Category APJ Abdul Kalam

Drypetes kalamii is a new plant species discovered by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). Drypetes kalamii is found mostly in Buxa and Jaldapara National Parks in West Bengal. It has been named after Kalam and is closely related to a medicinal plant known as ‘Putrajivah’ in Sanskrit.

Drypetes kalamii is a small shrub, found in wet and shaded areas of subtropical, moist semi-evergreen forests. They are found at heights of 50-100 metres. It has pale yellow flowers in clusters and bright orange to red fruits.

This is a “Critically Endangered” plant as per the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Forest fires and grazing are the possible threats which harm Drypetes kalamii.

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Yes, for sure. We do have Dr. Abdul Kalam Island and it is off the coast of Odisha. It was earlier named after an officer in the army of the English East India Company, Sir Hugh Wheeler. The island was renamed on September 4, 2015 to honour Dr. Kalam. It is around 150 kilometres from Odisha’s capital Bhubaneshwar.

We have an Integrated Test Range to test missiles here. Many missiles such as Akash, Agni, Astra, BrahMos, Nirbhay, Prahaar, Prithvi, Shaurya Missile, Advanced Air Defence, Prithvi Air Defence and ASAT missiles were tested here. It is one of the key missile testing facilities in India.

Abdul Kalam Island is close to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. This is the world’s largest rookery of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle. Turtles love to nest on these sandy beaches. But the bright lights at the missile testing facility misguided some baby turtles! Attracted by the lights they could not find their way to the sea. Some of them died. So, all the lights at the facility are dimmed during nesting season. Missile testing is also cut down during the turtles’ nesting and breeding season.

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The book does begin with a dream; a dream that Kalam had after he and his aircraft crew met with a helicopter crash! After the frightening moments, the engines shutting down and the final crash, all of them started to look at life in a different way. All were alive, but their thinking had changed forever!

Kalam was given a tranquilizer. His mind was filled with one question: Why is the human race so prone to violence? While still under the effect of the tranquilizer, he had a strange dream.

In his dream came five people- Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Emperor Asoka, Abraham Lincoln and Caliph Omar. Kalam realized that the answer for his question were these people from different ages who continue to influence generations to come.

The book ends with some lines from Song of Youth, a poem by Dr. Kalam.

“As a young citizen of India,

armed with technology

and love for my nation,

I realize, a small aim is a crime.”

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Did you know the fact that this book is dedicated to a school child?

Well, here’s the story behind it. Kalam was talking to a group of school students and a question arose. “Who is our enemy?” Out of the many answers, the one accepted by all was “our enemy is our poverty.” The child who gave this answer was Snehal Thakkar and Kalam dedicated this work to Snehal.

You can find a lot of inspirational messages in this book. It is also a follow up of his previous work, ‘India 2020; A Vision for the New Millennium.’

Dynamic and original ideas fill this 205-page book. It analyses the attitudes of Indians and gives pointers on how to develop our country. The book is addressed to the young citizens of India. And after Dr. Kalam’s death it has soared in demand.

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In the beginning, we see young Kalam in the rural fishing village of Rameswaram. His family, friends and teachers and the myriad experiences of the young child is painted for us. You would love to look at the old black and white photographs capturing the essence of those days.

His schooling in Rameswaram and his studying aeronautical engineering in Chennai at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet come in detail.

As a young Muslim boy, Kalam grew up in Rameswaram which is predominantly a temple town. But he enjoyed celebrating the different festivals and the religious harmony around him.

In the next part we see him as a man of science and innovation. He got his first job in the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

After working four years in DRDO, he joined ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). Here Dr. Kalam could interact with many bright minds of science; Professor Vikram Sarabhai, Dr. Wernher von Braun and Professor Satish Dhawan.

We then look into a detailed explanation of his defence and space projects. We read about his tenure as the Project Director of SLV-III, India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle. If you are a science-crazy child, then you will love going through the minute scientific details and acronyms presented here. We also look at how Dr. Kalam interacts with common people inside the organization and outside.

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India conducted five nuclear bomb test explosions at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in May 1998 and they are known as the Pokhran-Il tests. It was the second time India conducted nuclear testing.

