Democratic & Administrative Reforms

[Guest]

<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->

I use scientific methods to political problems: Kalam
[25 Apr, 2007 l 1249 hrs ISTlPTI]
STRASBOURG: As a head of the state he might be handling national and international issues, but President A P J Abdul Kalam depends on scientific methods to solve most political problems.

“Definitely, without a doubt, I will choose science. Even now, as President, I do not engage in politics but use scientific methods and scientific experiences to solve political problems,” said Kalam last night during an interaction at the International Space University here. He said this when he was asked to choose one between science and politics.

During the interaction, which lasted for over an hour, Kalam also said the “chances of Indian women landing on the moon or on the Mars” were high.

“Three of the astronauts who have taken on space missions have been of Indian origin – Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Two out of three are women,” said 75-year-old Kalam, much to the delight of the audience.

Earlier, while delivering his lecture, the president made it clear to the young scientists gathered in the hall that India's space programme had no military interests.

“It has been built to be locally relevant when globally challenging, and its foundation is the quest of India and other space-faring nations to use the collective wisdom of the humanity to solve the socio-economic problems of our society,” said Kalam.

Kalam also said that “no nation has sovereignty over space.”

“When we explore space, the fact that it belongs to the whole humanity can act as a motivator for natural collaboration between nations. It is a platform for sharing ideas and technologies and to work towards a sustainable world with peace and prosperity,” said Kalam.

He called upon all the nations to build an international space satellite service station as an “international venture” so that the life of the satellites can be extended to ensure continued applications to the world community.

The president said the Indian Economy was in an “ascent phase.”

“There is considerable growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. We have a mission of spreading this economic growth throughout the country including the rural sector,” said Kalam.