Every Indian proud of ex-Prez Kalam: Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said former president A P J Abdul Kalam was an ideal representation of Indo-Islamic culture and three traits of a powerful nation to him included maintaining brotherhood and the capability to work together.

Addressing the fourth A P J Abdul Kalam Memorial Lecture at the Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium here, he said that “every Indian is proud of that great son of the country”.

The President said that Kalam used to say that there are three special things in any powerful country.

“The first thing is to take pride in what the country has achieved. The second thing is to maintain brotherhood. And the third thing is the capability to work together,” Kovind was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Kalam wanted people to remember the stories of the great people of India and learn from them, Kovind said.

“He also used to say that every country that has moved forward has a sense of mission. Therefore, whatever work is to be done, there should be a passion to complete it like a mission. He wanted all of us to keep moving forward unitedly to strengthen the fabric of our country,” he said.

Kovind said that as much as Kalam used to lay emphasis on science, he used to give equal importance to spirituality.

Creating interest for science among the common people was one of his missions, he said.

“He carried forward this mission through an organisation. But it is also worth noting that he used to meet saints and mystics of all religions and tried to learn something from them,” Kovind said.