File photo of former president APJ Abdul Kalam with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in Jan 2015. Kalam passed away in
Shillong at the age of 83
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a glowing tribute to former
president APJ Abdul Kalam in an article shared with Hindustan Times on Tuesday
calling him his 'marg darshak'(guide) who epitomised the values of
self-restraint, sacrifice and compassion.
Modi said the scientist-President never measured success by
material possessions. "As a hero of our defence programme, he shifted
horizons; and as a seer of the spirit, he sought to liberate doctrine from the
narrow confines of partisan tension to the transcendental space of
harmony,"he said.
Read the full text of the article
below.
BHARAT has lost a Ratna, but the light from this jewel will guide us towards
APJ Abdul Kalam's dream-destination: India as a knowledge superpower, in the
first rank of nations. Our scientist-President -and one who was genuinely loved
and admired across the masses - never measured success by material possessions.
For him, the counterpoint to poverty was the wealth of knowledge, in both its
scientific and spiritual manifestations. As a hero of our defence programme, he
shifted horizons; and as a seer of the spirit, he sought to liberate doctrine
from the narrow confines of partisan tension to the transcendental space of
harmony.
Every great life is a prism, and we bathe in those rays that
find their way to us. His profound idealism was secure because it rested on a
foundation of realism. Every child of deprivation is a realist. Poverty does
not encourage illusions. Poverty is a terrible inheritance; a child can
be defeated even before he or she has begun to dream. But Kalamji refused to be
defeated by circumstances. As a boy, he had to support his studies by earning
money as a newspaper vendor; today, page after page of the same newspapers are
filled with his obituary notices. He said that he would not be presumptuous
enough to say that his life could be a role model for anybody; but if some poor
child living in an obscure and underprivileged social setting found some solace
in the way his destiny had been shaped, it could perhaps help such children
liberate themselves from the bondage of illusory backwardness and helplessness.
He is my marg darshak, as well as that of every such child.
His character, commitment and inspirational vision shine through
his life. He was unencumbered by ego; flattery left him cold. He was equally at
ease before an audience of suave, globe-trotting ministers and a class of young
students. The first thing that struck one about him was that, uniquely, he
combined the honesty of a child with the energy of a teenager and the maturity
of an adult. He took little from the world, and gave all he could to society. A
man of deep faith, he epitomised the three great virtues of our civilization:
dama, self-restraint; dana, sacrifice; and daya, compassion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays his last respects to former
president APJ Abdul Kalam at Palam Airforce Station in New Delhi
But this persona was powered by the fire of endeavour. His
vision for the nation was anchored in freedom, development and strength. Given
our history, freedom had a political context of course; but it also included
freedom of the mind and expansion of intellectual space. He wanted India to
leap out of the under-developed trough, and eliminate the curse of poverty
through inclusive economic growth. Wisely, he suggested that politicians spend
only 30% of their time on politics, and 70% on development; a suggestion which
he often followed up by calling in MPs from a state and discussing the
socio-economic issues of their region with them. The third pillar, strength,
was not born of aggression, but of understanding. An insecure nation will
rarely discover the route to prosperity. Strength commands respect. His
contributions in our nuclear and space achievements have given India the muscle
to be confident of her place in the region and the world.
His memory is best honoured by the creation of new institutions
that nurture science and technology, and enable us to find a beneficial
equation with the awesome power of nature. Too often, greed makes us predators
of our environment. Kalamji saw poetry in a tree, and energy that could be
harnessed in water, wind and sun. We should learn to look at our world through
his eyes, and with the same missionary zeal.
Human beings can shape their lives through will,
persistence, ability and sheer courage. But we have not been given the right to
script where we are born, or how and when we die. However, if Kalamji had been
offered an option, this is how he would perhaps have chosen to say goodbye: on
his feet, and in front of a classroom of his beloved students. As a bachelor,
he was childless. But that is wrong. He was a father to every Indian child,
teaching, cajoling, urging, exciting, clearing darkness wherever he found it
with the radiance of his vision and the passion of his involvement. He saw the
future, and showed the way. As I entered the room where his body lay in state,
I noticed the painting at the entrance that depicted a few lines from an
inspirational book he wrote for children, Ignited Minds. The good that he did
will not be interred with his bones, because his children will preserve his
memory through their lives and work, and gift it to their children.
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