NEW DELHI, 31 May 2004 - "The press should not be so obsessed with negative news," Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said on Friday.
In an interview with Arab News, he cited a rare instance when in the international media news of a terrorist incident was overshadowed by a report on a "farmer's success."
The president called for more reporting in the Indian press of constructive news relevant to rural India.
"Seventy percent of our population lives in villages" and there are a thousand times more villages than towns, he said.
"The value-system of news needs to change, become more development-related, with greater importance given to rural India," Kalam said.
As project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), which successfully put the Rohini satellite into near orbit in 1980, Kalam has a background in high tech development. During his two decades of association with the Indian Space Research Organization, he was responsible for evolution of its launch vehicle program.
When Kalam became India's 11th president in 2002, he was known as the "missile-man." He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, in 1997 for his pioneering role in India's missile program.
While the missiles symbolize war, Kalam has always been a vocal advocate of peace. How does he square that contradiction?
"For peace, one has to be strong enough to defend oneself," he said. "Missiles are necessary for this strength that leads to peace."
Along the same lines, Kalam has always defended India's nuclear status. He was responsible for the development of Agni and Prithvi missiles and on May 11, 1998 led India's successful nuclear weapon tests.
Kalam believes that development too is the best defense against terrorism.
"Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and discrimination are some factors that lead to the frustration which contributes to terrorism," he said. Last year Kalam told an international parliamentary conference in New Delhi: "Nations have been destroyed by war. Has the world eliminated terrorism? No. Not at all."
And he went on to ask, "Is there a solution?" On Friday his answer was that we need to address the root causes of terrorism causing "frustration, anger and violence."
In doing so, the village can actually be a model for the rest of society. "There is greater harmony in villages," he said.
Living in harmony, in Kalam's view, means for everyone to live in dignity and with the opportunity to develop themselves.
During less than two years as the president of India, 72-year Kalam has emerged as a favorite among Indians, particularly children. In his speeches, he has urged thousands to stop associating any religion with terrorism, missiles with war and sufferings with defeat. In Kalam's opinion, "Suffering is the essence of success."
