When Canadian Governor General delayed his oath-taking for Kalam

Toronto, July 28: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was so much respected in Canada that the current Governor-General David Johnston delayed his oath-taking in 2010 so that he could personally - as president of the University of Waterloo - confer an honorary doctorate on the former Indian president. "David Johnston was appointed the Governor General of Canada when he was the president of the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario. But he delayed his oath-taking for the sake that he (as university president) could personally honour Dr Kalam," says Chennai-born V.I. Lakshmanan, who is an internationally renowned scientist and innovator in green technology. A close friend of Kalam, Toronto-based Lakshmanan was instrumental in bringing the late president to Canada three times after he left Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2007. Lakshmanan told IANS: "The current governor general of Canada was so impressed by the credentials and humility of Kalam that the University of Waterloo where he was the president at that time decided to confer an honorary doctor of engineering degree on Kalam. David Johnston went with me to New Delhi to meet Kalam and came back so impressed by the late president that his University of Waterloo decided to honour Kalam." In fact, Canada was the only country that Kalam visited multiple times - thrice - after his retirement because of his close friendship with fellow Tamilian Lakshmanan.