A prominent Muslim known as the father of India's nuclear missile program was sworn in today as India's president.
The swearing-in of 71-year-old Mr A.P.J. Kalam, a boatman's son who rose to become a national folk hero by overseeing India's successful nuclear tests in 1998, followed his landslide election victory last week.
His election is seen as bolstering the nation's secular credentials after recent religious violence.
Popularly known as "Missile Man," he was sworn in for his five-year term as India's 11th president in the imposing central hall of parliament. He is the third Muslim to serve in the largely ceremonial post in majority Hindu, but officially secular, India.
A strong advocate of Indian self-reliance in technology, Mr Kalam said in a speech that India must be transformed into a "developed nation".
Analysts have said Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's nomination of Mr Kalam was a "politically correct" master stroke following religious riots earlier this year.
At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslim, were killed in western Gujarat state in India's worst religious violence in a decade.
"The purpose of having Kalam is the fact that he is a highly respected Muslim and that takes the edge off Gujarat," said one political analyst.