Long hair is in. Big time. From MS Dhoni to John Abraham, people with long hair are red hot. Even Mr. Musharraf likes it. But who is the person responsible for kick-starting this new fashion trend? You got it, it is non other than the first citizen of our country, our beloved President Prof. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Prof. Kalam is undoubtedly the most popular President of India I have seen during my life time. He has taken the post of President out of the Ivory Tower and brought it closer to the common man. He has made it a point to meet as many people as possible during his tenure. He has even gone on to say that meeting so many young minds has been the biggest achievement of his presidency. It is not difficult to imagine the great honor and pride that each one of the young people he has met would have felt. A meeting with Mr. President might have inspired many a young mind, not only to achieve great professional heights, but also to selflessly contribute towards the country.
This brings me another point. The post of President of India is a constitutional one, and not a political one. The person holding the post is expected to uphold the constitution of the country at all costs, without being biased towards any political ideology. Does it then, not make sense to have an apolitical person as the President of the country? A person, who has achieved excellence in his field, is respected all across the country, and is known for his vision and integrity. This would not only make the post of President less controversial, but also make the people of the country relate to it better. Prof. Kalam is a shining example of this. Would it be too much to expect our political parties to recognize the value of his contribution as the President, and resolve to elect apolitical people as Presidents hence forth? Would we one day see the likes of Mr. Narayan Murthy and Mrs. Kiran Bedi has the Presidents of India? Somehow, I am not that confident.
Joke:-
Reporter to Prof. Kalam (after he was nominated for the post of President) :- “Sir, given that you come from a non-political background, will it be possible for you to understand the intricacies of the constitution?”
Prof. Kalam:- “Why not! The Constitution is no Rocket Science.”
3 comments:
Not only Presidents, even Governers should be apolitical otherwise it makes a whole mockery of the system of democracy. Fakrudin Ali Ahmed and Giani Zail singh were supposed to have been kicked upstairs and said to have been "promoted" to the head of state by Mrs Gandhi. Sad state of affairs. Wonder is kalaam will get a second term. He deserves it but I doubt it.
Currently, we are lucky to have a great techno team-both the PM and the President have achieved excellence in their fields which is the way it should be. As for carrer politicians, how to judge excellence itself can be quite a taxing excercise.
@hiren
the 'taxing excercise' (read budget) that comes up in a few days from now should help you judge the PM and FM atleast. As for the President - there is hardly any measure that would fit his persona !! He is above comparison !!
@shubham
"The post of President of India is a constitutional one, and not a political one." - quite an insightful observational. I never thought it out this way!
@hiren,
"Wonder is kalaam will get a second term".. I dont think so either.. I had read somewhere sometime back that political parties had desided not to give any President a 2nd term..
I have a sinking feeling that the next President will again be a Congress politician..
@nikhil,
The President's post is an apolitical post if ever there was one.
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