NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Sujit Chatterjee in New Delhi
India possesses a hydrogen bomb and its nuclear weapons are 'absolutely safe', noted scientist A P J Abdul Kalam, who demits office on Monday as Principal Scientific Advisor to the government, said on Sunday.
"Scientists and technicians who conducted the Pokhran II tests in 1998 are all satisfied with the results and we have a thermonuclear device," Kalam, regarded father of India's missile systems, said.
Asked about the safety he said, "Safety standards are in-built in our country. We possibly have much better safety standards than many others."
On whether India should develop missiles with strike ranges longer than Agni-II, which can reach a target at a distance of over 2,200 kms, he said, "It depends on what kind of enemy the country faces and its strategy for the next 10 or more years. India is capable of manufacturing (a longer range missile) if the necessity arises."
Kalam, who will be succeeded in the key post by R Chidambaram, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said he was quitting his job as he wanted to work with younger people and high school students to create a scientific culture and push India to a developed nation status.
"Change, I believe, is very important in a man's life. Change allows a person to contribute very effectively," Kalam, who worked in key defence and space centres for the last 43 years, said.
A recipient of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour, Kalam skirted a question as to who had given the command for triggering the underground nuclear blasts in Pokhran in 1998, saying 'these days computers are there (to do the job)'.
On his future plans, he said he would return to Bangalore where he had started his career and would join the Indian Institute of Science as a distinguished professor.
An aeronautical engineer from the Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam said he had been trying for a change since 1991, when he was offered the post of Vice Chancellor of Madras University.
"I am more comfortable with youngsters and high school students. I want to share their imagination. In the last few months, I have interacted with over 15,000 youngsters across the country from Tripura to Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and I want to ignite their scientific temper," he said.
The top scientist said, "The best example of a leader is when he allows change. I left ISRO and DRDO and I found better people emerging."
Describing himself as a 'sea guy', Kalam said he had worked all his life in sea coasts along Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Related Reports: India explodes Hydrogen bomb India on road to H-bomb, says Jane's
Tell us what you think of this report
