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16. Building A New State
Story
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Chapter: 16. Building A New State
Literary Appreciation
This extract from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s Ignited Minds is a powerful piece of narrative non-fiction that blends personal experience with a profound vision for national development. Dr. Kalam’s clear, direct, and inspiring voice engages the reader, making complex economic and societal challenges relatable. He uses vivid descriptions, particularly when recounting the helicopter crash, to highlight his calm resolve and focus on his mission. The text effectively uses rhetorical questions to prompt deep thought about India’s potential and challenges, urging readers to consider their role in building a stronger, self-reliant nation. It’s a testament to his enduring belief in the power of vision, education, and hard work to transform a country.
Summary of the Chapter
The chapter “Building a New State” recounts Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s experiences and insights during a visit to Jharkhand in 2001, focusing on the state’s potential for development and India’s broader challenges. He begins by describing his purpose: to devise a developmental program for herbs, forest products, and natural resources. During his visit, he observes the natural wealth and the hardworking, yet struggling, people of Jharkhand. A harrowing helicopter crash during his journey showcases his remarkable resilience and focus. Despite the incident, he continues his engagements, delivering an inspiring speech to students at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, emphasizing Jharkhand’s abundant resources and industrious people as keys to its transformation. Later, at a town hall meeting, he passionately advocates for “value addition” – processing raw materials within the country to generate more income and create jobs, illustrating this with the shocking example of beryllium ore mined in India, exported, processed abroad, and then refused back to India. He also touches upon the possibility of purity in politics, linking it to a national vision. His disappointment at the lack of industrial estates around the Bokaro Steel Plant highlights his belief in integrated development and the need to overcome “compartmentalized thinking” for true national growth.
Detailed Explanation of Each Scene
Scene 1: Arrival in Ranchi and Initial Observations
Dr. Kalam begins by describing his September 2001 visit to Jharkhand with a clear purpose: to develop a program for the state’s rich natural resources like herbs and forest products. Upon landing in Ranchi, he is deeply moved by the warm welcome from a group of enthusiastic children, seeing their respect for a “simple scientist” and their trust in his dreams. He recalls an earlier visit to a nearby hill region, where he observed people, young and old, sitting on the ground, and felt a strong sense that his presence was “ordained” or destined. He noted that all the components for development were present: fertile land, good rainfall, abundant vegetation, and hardworking people whose faces shone with pure happiness despite their tired bodies, indicating a struggle for bare livelihood. This sets the stage for his vision of transforming potential into prosperity.
Scene 2: Developing Herbal Industry and Journey to Bokaro
Kalam recounts making “headway” (progress) in drafting a plan for a herbal drugs industry within Jharkhand. The key idea was to manufacture these drugs inside the state, ensuring “value addition” – processing the raw materials locally to increase income and boost local industry. This was a challenging but promising “new experiment.” After the meeting, they set off for Bokaro, known as the steel city. The weather was cloudy, raising concerns about flight cancellation. A Pawan Hans helicopter had been hired, and despite the rough weather, the pilot confidently promised a “beautiful flight,” leading Kalam and two other passengers to take off.
Scene 3: The Helicopter Crash
Despite his frequent helicopter travels, Kalam found this flight particularly rough due to turbulence. He even complimented the pilot for his skill in maintaining smoothness. As they flew over vast forests, hills, and streams, Kalam pondered the crucial need to conserve this natural wealth from “mindless destruction” driven by short-term business gains. Amidst these thoughts, he noticed the helicopter descending. Suddenly, the two pilots were in an “agitated discussion.” Kalam became alert. Looking down, he saw numerous cars and people, indicating they were near a populated area. Then, “the crash”; the helicopter hit the ground with a “shattering sound,” parts flying, and fire engines rushing towards them. Miraculously, Kalam simply got out of the helicopter, which was now “dead weight.” He realized they were fortunate the engine failed when they were close to the ground, preventing a free fall from a greater height. The pilots were in shock, but Kalam, demonstrating remarkable composure, held their hands, thanked them, and calmly told them that such incidents can happen with flying machines and pilots must face them with courage. This incident highlights Kalam’s resilience and leadership qualities.
Scene 4: Addressing Chinmaya Vidyalaya Students
Despite the shock of the crash, Kalam’s immediate concern was his scheduled address at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, where students would be waiting. They rushed to the school, leaving the crash behind. The principal, Krishnaswami, received them, and students showered Kalam with rose petals as he walked to the dais. News of the crash had already spread, leading to a “pin-drop silence” in the auditorium. To ease the tension, Kalam addressed the young gathering. He eloquently described Jharkhand’s immense wealth: abundant minerals both underground and above, fertile soil for bountiful crops, and rich forests with herbal products. He then highlighted the state’s most valuable asset: its “industrious people.” He declared that Jharkhand had all the necessary wealth and was a “land waiting for a transformation.” He shared his vision of future villages with urban facilities, self-contained in education, health, and occupation. He asserted that the day’s incident (the crash) would help define his life’s mission, and that seeing the state’s wealth made him forget his inconvenience. He challenged the students to use their “core competence” to make Jharkhand a developed state by working in a “mission mode.” He saw these children as future contributors to a “knowledge society,” whose goal should be to make Jharkhand great. He also stressed the importance of improving the education system to nurture the “powerhouses of creativity” he observed in the children’s exhibition and performances.
