NEW DELHI: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, one of the most popular Presidents by far, is sure to leave his imprint on young minds as they study about his life in their school textbooks.

Extracts from Mr. Kalam's autobiography Wings of Fire were incorporated last year in My Childhood, a chapter in the National Council of Educational Research and Training's Class IX English textbook titled Beehive.

The books for Class IX were introduced as part of the first phase of restructuring of NCERT books for Classes I, III, VI, IX and XI.

The chapter talks about the 11th President's formative years in the island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras State where he faced discrimination from certain quarters owing to his religion.

"The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest's son sitting with a Muslim boy. In accordance with our social ranking as the new teacher saw it, I was asked to go and sit on the backbench. I felt very sad, and so did Ramanadha Sastry... ," is one such instance quoted in the book.

Beehive is based on a new syllabus in English prepared as a follow-up to the National Curriculum Framework 2005. The curriculum calls for an approach that is rich in comprehensible input. The book draws on different genres such as biography, autobiography, science fiction, humour, travelogue and one-act play.

The idea behind including Mr. Kalam in the NCERT textbooks was to encourage young, impressionable minds to take lessons from the President's inspiring life, says Ram Janma Sharma, Head of the Department of Languages at NCERT.

He was also chief coordinator of the English Textbook Development Committee.

"Students should know how Mr. Kalam strove hard to reach where he is today. He faced numerous hardships but refused to be cowed down. He did not give up and went on to become the President of our country. Such achievements are rare and children should draw inspiration from them," adds Prof. Sharma.

Assistant Public Relations Officer at NCERT B.C. Patro says, "The President is so popular with children. His Wings of Fire was a huge success and we included it in the book because he creates an impact on children across the world. Such is his charisma. No Indian President has ever had such an influence over children."

Apart from Mr. Kalam, the book has a chapter on shehnai maestro, Ustad Bismillah Khan. It gives children an insight into his life , how he took to music early in life and how he poured his heart out into Raag Kafi at the Red Fort when the country gained Independence on August 15, 1947.

"Ustad Bismillah Khan's life is a perfect example of the rich cultural heritage of India, one that effortlessly accepts that a devout Muslim like him can very naturally play the shehnai every morning at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple... ," says the chapter.

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