Kalam to address Nepal varsity

APJ Abdul Kalam, India's former president and father of the country's missile programme, will be the guest of honour at the convocation of a private university in Nepal later this month.

APJ Abdul Kalam, India's former president and father of the country's missile programme, will be the guest of honour at the convocation of a private university in Nepal later this month.

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The 77-year-old scientist will arrive in Kathmandu on November 17 for a two-day visit during which he will address the convocation of the autonomous Kathmandu University in Dhulikhel, about 30 km east of capital city Kathmandu.

Nepal recently underwent a sea change, becoming a secular republic from the world's only Hindu kingdom.

At the convocation, scheduled for November 18, Kalam will share the dais with Nepal's first Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

The 23-year-old Kathmandu University is a non-profit private institution with over 8,000 students.

During his short visit, Kalam is also scheduled to visit the Boudhanath area in Kathmandu, one of the holiest Buddhist pilgrimage sites and a Unesco-declared World Heritage site.