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Fakir Chand in Bangalore
President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday declared that India would never make biological weapons.
Kalam, who was in Bangalore on a day's visit to inaugurate the fifth edition of the Bangalore IT.Com 2002 exposition, was responding to students' queries at an interactive session at the Al-Ameen Educational Society.
When a student asked him whether war and peace could co-exist, Kalam said when a country becomes strong, peace follows naturally.
He cited the successful conduct of the second nuclear test by India at Pokhran in Rajasthan in May 1998, which he said made India strong and self-reliant in defending its borders.
"Since strength respects only strength, India has to be strong in defence as well as economy. History shows that India was invaded from time to time by foreign powers because it was weak in defending its borders," the President said.
Even as Kalam was talking to the students, power went off for a while, forcing the President to get closer to the audience so that they could hear him.
"I am surprised to see that the students are made to sit in the back rows while officials and VIPs are seated in the front rows. I have come here to interact with young minds, but they are beyond my reach," Kalam said.
When the President joined the students in the back rows, his bodyguards and officials encircled him. A visibly annoyed Kalam was seen directing his securitymen and officials to return to their seats.
Later in the day, Kalam opened the five-day Students' Internet World exposition in the city.
Interacting with over 600 students there, Kalam explained the benefits of the Internet and the role of IT in the development of India.
Kalam asked the students to log onto www.howstuffworks.com and www.presidentofIndia.nic.in to update themselves on the latest developments in science and technology.
"You don't have to ask anyone about anything. Just make it a habit to surf sites to improve your worldly knowledge and become competitive," Kalam said.
After chairing an e-governance conference on 'IT for the common man,' Kalam left for Delhi in the evening.
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