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Journalism of Courage
Come, come closer,’’ said President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. And they ran. Seconds after President Kalam cheekily invited bored crowds to disobey protocol and grab empty front row seats, a crowd perched on the back rows forgot to behave. They hoisted legs above barriers, raced and leaped.
The shadow of security men scowled hard. Their boss just beamed, ‘‘come on, faster!’’
For just one chilly evening, the stiff proceedings of the Indian Science Congress at Panjab University melted into easy camaraderie. After three days of technical lectures addressed to empty auditoriums, Kalam connected with his listeners and challenged scientists.
To the annual ritual of paper presentations and promises of cutting-edge science from nationwide laboratories, Kalam brought a message to scientists, and confronted a reality of R&D that’s rarely confessed openly.
‘‘I call it the lab syndrome,’’ said Kalam. ‘‘They (scientists) always say they have already done it all. Many underestimate the last mileage in taking research from the lab to the market…otherwise technology is incomplete.’’
Point made, he rapidly shot out a 12-point agenda for the science community on their share in a developed India by 2020. ‘‘We have the resources, we just have to make up our minds,’’ he said.
With land and water availability to drop as food requirements double by 2020, Kalam urged agriculture scientists and biotechnologists to set their labs moving toward a second green revolution.
To a Congress high on rhetoric and past achievements, his agenda was specific: A vaccine for HIV-AIDS to be developed within two years. Use of solar power for desalination of sea water. Advanced R&D inputs for inter-linking rivers, and a ‘‘mission’’ to delve into medical research in stem cells.
