President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Tuesday suggested a three-point formula for achieving peace and prosperity in the country, with the primary task being imparting "value education" to children.

Addressing participants of the National Security and Strategy Course at the National Defence College (NDC) here, he said religion and enlightened leadership were the other two ways of ensuring prosperity.

"We should inculcate education with a value system in our children, ensure that religion graduates into a spiritual force and develop an enlightened leadership with visionary policies to lead the way towards national, global and economic prosperity," Kalam said.

The president, the supreme commander of India's armed forces, said only enlightened citizens could draft a long-term and dedicated solution to the problems facing the nation, where 260 million of the over one billion population live in poverty.

"I believe if the majority of people become enlightened citizens, they will spread righteousness in right earnest. If they do, we will have peace and prosperity among all nations," he said.

Noting that enlightenment was all about empowerment, Kalam said: "When a child is empowered by the parents, he or she gets transformed into a responsible citizen. When a teacher is empowered with knowledge, a 'guru' emerges.

"When women are empowered, a stable society gets established. When the political leaders of a nation empower the people through visionary policies, the prosperity of a nation is assured.

"When religions are empowered to become a spiritual force, peace and happiness blossoms in the society."

--Indo-Asian News Service