The first test was code-named Smiling Buddha, and it was conducted in May 1974. R. Chidambaram, who was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who was also the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, and Anil Kakodkar, who was the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, were the most important figures in the Pokhran-Il tests. The tests caused the U.S to impose sanctions against India. Some other Western countries also did the same.

Dr. Kalam supervised the Pokhran-Il explosions as the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. He camped in the Thar Desert for over a fortnight and said the testing was a “defining moment” in the history of India. He opined that the only other defining moment was adopting the path of economic liberalization in 1991.

On May 11, 2015, the ‘Missile Man of India’ tweeted that “Today, I remember the hot day of 1998 at Pokhran: 53C. When most of the world was sleeping, India’s nuclear era emerged.”

After the successful test, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre had presented Dr. Kalam with a memento of a banyan tree bonsai with the statue of a smiling Buddha under it. “The Buddha has smiled” was the code used by scientists in 1974 to declare that the nuclear test was successful.

The Pokhran tests achieved their main objective of giving India the capacity to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons. Dr. Anil Kakodkar, the then-Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission described each of the explosions of Pokhran-II to be “equivalent to several tests carried out by other nuclear weapon states over decades”.

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A person of exemplary calibre and fierce patriotism, former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam embodied the best of what an Indian can aspire to be. Let us look at one of his most memorable addresses titled, ‘My vision for India’.

On May 25, 2011, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam gave one of his greatest speeches at the IIT Hyderabad campus, titled ‘My vision for India.’ His simple and self-explanatory inaugural address for the IIT TechFest outlined his aspirations for his motherland and highlighted the need to increase meaningful public participation in nation-building activities.

A man of action

One of India’s most celebrated scientists Dr. Kalam was an aeronautical engineer by training. His 1998 project The Technology Vision 2020′ was an action plan that sought to achieve economic growth through technological development, with special emphasis on facilitating agriculture and increasing the accessibility and quality of healthcare and education. During his tenure as the 11th President of the country(from 2002 to 2007), India’s ‘missile man, as he was popularly called in the media, promoted the advancement of the national nuclear weapons program, and under his leadership. India developed strategic missiles like ‘Agni and Prithvi’ and tactical missiles like ‘Aakash’ and Thrissur’.

Even after the end of his official term Dr Kalam’s passion for education and societal transformation came to the forefront in his addresses across various cross-sections of society from school children to policymakers.

His visions for India

“In 3,000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands and conquered our minds… Yet, we have not conquered anyone. Because, we respect the freedom of others, and this is why my first vision is that of freedom. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of Independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on.” (an excerpt from My vision for India)

Dr Kalam sought the freedom that nurtured creativity and independent thinking. Freedom that instilled the courage to stand one’s ground against all odds. He wanted India to be confident in its identity, and progress towards becoming a developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured.

“We have been a developing nation for fifty years… my second vision for India is development. (an excerpt from My vision for India) In his public addresses, he often asked his audiences to repeat the dictum “Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result into action”. He really believed that the day we as citizens recognised our duties towards the development of our nation (dismissing all the personal biases) and joined forces to work towards identifying and meeting the needs of ‘all’ India will truly become developed.

“I have a third vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe… Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand.” (an excerpt from My vision for India) He ends his speech by echoing J.F.Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians… Ask what we can do for India and do what has to be done to make India what America and other western countries are today.” (an excerpt from My vision for India)

QUICK FACTS ON KALAM

• Born in a humble household of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Kalam distributed newspapers as a 10-year-old to supplement his family’s income.
• Dr. Kalam was the project director of the SLVIII, the first satellite launch vehicle that was both designed and produced in India.
• Dr. Kalam was fondly called People’s President because of his simplicity and love for his countrymen.
• Dr. Kalam was the first Asian to be honoured with Hoover Medal. America’s top engineering prize for outstanding contribution to public service on April 29, 2009
• In 2012, Dr Kalam launched a campaign called What Can I Give Movement, to develop a “giving” attitude among the youth and to encourage them to contribute towards nation building by taking small but positive steps.

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