Governor Soundararajan pays rich tributes to Former president APJ Abdul Kalam

Hyderabad: Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan paid rich tributes to the former president of India Bharat Ratna Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of Dr Kalam's 5th death anniversary on Monday.

She said that Dr Kalam always emphasised the building of a 'beautiful society' by which he meant to build a society that was tolerant to others' opinion, others' beliefs, others' culture and others' lifestyle.

Stating that creating such a beautiful society would be a real tribute to the great soul, the Governor said that late Dr. Kalam had inspired and motivated the nation in his own unique way.

The Governor was participating as the chief guest at the 5th Year Remembrance Day-A Digital Tribute programme organised by the APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation (AKIF), Rameswaram, through the video conference from the lawns of the Raj Bhavan, here.

Referring to the ideals of Dr Kalam, she narrated an anecdote when Dr Kalam suddenly stopped and asked his security and other personnel to turn back nearby a rose plant while he was taking a stroll.

Surprised at the sudden instruction from the then president of India, his assistants were curious enough to ask him as to why he asked them to suddenly turn back nearby a rose plant, for which he answered that there were two honeybees on the rose flower collecting nectar and pollen as well and we're working hard to protect the nature by transporting the pollen and sustaining the vegetation. Thus he emphasised the ideal of hard work of the honeybees and stressed the importance of protecting Mother Nature.

"Though Dr. Kalam made his own great mark in various roles like President of India, missile man of India, space scientist, writer, innovator etc., he always wanted to be remembered as a teacher. This shows the importance given by Dr Kalam to the quality of being life-long learning, motivating and igniting minds," Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan added.

Referring to the fact that Dr. Kalam could not be made the President of India for the second consecutive term; the Governor stated that it was a great loss to the nation, especially to the youth of this country. "The country would have benefited immensely had he been made the president for the second time," she added.

The Governor said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi always holds Dr. Kalam in high esteem and is on a mission to realise many of an objective of Dr. Kalam like building Digital India, turning India into a knowledge-super power and creating a strong and self-reliant India.

Highlighting the numerous posts on Facebook on the 5th remembrance day of Dr Kalam, she stated that Dr. Kalam would remain an eternal inspiration to the people of India.

The Governor recalled one interesting incident when Dr Kalam was asked as to why he was so confident about the success of Agni missile during its test, he famously replied by stating, "I did not fail the Agni and Agni will not fail me."

Former special director of the CBI Dr. D R Karthikeyan, IPS, APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation office bearers Dr. Nazeema Maraikayar, APJ MJ Sheik Dawood, APJ MJ Sheik Saleem and others spoke on the occasion and recollected the contribution made by Dr Kalam during his lifetime.

Earlier, the Governor offered floral tributes to the portrait of late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and appreciated the AKIF for taking forward the legacy of Dr. Kalam through various initiatives across the country.