Category Famous Personalities

Dr. Kalam authored many books. Prominent among them are:

1. Wings of Fire: It is the autobiography of the Missile Man of India. It provides deep insight into various notable events of his life. The idea behind the book is to emphasise that we all are born with a fire inside us.
2. India 2020: It is Dr. Kalam’s vision of India, and does justice to most of the problems and challenges our country faces in its quest for developed-nation status.
3. Ignited Minds: The book is dedicated to children and was in great demand all over the world after the death of Dr. Kalam.
4. Mission India: This book stimulates the youth of India to bring about rapid changes inside the country and make the country proud. The book focuses on the strengths of India and her unseen potential.
5. Inspiring Thoughts: This is the accumulation of the inspiring thoughts and quotations by APJ Abdul Kalam.
6. You Are Born to Blossom: This book focuses on many aspects of life such as freedom, knowledge, spirituality, education and many more. In this book Dr. Kalam shows concerns over the present education system of India and how it suppresses the essence and individuality of students.
7. The Scientific Indian: This book is a combination of all the problems faced by India and how a scientific Indian should work to overcome them.
8. Failure to Success: This book takes us through the experience of Dr. Kalam when he and his team failed to launch SLV III, on the given date, but later made sure that it was a success.
9. Target 3 Billion: This book is the vision of Dr. Kalam on how he wants to see rural areas. This book outlines sustainable life-styles, community life, improvements in agriculture, etc.
10. Turning Points: It is like a sequel to the Wings of Fire.
11. You are Unique: The book inspires everyone to scale new heights by thoughts and actions.

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On the morning of 29 July, Dr. Kalam’s body, wrapped in the Indian flag, was taken to Palam Air Base and flown to Madurai in an air force C-130J aircraft, arriving at Madurai Airport that afternoon. His body was received at the airport by the three service chiefs and national and state dignitaries, including many cabinet ministers and the governors of Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya.

After a short ceremony, Dr. Kalam’s body was carried by an Air Force helicopter to the town of Mandapam, from where it was taken to his hometown of Rameswaram on an army truck. After arriving at Rameswaram, his body was displayed in an open area near the local bus station to allow the public to pay their homage until 8 p.m. that evening.

On 30 July 2015, the former president was laid to rest at Rameswaram’s Pei Karumbu Ground accompanied by full state honours. Over 350,000 people attended the last rites. Dignitaries like the prime minister, the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chief ministers of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh attended his funeral.

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On 27 July 2015, Dr. Kalam travelled to Shillong to give a talk on “Creating a Liveable Planet Earth” at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. While he was climbing a flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but he was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest. At around 6:35 p.m. IST, only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed. He was rushed to the Bethany Hospital which was nearby, in a critical condition; he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life upon arrival. Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m. His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: “Funny guy! Are you doing well?”

After his death, Kalam’s body was airlifted in an Indian Air Force helicopter from Shillong to Guwahati, from where it was flown to New Delhi on the morning of 28 July in an Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft. The flight landed at Palam Air Base in the afternoon and was received by the president, the vice-president, the prime minister, chief minister of Delhi, and the three service chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, who laid wreaths on Kalam’s body. His body was then placed on a gun carriage covered with the Indian flag and was taken to his Delhi residence at 10 Rajaji Marg. The public and numerous dignitaries then paid homage to the legend.

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After his tenure as the president of India, Dr. Kalam became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute of Management Indore. He also worked as a honorary fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University, and at many other academic and research institutions across India. He also taught information technology at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and technology at Banaras Hindu University and Anna University.

In 2011, Kalam was criticised by civil groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. He supported the establishment of the nuclear power plant and was accused of not speaking for the local people. The protesters were against his visit as they perceived him as a pro-nuclear scientist and were not impressed by the assurances he provided about the safety of the plant.

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At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007, Kalam stated he was willing to consider a second term in office if he was the unanimous choice. This was not so, and hence he backed off from the contest as he wanted to avoid involving the Rashtrapati Bhavan in any political controversies.

Nearing the expiry of the term of the 12th president Pratibha Patil on 24th July 2012, media reports claimed that Kalam would be nominated for a second term as the president. After the reports, social networking sites witnessed a huge support from people for his candidature. On 18 June 2012, Kalam declined to contest the 2012 presidential poll. He said of his decision:

“Many, many citizens have also expressed the same wish. It only reflects their love and affection for me and the aspiration of the people. I am really overwhelmed by this support. This being their wish, I respect it. I want to thank them for the trust they have in me.”

