Kalam's cure for the Naxalite problem

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam believes a solution to the Naxalite problem may lie in land reform and expeditious implementation of sustainable development in these tribal areas through the system called PURA -- Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas.

Speaking at a packed reception at the Indian embassy in Washington, DC, hosted by Ambassador Meera Shankar and attended by Indian-American community leaders, Kalam was asked how this situation could be addressed since it is causing concern among foreign investors, including NRIs in the US, exploring investment opportunities in Chhattisgarh, where 76 police personnel were murdered by Naxalites on April 6.

"Wherever land reform has not take place, these type of conflicts are arising in many places," Kalam said. "So, one requirement is we have to introduce land reform wherever it is not there. That's number one."

"Number two," he continued, "we have established 7,000 PURA, which is the economic standard. For example, I saw somewhere in Madhya Pradesh, 64 villages, about 100,000 people population, these have given a physical connect to electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity."

He argued that "this has resulted in economic connectivity, and that means economic prosperity, wherever it is the earning capacity, not prosperity. Wherever the earning capacity is there, the conflicts in society will reduce."

Asked how on a more broader level, how international terrorism, including cross-border terrorism of which India has been a victim for years, can be tackled, Kalam spoke of how recently he had addressed a coalition of anti-terrorism groups charged with eliminating terrorism in India "and proposed to them what is called National Campaign for Counterterrorism," which involved tackling infiltration where terrorists enter the homeland and then live among the people and plot their evil designs.

"When evil minds combine, good minds also combine to counter that, to combat that," and this is what should be a priority, he said.

Kalam felt it was imperative that the judicial system move expeditiously to sentence and punish terrorists who have been arrested, but stressed that in order to eradicate terrorism, poverty alleviation is imperative.

When asked if tensions between India and Pakistan could ever be resolved and both countries live in peace and harmony for the development of its people, Kalam went down memory lane and related a talk he had delivered many years ago in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to an association of South Asian students.

"There, one boy got up and said, 'I am from Pakistan. Mr Kalam can you tell me at any time can India and Pakistan come together for a developmental platform for the betterment of its people?'"

Kalam acknowledged that this was "a fantastic question," and had reminded him, "'See, I am in Ireland, and Ireland in 1998, they were having conflicts for hundreds of years, and then they signed what is The Good Friday Agreement and it stands very well now, and both (the warring Catholic and Protestant)

He also spoke of how European nations that had been "fighting for hundreds of years are now economic friends and peaceful friends and have joined together and are working together."

Kalam predicted that the conflict between India and Pakistan would be resolved by people power where "the people are going to force the nations to work for the prosperity of the nation and the peace of the nation."

He was also asked why India continued to import weapons systems for its defence, instead of developing these systems indigenously with the pool of scientific talent at its disposal. Before he ascended to the Presidency, Kalam also served as head of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.

"I personally believe there are two types of weapons -- one is strategic weapons. The strategic weapons, nobody will give. Whatever you do, nobody will give. So that you have to design, develop."

He asserted where these strategic weapons systems are concerned, India was developing these indigenously. "That's happening. I know what I am saying OK, because I worked on defence development."

Where other systems are concerned, like aircraft, the former President said, "anybody can sell by global tender."

But he reiterated that "many electronic weapon systems, India is one of the leading countries, in electronic weapons systems, cyber-war software. So, it doesn't mean, everything you have to develop in the nation. Certain things we still have to purchase, but definitely in the course of time indigenous systems will be developed. Lots of efforts are going on on that issue."

On the question of China advancing much faster than India, Kalam argued that it was the difference between a parliamentary democracy and a authoritarian regime.

"A democracy has to be governed by a parliamentary system. A parliament asks a lot of questions. Our media is alert," and once again going down memory lane, he said that whenever he was challenged on this question that China was leaving India behind economically and militarily, he threw back the question at the audience as to whether they preferred a democratic system or a Communist system, "Ninety-eight percent people raised their hands for democracy."

"We are born with democracy, people grow with democracy, and we live with democracy because in a democratic nation, the people's wish is governed by parliament."

But, he said, definitely "competition is good for nations."

A nation's development, he added, "is powered by competition, competition is powered by knowledge, knowledge is powered by technology and innovation, technology and innovation is powered by investment."

"So for both nations (India and China), good competition, healthy competition, is good."