Salam Kalam

The most popular President across all sections of India Sri .A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is no more. Every one who paid tribute to this great soul opined he was a genuine 'Bharat Ratna'. Yes he was a true and ideal icon of the country. From the island village Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu he, rose to occupy the highest position in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, as the first citizen of the country. He was an affable, simple and unassuming President and became the darling of the student community and the youth of the country. He used to say every child is a scientist. To honour him UN declared his birthday as the 'Students day'.

Teaching was his passionate profession. He used to say he is always a teacher. When his candidature for Presidency was announced he was delivering a lecture for students in a school. Ironically during his last moments also he was addressing students at IIM Shillong .He was a visionary. He did not stop with sharing his vision; his mission was always to make his vision come true by exhorting and motivating the student community. 

He was passionately called as India's 'Missile man'. But those who know him personally used to say his smile was more deadly than his missiles. He conquered everyone with his smile .Kalam was a Veena playing missile man. His interests were varied. He had written many poems in Tamil and an anthology of his poems were translated to English and was published as "My Journey"

Given below is Kalam's poem The vision

The Vision

I climbed and climbed

Where is the peak, my Lord?

I ploughed and ploughed,

Where is the knowledge treasure, my Lord?

I sailed and sailed,

Where is the island of peace, my Lord?

Almighty, bless my nation

With vision and sweat resulting into happiness

His poems summed  up his thoughts

Where are we?

Where are we now, dear friends,

In the Maha Sabha that shapes as history,

The call of heart beats of Indian people,

People ask us, people ask us;

“Oh! Parliamentarians, the sculptors of Mother India,

Lead us unto light, enrich our lives.

Your righteous toil, is our guiding light,

If you work hard, we all can prosper.”

Like King, so the people,

Nurture great thoughts, rise up in actions,

May righteous methods be your guide;

May you all prosper ever with Almighty’s grace.

I consider the following as his most famous quote

"If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher."

In his own words - "literature also influenced my life" . He said 3 books influenced him greatly .They were Tamil classic Tirukural by Tiruvalluvar-an universal moral code  ,giving words of profound wisdom, noble thoughts and great moral lessons, the second book that influenced Kalam was "Light from Many Lamps": A Treasury of Inspiration by Lillian Eichler Watson.and the third book was "Empires of the Mind": Lessons to Lead and Succeed in a Knowledge-Based World by Denis Waitley .He had said these 3 books made his life.

He was a multifaceted person with all-round compassion. Once, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam reportedly rejected the suggestion to put broken glass on the wall of a building that needed protection, because broken glass would be harmful for birds. During his meeting with kids in the Rashtripathi Bhavan he would patiently listen to their ideas and give them feedback. He would also follow up with the kids to know about the status of the ideas they discussed.He was instrumental in designing artificial limbs with the light weight material used for rockets .Earlier prosthetic limbs weighed 4 kgs .but by using light weight materials for artificial limbs the weight was reduced to just 400 grams and made physically challenged kids to move around with ease .Dr Kalam and Dr Soma Raju developed a low-cost coronary stent called ‘Kalam-Raju’ stent. They also designed a rugged tablet computer for healthcare in rural areas, which was named as ‘Kalam-Raju tablet’.

He started a campaign by students to plant 1 lakh trees and succeeded. He was an impeccable person with integrity. Whenever his relatives visited him in the presidential palace, Kalam always paid for the food and any expresses incurred by their visit. Though a Muslim he remained a vegetarian throughout his life. He was a bachelor and he was rated among the top 10 bachelors of the world. The other bachelors in this list were Eastman, Beethoven, Voltaire, and James Buchnan, Al Pacino, Edward Heath, Issac Newton, Pascal and Leona Davinci.

The person who ignited many minds has gone to eternal sleep .But his soul would continue to inspire and ignite many minds forever. 

