THE CONTEXT. Guest Editor: Dr. Vinita Basantani. Chief Editor: Mr. Kumar Wani

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1 THE CONTEXT Interna onal, Peer Reviewed & Indexed Journal of Arts & Humani es UGC Approved Journal: S. No Volume 4 Issue 1, July 2017 ResearcherID: K Guest Editor: Dr. Vinita Basantani Chief Editor: Mr. Kumar Wani Parbhani MS India.

2 THE CONTEXT Quarterly journal of Arts & Humanities UGC Approved Journal: S. No Publication details and instructions for authors: This is an Open Access Journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam s Concept of Indomitable Spirit Dr. Raut Sunil Raosaheb Department of English, Vasant Mahavidyalaya, Kaij. Dist Beed Published online: 01 July 2017 Article Number: TCissn /4.1a Author(s); licensee Magnus Publishing. The Electronic Archived Version (EAV) and permanent URL of this article is: Abstract APJ Abdul Kalam, renowned scientist and the eleventh president of India is known for his book Wings of Fire. His book Indomitable Spirit is the collection of his speeches and addresses which contain his thoughts and ideals. It also contains anecdotes and his observations which represent the quintessential APJ Abdul Kalam the man, the scientist, the teacher and the president. This research paper is an attempt to note and understand the feature of indomitable spirit as outlined in his book Indomitable Spirit. Keywords: APJ Abdul Kalam, concept, indomitable spirit Page 55

3 Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam s Concept of Indomitable Spirit Dr. Raut Sunil Raosaheb APJ Abdul Kalam started his life s journey from the shores of Rameshwaram a small coastal town in Tamil Nadu and finally he arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This journey itself is inspiring and interesting. The writer observes lethargy and inertia in the pan Indian society and feels the need of awakening the indomitable spirit. Towards the end of the book he tells the secret of the success to young students. He quotes C.V. Raman s speeches I would like to tell the young men and women before me not to lose hope and courage. Success can only came to you B courageous. Devote to the task in front of you. I can assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality of any Teutonic, Nordic or Anglo Saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack is perhaps the driving force which take one anywhere. We have I think, developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit. (Kalam IS, 243) APJ Abdul Kalam agrees with this view expressed by Nobel laureate. Kalam too spends his life in persuasion of science and technology. He developed the first indigenous missile called Pruthvi. So he is known as missile man of India. The name of the first missile developed in India is Agni. Hence APJ Abdul Kalam is known as Agnipurush. Indian population is growing rapidly. But as far as scientific temper and innovation is concerned we need to think very seriously. Is it because the foreigners ruled over this country for hundreds of years and thus destroyed the spirit of innovation and creation. Kalam thinks over this issue seriously and emphasizes the need of imbibing indomitable spirit. In minds of youths. We must know that like people in the developed countries we too have within us the noblest qualities. Kalam wants to convey this massage to us. Without strength of both the types that is physical and mental we may not build this nation. Diffident, spineless, illiterate, unskilled population may not convert this country as developed nation. Kalam in his address at Vishwa Bharti University (2004) quotes Tagore s poem: This is my prayer to thee, my lord strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart. Lightly to bear my joys and sorrows. To make my love fruitful in service. never to disown the poor Or bend my knees before insolent might. Page 56

