A shining star

President Abdul Kalam was our second Mahatma, the second Nehru in the way he loved children, and an incarnation of Kamaraj in terms of simplicity. He was wisdom and patriotism personified. A real star on earth has now become a guiding star in the skies.

Yvonne Fernando

Chennai

Abdul Kalam enhanced the beauty of the presidential chair through his rich contributions and scholarship, and ability to tackle situations. He spent his life, after his presidential term, motivating scientists and young people. A devout Muslim, he was equally open to other religions. One hopes, his cherished Vision 2000 to turn India into a scientifically aware and developed will become a reality.

Jayant Mukherjee

Kolkata

Abdul Kalam’s contributions to the country, both as a scientist and President, are beyond measure. His election as the 11th President of India with the support of both the BJP and the Congress proves his popularity went beyond political differences. Against the murky background of all-pervading corruption, he started the ‘What Can I Give’ movement. He was devoted to both science and spirituality, and was the incarnation of communal harmony.

Buddhadev Nandi

Bankura, West Bengal

In APJ Abdul Kalam’s passing we have lost a leader of stature, an intellectual who led an unassuming life, a person who occupied the highest office in the country and remained humble all through. He was a role model for all, especially the younger generation with whom he enjoyed communicating effectively. My children sent emails and received replies from him; these are their prized possessions.

MS Vaidyanathan

Chennai

The best way to remember him would be to adopt the focus he gave us soon after assuming office: PURA — Providing Urban Facilities in Rural Areas. If this is implemented in full, a major part of the work under two national missions would stand fulfilled: Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat.

NK Mathur

New Delhi

When he relinquished the post of Principal Scientific Adviser, Dr Kalam was intent on pursuing research in Bengaluru. He bought a very modest flat with his savings, and approached the Indian Institute of Science for a desk to continue working. The director turned down the request on the grounds that his was not an ‘earned’ but a ‘conferred’ doctorate degree and that he had only a diploma from the former Madras Institute of Technology. Kalam moved to Chennai; the NDA invited him to be President. The rest is history.

Prabhakaran Nair

Calicut

Abdul Kalam has bequeathed a “mixed legacy”. His eventful life has a lot to commend it. Full marks for him for doing all that he could to ‘ignite’ young minds and unleash the latent energy in them. He excelled at motivating students “to aim high and work hard” to realise their full potential. In turn, he was idolised by them.

However, his greatness and popularity need not hold us back from analysing critically what he represented and did in his long and illustrious careers in science and statecraft. He dreamt of India’s emergence as a superpower. But the action plan he came up with was too vague, exclusivist and reductionist to bring about the dreamt-for transformation. His contribution to the development of India’s nuclear programme won him acclaim as the Missile Man. But the fallout was that it further militarised the region.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Abdul Kalam solved the equation C3+R3+L=0 (read C cube+R cube+L), namely caste, colour, creed plus religion, region, race plus language is equal to zero.

R Ramakrishnan

Bengaluru

He was a non-political person. He understood the nation’s problems and had solutions too. But our politicians and people did not follow his directions.

Mahesh Kapasi

Delhi

A real Bharat Ratna

APJ Abdul Kalam is one of the greatest sons of India, and his presidency was one of the finest things that happened. Utter simplicity, humility, and a child-like innocence and smile were some of his finest attributes. He fired the imagination of the nation, and brought out the best from young and old. He was a real Bharat Ratna.

CG Kuriakose

Kothamangalam, Kerala

The country has lost an excellent human being and a great personality. He was a natural poet, impactful author, professional engineer, research-focused scientist, good economist, dedicated teacher, able administrator and more than all that, he was an impartial and good leader with a large following. He famously said “Education is a progressive discovery of ignorance and makes an empty mind an open one.”

RS Raghavan

Bengaluru

Abdul Kalam was one of the most loved Presidents of India. His words, “You have to dream before your dreams come true” are truly words of wisdom.