Modi takes control

Mr.Modi will become India's 15th Prime Minister today .Modi  is a practical politician . Modi was vociferous in his election speeches against Pakistan and UPA's policy of appeasement with Pak. Similarly Modi was critical of SL & PAK for arresting Indian fishermen .But level headed Modi knew election rhetoric's are different from  ground realities and wants to set the rcord straight before  he takes the saddle and is in the driver's seat . He has extended an olive branch to all SAARC leaders for his swearing in ceremony despite objections from some quarters . But Modi's diplomacy paid when both SL & PAK decided to release arrested Indian fishermen in their countries as a goodwill gesture . One sincerely hopes Modi would be  able to turn this initial euphory to something worthwhile in India's relations with these neighbouring nations . While I appreciate the steadfast resolution of politicians like Vaiko on his ideology and political orientation,he must understand diplomatic parleys are required between nations to resolve issues of this nature . The disposition shown by the heads of the two visiting leaders of SL & PAK could augur a new beginning to resolve issues between these nations .Some how I feel Modi is a politician  from India ready for a bigger international stage .

Modi means business and is a shrewd politician.I think he believes in heuristic approaches for problem solving . From what I learnt from newspapers ,he is clubbing related ministries ,may be with a view to deal issues at a single window . He is trying to engage experts in relevant fields under each ministry .I also find a sense of urgency in his approach to get things done rightly and also quickly . He may not vacillate to take decisions if it is beneficial to the nation. I understand he did not hesitate to demolish 600 Hindu temples in Ahmedabad to clear road obstructions . Throughout his hectic election campaigns he was focussed .It is an hallmark of an astute administrator . Now he has to deliver his promises. I was very impressed when he said in one of the election meetings that after 60 months he would give his report card on performance to the people of India .Unless he was so conident of his performance ,I don't think he would have uttered it . In one of the election rallies he said the Chief ministers and Prime minister should work together to make things happen . May be he has an all pervasive development plan for India in mind . I read from papers Modi has an ambitious plan for  24 x 7 power supply across India .  This could surely be the engine for growth .Best wishes to Modi and his team to usher in a new India .

CHOGM 2013 -Will India go the Candian way ?

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a biennial meeting of the heads of all commonwealth nations .There are currently 54 member nations.  Every two years the summit is held in different member states. The 2013 CHOGM summit is scheduled to be held during November 10 -17,2013 at Sri Lanka.The head of the member nation holding the summit becomes the chairperson for the next two years. The member nations are the erstwhile colonies of the British empire during its colonial rule.  Queen Elizabeth is the Head of the Commonwealth nations.Since the Ottawa Summit in 1973,the queen has attended all the CHOGM summits . The 87 year old queen has now  restricted her overseas travels .The queen would be represented by the prince of Wales at the 2013 CHOGM summit .

Political parties in Tamilnadu are objecting to India's participation in the CHOGM summit at Sri Lanka .They want India to boycott the summit and are urging PM Manmohan Singh not to attend the summit as a protest against Sri Lanka's human right violations . Tamilnadu congress has also joined  the bandwagon of parties asking for a boycott by India . The Dravidan parties like DMK,AIADMK,MDMK,DMDK  want India to boycott the summit. Similarly the communists,PMK,VCT and umpteen number of small political parties want a total boycott of the CHOGM by India . The Sri Lankan minister G.L.Peries visited Delhi recently to invite PM for the meet .But PM  kept him guessing on India's plans . With elections round the of the corner in 2014 ,what  would India decide ? .So far the only nation to publicly announce a boycott of the summit is Canada.The Canadian PM has categorically said  Canada would boycott the summit .Canada is a country with the largest Tamil population outside India,barring SL. The union government can not ignore or a  turn a blind eye to the unanimous boycott call from Tamilnadu. Already the congress party is in dire straits in Tamilnadu . Congress can not afford to ignore the public sentiments in Tamil nadu on the boycott call. The union government can not continue to remain unruffled over the SL issue and Tamil sentiments in India .

