India, June 22 -- Visionary that he was, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's ardent proposal for a National Prosperity Index to replace the National Poverty Index was an effective socio-economic mantra as a holistic formula. This perspective represents a profound shift in the mindset that says you cannot build a prosperous nation by focusing exclusively on deficits.

Kalam asks: Are we to reduce human life to bare survival and cold numbers by measuring progress primarily through a "Poverty Index" or solely by Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? His compass was of a different make. His holistic formula said: "Instead of just tracking how many people are poor, see how many people are thriving."

Our politicians, who want to hoodwink people by reducing them to ...