Delhi's Dreamer : India's incoming president is a popular choice. Skeptics wonder if he pretends to be someone he's not.(A.P.J. Abdul Kalam)(Brief Article)

Dreams have always played an important role in the life of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a poor boy from an ordinary Muslim family in southern India who grew up to become a national hero. Shortly after Kalam survived a helicopter crash last September, the elderly missile scientist fell into a deep slumber at a government guesthouse. A principal adviser to the prime minister, Kalam oversaw five nuclear tests in 1998, earning the tabloid nickname "Missile Man" and the patriotic gratitude of the multitudes. But the men in his dreams that night dwarfed even his stature. Standing before him in a moonlit desert, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Emperor Ashoka (who spread Buddhism 2,300 years ago) and Albert Einstein were deep in discussion. What is it, they wanted to know, that makes humankind inflict so much violence upon itself? Two weeks later Kalam resigned from the government and began a new mission: to meet at least 100,000 students and deliver a message of peace and spirituality. In six months he met nearly 20,000, listened intently to their hopes for a better future, urged them to strive and always repeated his favorite mantra: "Dream, dream, dream."

At the time, few dreamed of what would happen next to the shaggy-haired, vegetarian, 70-year-old scientist. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered him the nomination for the nation's highest office: the presidency. Kalam claims he never thought of dabbling in politics, and was "taken aback." Although largely a ceremonial position, in the months to come he will likely have a bully pulpit from which to address many of India's most pressing social and political issues. Kalam appeals to many Indians who have grown disgusted by the corruption of the political elite. His nomination caused huge populist celebrations across the country. Even the opposition Congress Party--reluctant to defy such an upswell of support--endorsed him, making the July 15 contest a mere formality. He also brings a unique opportunity to unite the country. Kalam is a Muslim who can recite the Qur'an, but can also quote the Hindu scriptures like the Gita and Upanishads. For Hindu nationalists, his nomination was an inspired political choice, allowing them to claim secular credentials to the world and to India's 150 ...