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APJ Abdul Kalam
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By
Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, June 14 (IslamOnline) - In fast changing political developments
here, a Muslim scientist emerged as the next President of the Republic
of India. Various candidates, including Krishna Kant, the current vice
president of India, have been dumped in favor of the eminent scientist
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr Kalam is the brain behind India's ambitious
missile and nuclear programs and has received India's highest civilian
award, Bharat Ratna, which is seldom awarded to a living person.
After
a series of controversial nominations, the ruling National Democratic
Alliance came up with the name of Dr Kalam for the country's top post
which falls vacant on July 24 this year. Normally the vice president is
elevated to the post of president but a number of factors worked for Dr
Kalam. The ruling BJP wants to send a message to the Muslims in India as
well as to the outside world that it is not anti-Muslim. Moreover, Dr
Kalam being a south Indian, this is a sop for south India as well which
normally feels left out when it comes to top political appointments.
After
an initial reluctance the Congress Party too has endorsed Dr Kalam's
candidature. Hence his election is a forgone conclusion. Many small
parties like Uttar Pradesh's largest party, Samajwadi, AIDMK which rules
Tamil Nadu, and TDP which rules Andhra Pradesh, have also supported Dr
Kalam's candidature.
The
only exception is the leftist parties which objected to Dr Kalam on the
mere ground that as a scientist, he is not fit for the post. The Left
parties today decided to field Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, one of the
commanders of the legendary "Indian National Army" which
fought against the British under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose.
But Ms Sahgal stands little chance to defeat Dr Kalam who will be
elected by an electoral college comprising the members of parliament and
state legislative assemblies.
Opposition parties' People's Front became a direct victim of the
presidential elections. It fell apart this week when Samajwadi Party
decided to support Dr Kalam while the leftist parties decided to oppose
him.
The
Opposition parties' first choice was the current president, KR
Narayanan, who earned the current government's displeasure for taking
steps like refusing to signs controversial laws or opposing the ousting
of state governments on the advice of the central government as in the
state of Bihar. Narayanan wanted to be re-elected only if he was the
consensus candidate. He opted out once Dr Kalam's name was proposed by
the ruling NDA.
Prime
Minister Vajpayee was forced to rethink his earlier choice when NDA's
proposed candidate, Maharashtra state governor Dr PC Alexander, was
summarily rejected by the Congress Party. Dr Kalam's candidature was
proposed by the TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of
Andhra Pradesh. Since Dr Kalam enjoys great respect for his services in
development of the Indian missile and nuclear arsenal There was no
objection even from Hindu extremist parties like the Shiv Sena. The only
fault his opponents could find was that Dr Kalam lacks political
experience which is necessary for the president who, though mostly
ceremonial like the British monarch, at times has to take crucial
constitutional decisions.
Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam is known as the "father of the Indian
missile." Hailing from Rameshwaram in the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu, Dr Kalam was the brain behind India's indigenous development
of surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles such as Agni, Trishul,
Nag etc. It was under his stewardship that the country's nuclear
programme rose to commendable heights. Dr Kalam would become the second
apolitical person after Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher, to
occupy the highest office of the land.
The
next president will be the twelfth occupant of Rashtrapati Bhawan, the
imposing presidential palace in New Delhi which before Independence
served as the residence of the British viceroy in India. Though the
President is the head of State in India, all powers are vested in the
Prime Minister and Parliament.
Although
all parties claimed to be looking for a consensus candidate, their
divergent interests and conflicting loyalties prevent such a
possibility. Of the eleven presidential elections so far, from 1952 to
1997, only once the winner emerged unopposed and that too following
Congress Party’s humiliating defeat in the post-Emergency elections
when it decided not to field any candidate in 1977. It was only then
that Sanjiva Reddy was elected unopposed.
The
closest presidential fight so far took place in August 1969 between two
Congress candidates, VV Giri and Mr Sanjiva Reddy. The contest took a
dramatic turn when Indira Gandhi went against the official candidate of
the Congress Party and fielded her own candidate VV Giri who won by
securing just about 50.2 percent votes against Reddy’s 48.5 percent.
The biggest margin so far was managed by the first president, Dr
Rajendra Prasad, who bagged 99.3 percent votes for his second term.
Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam's candidature at this stage is an extraordinary event
due to the recent Gujarat anti-Muslim pogroms. Analysts say that the
ruling NDA, especially Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, wants to
wash off the sins of Gujarat and there would be no better opportunity
than to place a Muslim on the top job of the land to undo the ruling
party's sullen image. Most opposition parties would find it difficult to
oppose the candidature of a Muslim like Dr Kalam with his impeccable
credentials to occupy the top post under the present circumstances.