Dr. Kalam was unable to travel much as a scientist and technologist, because he was in charge of highly sensitive areas in the space and defence departments. Yet, as the president he handled foreign affairs really well. He took care of diplomatic niceties and sometimes brought about surprises.

When he visited Africa, he understood that the continent did not have enough facilities for higher education and health care. One night in Dares Salaam, Tanzania, he envisioned the idea of providing tele-education and telemedicine to all 54 countries in the continent through a dedicated satellite, which can serve exclusive programmes to classrooms and hospitals in each of these countries. He made plans for a satellite donated by India, along with uplinking centres in each country for the satellite to send down programmes prepared both in India and that country. Converting the thought into action took only a few hours as he enquired with G. Madhavan Nair, the then chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, about the viability of the project and then got the clearance from the then prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Before his term ended, he had the satisfaction of seeing the Africa satellite, donated by India, being able to telecast programmes to ten African countries.

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Dr. Kalam was part of the national security strategy team, and his position as the President of India made him the supreme commander of the armed forces. He showed great enthusiasm in the welfare of the troops and in the improvement of military technology. He led by example by flying the advanced Sukhoi jet fighter, travelling in a submarine and riding the Arjun tank. This tank was designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation while he headed the organisation. He reached to the remotest outposts of the Army such as the Siachen Glacier. He had also advised Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh on security and high technology issues.

According to the Constitution, Parliament consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This brought his special interest in not only the two houses, but also the state assemblies. He went to great lengths to create vision documents for different states and presented these documents to the state legislatures. But sadly, he did not have time for a proper follow-up.

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The president hosts a reception on the lawns of the Mughal Gardens on Independence Day and Republic Day, attended by the vice president, prime minister, ministers, MPs, judges, diplomats, top bureaucrats and senior Army officers along with renowned artistes and media persons.

The first such reception hosted by Kalam was to be held three weeks after he assumed the office on July 25, 2002. He studied the guest list and inquired about ordinary people not being invited. When the officials replied that only those of the rank of additional secretary and above were invited, Kalam ordered that henceforth a group of ordinary workers should be invited to every reception. As a result, 40 postmen and post-women were invited to the function. Next time, it was the turn of municipal workers.

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Within a month of assuming office, Kalam made it clear that the existing protocols had to be reworked to make the president easily accessible.

He had started to use the social media, even before they became popular. He welcomed the 21st century with a personal pledge to connect with millions of children and launched his vision of what India should become in 2020. His tours and engagements had more followers than most of the celebrity social media accounts.

Dr. Kalam opened the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan like no other president before or after him. He wanted children from across the country to visit the 340-room house he lived in and the renowned Mughal Gardens. Whenever he found time, he would surprise groups of children by walking to them from his ground floor office and conversing with them. He made sure that all children returned with pleasant memories and a small memento. Along with children and science, his passion for nature and spirituality was also legendary. He set up two herbal gardens and one ‘spiritual garden’ in the Bio-diversity Park next to the Mughal Gardens.

Other things that he added to the Mughal Gardens were driftwood exhibits, hanging baskets and foliage and a wide array of fragrant roses. Another remarkable inclusion was the ‘Tactile Garden’, a unique herbal garden for the visually impaired. It was opened in April 2004 to allow visually challenged people to get a feel of trees and shrubs.

Finally, the presidential kitchen was also modernised to improve the working conditions for those who were always living amongst condiments and spices.

Dr. Kalam was a strong promoter of religious tolerance and interfaith conversations. “For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.” His opinion was that the answers to India’s countless issues lay in the “dialogues and cooperation” among our religious, social and political leaders.

He was a very humble human being and refused to take any kind of VVIP treatment. In a function at IIT-BHU Varanasi, where he was the chief guest, Kalam refused to accept the chair specially arranged for him. Of the five chairs arranged on the stage, the bigger one was for Kalam in the centre and the other four were for top university officials. Dr. Kalam humbly offered the seat to the vice chancellor, which the VC would not accept.

During his period as the President of India, Kalam made it a mission to meet as many young people as possible one-to-one. He was able to meet almost 500,000 during his tenure, a record making number!