Santhosh Veranani

Puducherry

It is rare to find a gem of a person who is equally be adored by all, irrespective of age, across the country. He touched the hearts of millions. As a scientist he was constantly searching for innovative ideas and in equal measure he excelled in the arena of education and lifting the lives of young children. His simplicity and humility were well known. Even as President, he did not earn the ire of any section of the public. He constantly revealed a cheerful face. He will be missed.

Ashok Jayaram

Bengaluru

It is unfortunate that the government of the day failed to utilise fully the brains and the abilities of an honest, sincere and service-minded person as the former President. The same could be said of Rajaji too. They wanted India to be superpower, in the forefront in every field. They wanted India to be self-reliant, unlike some politicians and bureaucrats who do everything only for their own prosperity.

N Shyamsundaran

Bengaluru

Smart people, first

This is with reference to ‘Smart cities need a human face too’ by Surendra Hiranadani (July 28). It is rightly suggested that the new smart cities should be pedestrian-focussed. Further, the planners should give emphasis to fuel efficient people movement, open lands for parks and playgrounds with ample scope for rainwater harvesting. The endeavour should be to achieve the best of both dense and mixed-use cities by properly planning optimum land use with all infrastructure and safety.

M Raghuraman

Mumbai

It required but a tiny garage to grow Whatsapp to a $19 billion giant, run by just 56 people. Microsoft with the humblest of beginnings is today a super giant. Infosys brought an aura to staid Bengaluru. Detroit, the crown of the US auto empire, went into municipal bankruptcy not because of the city’s infrastructure, but the industry's inability to keep pace with technology and innovation. So too, California, home to Silicon Valley, is in the doldrums due to fiscal mismanagement.

Smart city tags alone cannot sustain the demands of modern day existence. Let us put faith in good basic education and unchained lateral vision to foresee challenges and grab opportunities .Thereafter, the human flair for inventiveness will effectively deal with the glitches of progressive urban growth. Have we not seen the emergence of e-retail, drone deliveries, and e-cabs to ameliorate rising urban density? Let us invest more of our resources in quality education and human empowerment. There is little point gloating over wifi in cities when furniture around you floats in six inches of drain water, the result of poor city management.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

Ideas for gold

While everyone waxes eloquent on the possibility of reducing gold imports and thus reducing CAD on this account, no one has cared to explain how it is possible, especially when imports have to be made for redemption in kind! Imports in future are fraught with unforeseen costs in terms of hedging both the value of gold in international markets and the value of the rupee within the country.

Redemption of gold under the scheme would certainly mean fresh imports, as the country does not produce any gold. If this is accepted, where is the merit in the argument that the scheme would reduce imports? The scheme in no way is going to impact the annual consumption, which has to be met only by imports. What happens if imports continue at the same annual levels?

The Government should seriously consider buying the gold on outright purchase basis from the public through its nominated nodal agencies and banks. Such gold if lent to jewellers at interest rates slightly lower than the current lending rates by importing banks, would certainly reduce imports totally to that extent, as there is no obligation to return gold to the public. If such gold is lent on 100 per cent plus cash security to jewellers, there will be an arbitrage in the interest rate for the jewellers against such deposits and the banks will earn extra by way of interest charged to the jewellers.

At the end of the day, full value is realised by the bank out of the security. This is the only way to reduce imports, as redemption in kind and the continued annual consumption are not going to reduce imports a bit. The government should seriously give this an aggressive try. But, ways to acquire the gold on outright purchase should be made as easy as possible, so that the public can walk in, and walk out after disposing of their gold. At present, they approach their neighbourhood jewellers with all the shortcomings, as in times of need, they want funds urgently. These can be removed with foolproof systems by the nominated agencies/banks.

S Guruswamy

Chennai

Right step

The Union government’s decision to fill up six lakh vacant posts is music to the ears of job aspirers. As a cost-cutting step and austerity measure, both the Union and State governments stopped filling the vacant posts forcing the available staff to carry out additional duties. Unless the vacant posts are filled up there is no way of solving the unemployment problem or enhancing efficiency.

To run the wheels of administration, contract workers are pressed into service on consolidated payment basis bereft of other benefits enjoyed by regular staff. The decision to fill up vacant posts is a step in the right direction.

HP Murali

Bengaluru

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