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Unit 13: My Vision for India by APJ Abdul Kalam

The polling for the Presidential election began on 15 July 2002 in the Parliament and the state Notes
assemblies with media claiming that the election was a one-sided affair and Kalam’s victory
was a foregone conclusion. The counting was held on 18 July. Kalam won the Presidential
election in a highly one-sided contest. He became the 11th President of the Republic of India.
He moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan after he was sworn in on 25 July. Kalam was the third
President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour,
before becoming the President. Dr. Sarvapali Radhakrishnan (1954) and Dr. Zakir Hussain
(1963) were the earlier recipients of Bharat Ratna who later became the President of India. He
was also the first scientist and the first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.
During his term as President, he was affectionately known as the People’s President. In his
words, signing the Office of Profit Bill was the toughest decision he had taken during his tenure.
Kalam is criticized for inaction as a President in deciding the fate of 20 out of the 21 mercy
petitions. Article 72 of the Constitution of India empowers the President of India to grant
pardon, suspend and remit death sentences and commute the death sentence of convicts on
death row. Kalam acted on only one mercy plea in his 5 year tenure as a President, rejecting
the plea of rapist Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who was hanged thereafter. The most important of the
20 pleas is thought to be that of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri terrorist who was convicted of
conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and was sentenced to death
by the Supreme Court of India in 2004. While the sentence was scheduled to be carried out
on 20 October 2006, the pending action on the mercy plea resulted in him continuing in the
death row.

At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007, Kalam expressed his willingness to consider a second
term in office provided there was certainty about his victory in the 2007 Presidential election.
However, two days later, he decided not to contest the Presidential election again stating that
he wanted to avoid involving Rashtrapati Bhavan from any political processes. He did not
have the support of the Left parties, Shiv Sena and UPA constituents to receive a renewed
mandate.
Nearing the term expiry of the 12th President Pratibha Patil, whose tenure ended on 24 July
2012, media reports in April claimed that Kalam was likely to be nominated for his second
term. After the reports, social networking sites were abuzz with activities extending their
support for his candidature. BJP potentially backed his nomination, saying that the party will
lend their support if Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress
propose his name for the 2012 Presidential election. Just a month ahead of the election, Mulayam
Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee also expressed their support to Kalam and revealed that
they both would suggest his name. Days after expressing support, Mulayam Singh Yadav
backed out, leaving Mamata Banerjee as a solitary supporter. On 18 June 2012, Kalam refused
to contest 2012 Presidential poll after much speculations.
“Many citizens have also expressed the same wish. It only reflects their love and affection for
me and the aspiration of the people. I am really overwhelmed by this support. This being their
wish, I respect it. I want to thank them for the trust they have in me.”

Criticisms and controversies

The controversy that surrounds Kalam’s role as a nuclear scientist, is the lack of reliable and
factual reporting of the yield of Pokhran-II tests. The director of the site test, K. Santhanam,
publicly admitted that the thermonuclear bomb was a “fizzle” test, criticising Kalam for issuing
the wrong report. However, Kalam dismissed the claims and R. Chidambaram, a key associate
of Pokhran-II, also described these claims as incorrect.

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