Hail to the Chief, Baby!

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<b>Father of Indian missile program elected president</b>
<p>NEW DELHI (AP) — A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a missile scientist and father of the
India's missile program, was elected as India's ceremonial president today.
<p>Kalam won 89.58 per cent of the votes cast on Tuesday by 4,896 members of the
national Parliament and the state legislatures, according to the Parliament
Presidential Election Cell, which supervised the balloting.
<p>The only other candidate was Lakshmi Sehgal, a woman proposed by the leftist
parties.
<p>Kalam, 70, told reporters today that the alleviation of poverty and
development of rural areas are important issues for India.
<p>&quot;India has to be transformed into a developed nation . . . a prosperous
nation, and a healthy nation, with a value system,&quot; Kalam said.
<p>With grey, shoulder-length hair and a wardrobe of short-sleeved shirts and
flip-flop sandals, Kalam is expected to bring more informality to the 340-room
presidential palace.
<p>He will be sworn in as India's 12th president on July 25, replacing Kocheril
R. Narayanan, who has completed a five-year term.
<p>Kalam, an advocate of scientific education for children, has insisted that
his presidency would not signal warlike intentions from India.
<p>Instead, it would show the world &quot;technology is going to be used for
development of the nation.&quot;
<p>Born Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam on Oct. 15, 1931, he began his early
education at a village school in the southern port of Rameshwaram. He later
received a degree in aeronautical engineering.
<p>For many Indians, Kalam's rise — from humble beginnings as the son of an
illiterate boatman in Tamil Nadu state to the top of India's scientific and
political establishments — symbolizes the strength of India's democracy.
<p>Critics, however, worry he does not have enough political experience to
handle India's chaotic and fractured system.
<p>Though the office is largely ceremonial, the president can play a crucial
role. If Parliament is deadlocked, his verdict is final. He can call elections
or decide which party gets the chance to form a government.
<p>Although born to Muslim parents, Kalam does not describe himself as Muslim.
He reads Hindu scriptures each day and is a vegetarian.
<p>When asked about who would act as his first lady, the unmarried Kalam waved
his hands and said, &quot;No, no, I'm a brahmacharya.&quot; The Hindu word means
someone who has given up worldly pleasures, including sex and marriage.</p>

archits

Kalam rockets into Presidential orbit


NILANJANA BHADURI JHA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2002 2:02:01 PM ]

NEW DELHI: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is ready to be President. While he may not compromise on the trademark haircut, in a sartorial climbdown, he has had three bandhgala suits stitched to do justice to the highest office of the land.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...artid=16358434