The common man on the street has many unanswered questions on India's role in the 2009 Sri Lankan war and on India's stand on its relations with SL . 

• Why did India extend strategic military support to SL on its war against ethnic Tamil minority community that resulted in the gruesome genocide ?
• Why does India continue to train SL soldiers despite protests from Tamilnadu ?
• Why is India planning to sell 2 war ships to SL despite protests from Tamilnadu ?
• Why is India maintaining a stoic silence to the  killings of Tamil fishermen by SL navy ?.So far 600 fishermen have been killed and thousands grievously injured and crippled for life .

In this connection I would like to draw a parallel to  reaction of Taiwan over the killing of a solitary fisherman by the Philippines coast guard. A 65 year old Taiwan fisherman was killed by bullet shot in the neck by the Philippine coast guards,in May 2013. The Philippines sources  said the Taiwan fishing vessel had entered its waters and the coast guard fired. " This killing prompted calls in Taiwan for tough action against the Philippines. Politicians and editorial  writers said that Taiwan could not afford to suffer in silence out of fear of antagonizing the United States, an ally of the Philippines, and that a soft stance would only mean further international marginalization of the self-governing island " . The Taiwan government immediately made 4 demands on Philippines such as compensation for losses, a prompt and thorough investigation and severe punishment for those responsible, and initiation of fishery agreement negotiations between the two countries.Philippines did not respond positively to the demands within the 72-hour deadline.Then Taiwan government  imposed a total of 11 sanctions on the Philippines, including a hiring freeze on overseas Filipino workers.Philippines depends heavily on the remittance by Filipino workers form Taiwan . Then Philippines  President Benigno Aquino III apologized over the fatal shooting of the Taiwanese fisherman .The president sent an emissary to Taiwan to express apology to the family of the victim and the Taiwanese people . After ensuring a fishery agreement was signed between the 2 nations Taiwan lifted its 11 sanctions against Philippines . Tamil fishermen expects Indian government to provide succour to them like the Taiwanese government . One is at a loss to understand why GOI soft pedals all diplomatic issues with her neighbours . The problem with the union government is, it considers the 600 dead fishermen as Tamil fishermen and not as Indian fishermen.What else could be the reason for such an insensitive,callous and unresponsive government ?.On the plea of geo political strategy if India continues to remain numb and soulless to the fishermen issue,I am afraid the congress party and the union government would only alienate TN from the national mainstream. 

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Apart from the TN politicians and the Tamil diaspora many others have also called for the boycott of the Colombo CHOGM meet .Brad Adams, Asia director of the Human Rights Watch, says that Sri Lanka should be “shunned and not rewarded” by other nations .Recently UN high commissioner for human right Navi Pillay talked about about" lack of accountability, unresolved enforced disappearances and decreasing fundamental freedoms, among other issues" in SL. Brad Adams also said "Holding the summit in Sri Lanka casts serious doubts on the Commonwealth's stated commitment to supporting human rights and democratic reform," .Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group also have condemned the Rajapaksa regime.British MP's have also called for a boycott of the CHOG summit at SL. All of them echoed the view that Heads of states  attending the summit at Colombo would mean vindicating SL's wrong approach to the Tamil's issues.

Now the host nation of the CHOG meet can have a theme for the meet .The theme for the colombo meet is "“Growth  with Equity; Inclusive Development.” Ironically the Tamils in SL are fighting for what is stated as the Summit theme. The union government would not spell out its stand on attending the CHOGM meet till the last moment fearing backlash in TN and also because of its hesitance to deal with SL in a robust way . Salman Kurshid  is visiting SL ahead of the summit . Will he explain India's stand or make demands to satisfy the dissatisfied Tamil people back home. Some others advise sending a low  level delegation instead of a total boycott. The newly elected Tamil chief Minister of the northern SL wants Indian PM to attend the summit and plead the  case of the SL Tamils. But I feel the policy of appeasement by India is not going to work in India's favour. It is high time India asserts itself as a major power of the South East Asian region.Bowing to political pressure form allies,opposition parties and the popular sentiment in TN , India was forced to vote against  SL at UN on the US sponsored resolution at Geneva.Similarly bowing to public sentiment and political pressure India might take a stand at the last moment .

