Kolkata: 18 Jan 2013

Former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam believes that India is handling the tension along Pakistan border well.

“The incident is tragic and serious. The (Indian) government should and is taking stern action. The army is there to tackle the situation,” Kalam said.

Border tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply escalated since Jan 6 when a Pakistani soldier was killed allegedly in firing by Indian troops on the Line of Control that runs through Jammu and Kashmir, marking the India- and Pakistan-controlled territories in the state.

Two days later (Jan 8), two Indian soldiers were killed, one of whom was beheaded, by Pakistani soldiers in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing students at a management institute in the city, Kalam, fondly known as the ‘Missile Man’, said the “development of missiles has brought peace”.

“The atomic attack on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the (Second) World War led to the missile race between countries, led by USA and (the erstwhile) USSR.

“Nuclear tests have been conducted by several countries including India. But since the last attack, we never had any nuclear war. So you can say missiles bring peace,” Kalam said with a chuckle.

He also said that the country could be the granary of the world. To achieve that, India needs a cooperative movement in agriculture, the former president said.

“We need a cooperative movement in agriculture to assimilate technology and indigenous ability. We have the potential to do that, and agricultural productivity could rise to a much higher level,” Kalam said.