened him with the nickname, ‘The missile man’ of India. He was a ‘confirmed’ bachelor. He played the veena in private. He wrote books. He was moderately well-known. Until he became the 11^th President of India.

That came about after the Gujarat riots, where hundreds of Muslims were butchered in what the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi termed as a ‘natural reaction’ to the unfortunate Godhra Express incident where coaches caught fire killing several RSS kar sevaks on their way to Ayodhya. The NDA government, a coalition of the BJP and its allies, was in power, and it was the time for India to get a new President.

The Vajpayee dispensation found in Abdul Kalam the ‘moderate Muslim face’ required to set aside the negative press and images of BJP ruled Gujarat. Kalam’s role in the missile development programme also made him acceptable to the war-mongers within the BJP. And thus, the ‘People’s President’ was born.

The long-haired, (and as it has been whispered in queer circles) ‘unconventional’ Kalam was initially a nightmare for the protocol chaps. Would he modify his ‘hippie’ look? Naturally, no. One of his ears were disfigured.

But everything fell into place. Kalam was unassuming, pragmatic, and kept to the middle path. He played his role with grace and diligence. He was seen at Hindu temples, Gurduwaras and the like. During the holy month of Ramadan, he struck off the traditional ‘iftar’ gathering from the roster of Presidential dos, (a pragmatic move that endeared him to those who constantly feel that Muslims are ‘appeased’ in this country.) Kalam, though by birth a Muslim, was brought up in a multi-religious, tolerant society. He often referred to himself as an Atheist.

APJ Abdul Kalam turned the Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhawan) into an accessible place for most citizens, especially children. He genuinely believed that the bright future for India rested in it’s the quality of education and how well universal children’s rights were implemented. Young people, Students and teachers of all ages were forever welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan. In fact, the President reached out to the people, visiting schools and colleges, engaging with youth, igniting minds along the way.

Kalam had said that one of the more difficult tasks for him as President was to decide on the issue of confirming capital punishment awarded by courts, and to his surprise, almost all 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,” he had said. Kalam said there was one case where he found that a lift operator had in fact committed the crime of raping and killing the girl without doubt. “In that case I affirmed the sentence,” he had said.

During a visit to Thiruvantapuram as President in 2002, he had the roadside cobbler who used to repair his shoes invited to an official event so he could meet the man. George’s shop fell on the way to Kalam’s favourite eatery, the Guruvayoorappan Hotel, one of few that served ‘kanji’ (rice gruel) for dinner. Kalam got its owner, Parameswaran Nair, invited too.

He was an inspiration to millions of Indians. He was one of the ‘top-ten’ bachelors of the World – an inspiration for singles.

He was India’s ‘Long haired lover from Rameshwaram.’

APJ Abdul Kalam will be remembered for generations to come. His birthday, October 15, will now be commemorated as Students’ Day.

  APJ Abdul Kalam, Frank Krishner