Sports and Politics

TN chief Minister  has ensured that no SL players will play in the IPL matches to be held in Chennai  In the national media and SL ,people have aired views  that sports should not be politicized and sports should be looked as sports and it should be beyond the realm of politics .I feel sports has always been politicized all over the world and it is right to do so. There is nothing wrong in TN government 's stand on SL players vis-a-vis IPL matches in TN. Look at all the sporting bodies in India,be it state Hockey or Cricket Associations or All India Federations, most of them are headed by an active politician .Why on earth all politicians are interested to be at the helm of affairs in all sporting bodies ?.If we genuinely want sports to be devoid  of politics no politician should hold any office in any sporting body.It is also true many former sports persons are active politicians throughout the world. Politics and sports are intertwined. When nations employ sports diplomacy ,why cry foul over politicising sports for right causes. When sports diplomacy is resorted to improve strained relations between nations ,there is  nothing wrong in asking for exclusion of a particular nation's players as a mark of protest . Did not the world approve China-US Ping pong diplomacy ?On the same of token ,did not the sporting boycott of South Africa during the Apartheid ,bring the desired results finally ?Cancellation or resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan and India is always decided by our political bosses for essentially political reasons. Precisely for the same reason an IPL team owned by a TN franchisee also should not have SL players .

During the famous 1932 Ashes series where the infamous bodyline bowling was used by the England captain against the Australians,an Australian player termed it 'unsportsmanlike'. Diplomatic cables were exchanged between the two nations demanding  withdrawal of the insult.There were talks of a trade boycott. Finally after the intervention of the Australian PM the row was settled. In 1981 Australia bowled underarm to New Zealand to ensure the Kiwi's do not tie the series.The New Zealand PM called it as the "most disgusting incident I can recall" More recently IPL teams refusing to sign Pakistan players was considered a snub to Pakistan .

Olympics have been boycotted by many nations on many occasions for political reasons .Is it not politicising sports ?.1956 Melbourne Olympics was boycotted; by Netherlands,Spain and Sweden for Soviet invasion of Hungary. The same Olympics was boycotted by Lebanon and Iraq for Suez Canal crisis. 1964 Tokyo Olympics banned SA for its Apartheid oppressive policies. In 1968 Mexico Olympics two US athletes were expelled for raising 'Black Power' slogans on the winning podium . 26 African countries boycotted New Zealand's participation in 1976 Montreal Olympics. In the same Olympics Taiwan was barred from entering Montreal. US and 62 other countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. As a revenge USSR and 14 other nations boycotted the 1984 Los Angels Olympics. In 1988 North Korea boycotted Seoul Olympics . Cuba and Ethiopia joined the boycott with North Korea for solidarity.

More recently did not India cancel a hockey series with Pakistan because two Indian soldiers were beheaded at the border.? As a tit for tat ,did not Pakistan's Punjab Olympic Association urge all sports fraternity in Pakistan to boycott playing with India in all sports  ? Did not India issue a boycott threat to the recently concluded 2012 London Olympics ,because DOW chemicals responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy was a main sponsor of London Olympics ?

More than 1.75 lakh Tamils were massacred by the SL forces in the 2009 war .I am at a loss to understand why a big hue and cry is raised over the call for boycott of SL players in IPL matches to be held in Chennai . Are we so insensitive to what is happening to Tamils in SL and the sentiments of Tamils in India ? . We must admit there has always been a relation between sports and politics. It is as old as politics. I am afraid, of late problems related to TN are looked upon increasingly by other political parties north of Vindhyas and the media as an issue of TN politics and brinkmanship by TN politicians. My concern is that such attitudes should not alienate TN from the mainstream . I am sure any dispassionate observer would agree with me that ,no other Indian state would have tolerated a dumb and spineless union government for the indiscriminate killing by a neighboring country of more than 500 of our own fishermen. The inaction by the union government on this issue speaks volumes of their apathy on issues related to Tamils and TN. There is one similarity between SL government and our union government .Both governments are least concerned about the genuine plights of Tamils ,be it a SL Tamil or an ethnic Indian Tamil.

