At the time, few dreamed of what would happen next to the shaggy-haired, vegetarian, 70-year-old scientist. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered him the nomination for the nation’s highest office: the presidency. Kalam claims he never thought of dabbling in politics, and was “taken aback.” Although largely a ceremonial position, in the months to come he will likely have a bully pulpit from which to address many of India’s most pressing social and political issues. Kalam appeals to many Indians who have grown disgusted by the corruption of the political elite. His nomination caused huge populist celebrations across the country. Even the opposition Congress Party–reluctant to defy such an upswell of support–endorsed him, making the July 15 contest a mere formality. He also brings a unique opportunity to unite the country. Kalam is a Muslim who can recite the Qur’an, but can also quote the Hindu scriptures like the Gita and Upanishads. For Hindu nationalists, his nomination was an inspired political choice, allowing them to claim secular credentials to the world and to India’s 150 million largely alienated Muslims.
To be sure, Kalam’s rise has not come without controversy. The office requires the occupant to be well-versed in constitutional and legal matters since, without the president’s signature, no law or ordinance can be passed. Kalam has expertise in neither. Sure Kalam is a cultural icon, known for eccentricities, yet little is known about his political views, how willing he will be to toe the party line or even whether he has an agenda. There are other concerns. Some in the Muslim community question his religious faith, complaining he does not accept Allah as the only God and the Qur’an as the inviolable word of God. Others even accuse him of being more at home with Hindus and Hindu scriptures. Shekhar Gupta, editor in chief of the Indian Express, who has known Kalam both personally and professionally for many years, says that the lack of informed debate about Kalam and his candidacy is a dangerous trend in a democracy. In the “blind, illiterate, obsequious deification” of Kalam, no one asks why he uses “Dr.” when he never earned a doctorate or how many scientific papers he has published in independent journals, says Gupta.
It is his involvement with India’s missile and nuclear-research programs that have been his crowning achievement. And despite his modest lifestyle and spirituality, it remains an important part of his political identity. A firm believer in India’s “no first use” policy, he supports the government’s voluntary moratorium on further nuclear testing. For his own role, Kalam says he has no regrets. “In our planet only weaponized states are friends,” he told Arun Tiwari, the coauthor of his best-selling autobiography. “Otherwise the relationship immediately regresses into the oppressor and the oppressed. Strength respects strength.”
His dream now is to make India a “secure and developed” nation, with tolerance as the bedrock of public discourse. That might seem a tenuous proposition. But, if anything, Kalam has learned that when you pursue your dreams, the universe usually conspires in your favor.