4 To raise my head high above daily trifles. And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love. This clearly indicates that Dr. Kalam requests almighty to give indomitable spirit to everybody to transform the earth into a paradise of peace and prosperity. Kalam appears the people to do something to serve this great country. The contribution may not be cognizable but it will be a significant step in building of this great nation. Kalam is very optimistic. He requests Indians to engage in some socially useful and productive work. He constantly thinks of education, security and a future of this great country. Every individual his as immense potential and using it he or she can change his own life or the life of humankind. Physically disabled persons can also serve nation because they too have indomitable spirit. During his tenure as the president of India once he had been an official tour to Bulgaria. There he happened to visit exhibition of paintings done by Zlatju Bajdjiev. He was very much impressed when he was told that those paintings were done with his left hand after his right hand had become paralyzed. This could be possible because of the presence of Indomitable Spirit in the painter. Kalam writes, Perception of disability lies in the mind. A person with a pure and enlightened mind is a valuable citizen irrespective of whether he is physically disabled or not. The life of a differently challenged person can be enriched through creation of indomitable spirit in him. (Kalam OS, 243) To illustrate the tern indomitable spirit Dr. Kalam gives examples of two greatest leaders M.K. Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. They were embodiment of indomitable spirit. Kalam tells us the story of Mahatma Gandhi especially when he was pushed out of the compartment en route due to colour of his skin. Instead of getting depressed he girded up his Lois to fight against the disease of racial prejudice. Man is the noblest creation of God. But why some people ill-treat others on the basis of the colour of their skin. Such a racial discrimination is abominable. The so called cultured, civilized western communities practice a racial discrimination. Gandhi decides to spend his entire life for this cause. The insult, changed course of his life. Gandhiji writes of this incidents in his autobiography. His active non-violence began from that date. Kalam wants to convey us the fact that at every step individual can possibly be insulted, or harassed or depressed. Still he must rise. Therein lies his strength physical or mental. Gandhiji exemplifies a type of spirit. South Africa, one of the countries in continent called Africa is the land of Negroes. They are dark, skinned. Most of them are bereft of education and other facilities. This land gave two great leaders Gandhiji and Dr. Mandela too fought incessantly for decades against the foreign white rulers. He was the greatest disciple of Gandhiji. He fought for twenty six years for the cause of apartheid. He was kept in dark and tiny cell in a prison. During this prolonged stay of twenty six years he revealed to the world the indomitable spirit in him. Nelson Mandela won freedom for South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid, later became president of South Africa but he never thought of ill-treating his oppressors. On meeting Dr. Kalam learns a big lesson from him. He describes this experience using word Thirukkural. It means for those who do ill to Page 57

5 you, the best punishment is returning good to them. So many saints and philosophers in India taught people to practice this principle. The British ruled over this country for four hundred and fifty years. The native Indians underwent much pains during the raj. However on acquiring status of independence nation India treats England as ally not an enemy country. We adopt English Bruisers as our national language. India has become a member of commonwealth nations. Thirukkural is the title of the poem composed by saint Thiruvalluvar. This saint poet gives example of a lily flower which never gets deterred by depth of water but rather it comes out at the surface of the water in a river or pond and blossoms. In the same way a man who is dertminate overcomes all the difficulties and finally becomes successful. Success is not something which can be obtained so easily. It is the test of one s endurance. The successful leader overcomes all the problems. Dr. Kalam thinks these two Kurals characterize the indomitable spirit. Dr. Kalam ponders over the development of this country. India represents the example of unity in diversity. To initiate integrated action he emphasizes the need of revamping certain sectors. These are agriculture and food processing, reliable electric power, surface transport and healthcare, information and communication technology and strategic sector. Dr. Kalam emphasizes the need of communal harmony and individual s co-operation in our society. He writes, what matters in this life more than winning for ourselves is helping others to win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course, I would say that you do not have to slow down, rather by helping others through the difficult areas, the feedback will make you run as a faster. If you pass this on, we may be able to change our hearts as well as someone else s. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. (Kalam s address 2006) In this way Dr. Kalam expresses his views on characteristics of Indomitable Spirit. If everybody endeavors to cultivate such a spirit he or she will definitely makes progress in life. And, an individual s progress will automatically pave way to India s progress. Works cited Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Indomitable Spirit 2007, Rajpal and Sons, Delhi. P-243. Address at Vishwa Bharati University; Kolkata Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam; Op-city P-240. Address to nation on the eve of the 57 th republic day, New Delhi; Page 58