Lessons learnt

I am not referring to the LLRC of the Sri Lankan government . I am referring to the the Lessons  learnt  by DMK and Congress  because of their inaction at a crucial time during April /May 2009  SL war. Now both parties are trying to make amends to the irreparable damages caused by them . Now both parties are trying to rebuild their image and get some acceptance  among the Tamil people whose sentiments were hurt . I called their efforts to mollify the Tamil sentiments  as LLRC(Lessons Learnt and Rebuilding Commission )  more as a pun. Nevertheless I don't  know if they are serious in their efforts .Because every move by a political party will have an hidden agenda . For DMK ,withdrawal of support to UPA is a face saving action , to claim  they are the real champions of the Tamils. Else they would be wiped out in the ensuing 2014 elections . For congress it is a question of survival of the UPA government . Having been reduced  to a minority government ,with DMK pulling out its support , congress is now trying to save its government by passing a resolution in parliament and also trying to make last minute amendments to the UNHRC resolution.

Sonia Gandhi now talks about her concern for the plights of Tamils in SL. Congress now says the intended resolution in parliament is for Tamils and not for DMK. DMK says there is no going back on its decision to withdraw support to UPA .They insist on including the word genocide in the resolution . Look how politically expedient these two parties are  !  Soon after the war when Rajapakshe said he 'fought India's war ' publicly,strangely these two parties reactions were marked by silence. Compare it with the Bangladesh war . India fought Mujibur Rehman's war then. Congress was in power at center then also . Indira Gandhi was hailed as 'Durga matha ' by Bengali's in India and Bangladesh. Why did India use a different yardstick this time ? .This stand of India at the time of the war is really  inexplicable .Congress knows for sure ,if it does not  act now, it is going to draw a blank in the 2014 elections in TN. Even cadres of the DMK and congress in TN were unhappy with stand  of their parties . But they were tongue tied,because of their  party's stand. This is evidenced by the bursting of  fire crackers  by DMK cadres soon after DMK pulled out of UPA . Though  congress cadres in TN did not show their happiness so explicitly they were also relieved that this could pave way for some explicit commitments by these two parties on the SL issue.

There is no denial of the fact there had been excesses by the SL army during the war. It needs to be probed by a dispassionate international body. More than that ,the rehabilitation of Tamils in the island  treating them with dignity,equal opportunities in education and employment ,and an official status for the Tamil language  are what the Tamils  demand. Almost 4 years have elapsed since the 2009 war ,but no respite for the Tamils is in sight. This makes even an unbiased observer to think there is a sinister design in the actions of the SL government.It seems there are neither plans for reconciliation nor any lessons have been learnt even after constituting an LLRC by the SL government.

The TN fishermen are killed or attacked  by the SL navy with impunity at regular intervals when they are fishing in Indian waters. It is surprising that the Indian government has not so far issued any stern warning to its so called friendly neighbor so far on this issue. It is disgusting that the fishermen are always referred to as TN fishermen and not as Indian fishermen. Are they not Indians ?.It is high time GOI should assert itself as a major power in the South Asia and stop looking at these issues with geo political concerns or strategies. Another important lesson to be learnt by DMK and Congress is that any party or government that doesn't care a hoot about the popular sentiment will be thrown out unceremoniously by the ballot power . One hopes the spontaneous uprise in TN will make the GOI see reason and look at the UNHRC resolution on SL as human-centered and not as a strategic issue. This is another lesson to be learnt by, our foreign policy makers .