India's former president Abdul Kalam called for the country to be a corruption-free, developed nation by 2020 as he said his farewell to the nation last month.
The shaggy-locked missile scientist was formally replaced on July 25 by Pratibha Patil, who was elected India's first woman president late last month.
Kalam said he wanted India to become a nation "where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free; a nation that is one of the best places to live and is proud of its leadership."
PHOTO: EPA
Corruption is rife in Indian politics and bureaucracy.
"I will always be with you, dear citizens, in the great mission of making India a developed nation before 2020," Kalam said.
Kalam, who became a national hero after overseeing successful tests in 1998 that turned India into a nuclear power, had been nominated to the office by the previous Hindu nationalist government.
His bid for a second five-year term was rejected by the ruling Congress party which, political analysts say, wanted a party loyalist.
The son of an illiterate Muslim boatman, he was known for his simple lifestyle despite occupying the opulent 340-room sandstone palace that housed the viceroy when Britain ruled the subcontinent.
Kalam, who was dubbed the "People's President" for his populist style in which he reached out to young people, said he would leave the palace with just "two small suitcases" and return to teaching at a university in Tamil Nadu after leaving the post.
He noted that India had 540 million people below the age of 25 "which I consider the most powerful resource on the earth" to achieve its development goals.
印度前總統阿卜杜勒:卡拉姆在上個月卸任前向國人告別時，呼籲印度在二○二○年之前成為清廉的已開發國家。
這位頭髮蓬亂的印度導彈之父於七月二十五日，正式由上個月底剛選出的首位女總統普拉蒂巴:帕蒂爾所接替。
卡拉姆希望印度政府能變得「反應快、透明且清廉，成為最適合居住的國家之一，並以它的領導階層為榮。」
貪污充斥於印度政府和官僚。
他說：「親愛的人民，面對在二○二○年之前變成已開發國家的偉大使命，我將會永遠與你們同在。」
他在一九九八年成功完成試射、使印度變成核子強權後就成了國家英雄，當時由國民黨領導的政府提名他為總統。
目前執政的國大黨拒絕了他想連任五年的要求，政論家說該黨只想提名對自己忠誠的人。
身為穆斯林文盲船夫的兒子，他住在英國殖民這塊次大陸時總督所住的沙岩豪華總統府，雖然擁有三百四十間房間，仍維持簡單的生活方式而聞名。
他因親民且貼近年輕人的作風被譽為「平民總統」，還說只會帶著「兩卡皮箱」離開總統府，卸任後則將重返塔米拿督省的大學任教。
他強調說印度二十五歲以下的人口有五億四千萬人，「我認為這是印度想要完成發展的最有力資源。」（翻譯：張愛弟）
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