Scene 5: Town Hall Meeting and Value Addition Discussion
After the school function, Kalam proceeded to a town hall meeting, brushing aside the concerns of doctors sent by the Bokaro Steel Plant GM. The subject of his speech was ‘Jharkhand’s Core Competence and Industries’. He kept his speech short to encourage discussion. Meanwhile, news of the crash had spread nationwide due to the media presence. He began receiving calls, and asked Dr. Vijayaraghavan to reassure his 86-year-old elder brother. During his talk, he was passed a note: his brother was not convinced unless he heard Kalam’s voice. Kalam paused his speech to personally reassure his brother, a touching moment highlighting his family values. Back to the discussion, a pertinent question arose: “Why is raw material exported from many ports specially designed for this purpose?” This was highly relevant to Jharkhand’s mineral wealth. Kalam answered by narrating a conversation with Dr. Jose Paul, Chairman of Mormugao Port Trust, about low-priced iron ore exports from India. He was then asked to explain “value addition.” He gave a powerful example from the 1970s, when India needed beryllium diaphragms for satellite launch vehicles. These were imported from the US, but the supply was blocked due to their use in intercontinental ballistic missiles. The shocking revelation was that India had one of the largest deposits of beryllium ore, which was exported to Japan, processed into rods/sheets, then exported to the US for conversion into products like diaphragms, which the US then refused to sell back to India. This incident, which became public, led to a halt in beryllium ore exports. Kalam uses this to highlight India’s “compartmentalized thinking” and lack of “initiative.” He concludes that India remains poor despite enormous wealth because it neglects value addition in minerals, biodiversity, grain, or fish, showing how processing can multiply value by tens or even hundreds of times.
Scene 6: Politics and Vision
Another question from the audience was, “Do you think in politics, purity is possible?” Though outside his usual purview, Kalam connected it to a previous point. He observed that a generation of excellent leaders emerged across all fields (politics, industry, science, arts) during the pre-independence era (listing figures like Mahatma Gandhi, C.V. Raman, JRD Tata). This “flowering” was made possible by the clear national “vision” set at the time. Kalam believes that if India forms a “second vision” today, leaders of similar stature will emerge once again in all walks of life, including politics. This emphasizes the power of a collective national goal.
Scene 7: Bokaro Steel Plant Visit and Concluding Thoughts
The next day, Kalam visited the Bokaro Steel Plant, India’s largest, accompanied by its General Manager. He was impressed by the “breathtaking” scale and the hundreds of men working systematically, with “molten steel flowed from the furnace like a river on fire.” He learned that iron ore supply was abundant for years. However, he was “disappointed” to see no industrial estates around the plant that would utilize the steel to make various products. He was told that establishing such estates fell under state purview, bringing back his “old regret at our compartmentalized thinking” and “fragmented governance where one agency is alienated from another.” On his flight back to Delhi, Kalam pondered how Jharkhand could best be helped, concluding that an “integrated effort” between the state and the Centre would be essential, though he questioned its feasibility. This final scene reinforces his central message about the need for holistic development and unified national purpose.
Theme and Moral of the Story
Themes:
Moral of the Story:
The moral of the story is that a nation’s true prosperity is not merely measured by its raw wealth but by its ability to transform those resources into valuable products through innovation, knowledge, and strategic “value addition.” For India to achieve its full potential and become a developed nation, it must foster a clear, unified national vision, promote integrated efforts across all sectors, prioritize education to unleash creativity, and overcome fragmented thinking. Individual resilience and a commitment to service, as exemplified by Dr. Kalam, are crucial components of this national endeavour.
Author Spotlight
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (1931-2015) was the eleventh President of India and a distinguished aerospace scientist. Born and raised in the small town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, he pursued aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. His career began at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist, before he transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Renowned for his pivotal role in India’s missile and nuclear weapon programs, he became known as the ‘Missile Man of India’. He was elected President in 2002 and served a full term until 2007, earning immense popularity and respect. His most famous autobiography, Wings of Fire, recounts his journey from humble beginnings to becoming the President. For his profound contributions to India’s scientific and technological advancement, he was honoured with two of the country’s highest civilian awards: the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the Bharat Ratna (1997). Dr. Kalam remains an inspirational figure, remembered for his vision, simplicity, and unwavering dedication to national development and youth empowerment.
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