When he left the office in 2007, he was conferred the loving title of “Kalam Chacha” as he received hundreds of emails a day from young people inspired by his encouragement to “dream, dream, dream!” He reportedly had replied in person to nearly all of them.

As the president, Dr. Kalam’s most remarkable quality was accessibility and openness. He added value and dignity to the president’s office.

No wonder Dr. Kalam became an absolute favourite among people!

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In 2006, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam visited the Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak. (It was later destroyed in an accidental explosion in 2013 at the Mumbai naval dockyard).

Dr. Kalam went on board the INS Sindhurakshak, a Russian-origin kilo class submarine, from the Visakhapatnam naval dockyard. He was the first Indian president to undertake such a journey. Kalam had previously visited a submarine in the harbour during his tenure as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. But this was a three-and-a half hour journey during which Kalam shared lunch with the crew members.

Later he said about his experience: “It was my first experience (to sail in a submarine underwater) and I learnt how the silent force of the Indian Navy would function when it was underwater. Success comes if we work very hard in the midst of challenges. I experienced the challenges the submarine faces to make our country powerful,” Kalam had said.

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It was Dr. Kalam’s childhood dream to join the Indian Air Force, but he was ranked ninth in a test conducted to select eight officers! Anyway, he must have felt his old dream coming true, as he took a 30-minute long flight in a Sukhoi-30MKI when he was president.

On July 28, 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the Lohegaon Air Force base, he co-piloted the Sukhoi-30 MKI with Wing Commander Ajay Rathore, who was the commanding of ficer of the Lightning Squadron based at Lohegaon. Before setting out on this flight, Dr. Kalam received a guard of honour. He then met senior defence officials in the air base and changed into the G-suit that was required on the Sukhoi. The G-Suit is an anti-gravitational suit that helps in proper blood circulation when the aircraft flies at supersonic speeds. Wing Commander Rathore took the jet to about 7.5 km above ground level and flew at 1.25 Mach (one-and-a-quarter times the speed of sound).

The Wing Commander took Dr. Kalam on a full fledged experience by stalling the plane mid-air, and by making twists and turns in the sky. When told to comment on what he saw from above, he jokingly said, “The sky was looking blue everywhere. The plane was travelling at a great speed. During the twists and turns I too had to help out in operating the flight, so the only thing I remembered in mid-air was that the colour of the sky was blue.”

The Wing Commander also showed how the planes spot and shoot enemy targets both in the air and on the ground. Dr. Kalam set the record for the oldest person to co-pilot such a plane and he was 74 years old, when he performed this feat.

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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during his term as the President of India, indulged in adventures which many of his age would not have dreamt of. His love for adventure kept inspiring all, including our soldiers.

One of his adventures was to visit the Siachen Glacier in 2004, where he witnessed the difficult conditions faced by the Indian army. Dr. Kalam’s presence left a deep impact on the soldiers and officers.

The troops and officers were amazed by his presence at Siachen because no president had ever visited the glacier, and that, too, at the age of 72. He lauded them for their commitment towards the country and their earnest service in hostile and harsh weather. Similarly, he had also visited the LoC in Uri in 2003 and had a similar experience with the soldiers of India.

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Children had great love for Dr. Kalam. He is still the role model for several people who grew up during the time of the “Missile Man of India”, a small boy from Rameshwaram, who made history. Hundreds of students were present at his swearing ceremony to celebrate his success.

Dr. Kalam also had a great deal of love for children. He believed that the future of India lies within the dreams of the children. As the head of the country, he addressed children and youth from all over the country.

Dr. Kalam, till his last breath, was driven by the passion to educate, motivate and guide children towards a better future.

He was also a man of sharp wit and intelligence. Amazed by his love for children, he was once questioned by media persons about having a child of his own, to which he replied “All of you are wrong, I have three sons.” All were stumped by the statement, but Dr. Kalam continued. “You don’t know my three sons? They are ‘Prithvi’, ‘Agni’, and ‘BrahMos’,” referring to the names of India’s three powerful missiles.

One could see his passion and drive towards science and development in all that he did. What one leaves for the next generation needn’t be only progeny but intellectual growth as well.

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Dr. Kalam was declared the 11th President of India on 18th July, 2002. He had won the presidential election held on 15th July 2002 with an electoral vote of 922,884. His nearest rival Lakshmi Sahgal won 107,366 votes.

After his massive victory, Dr. Kalam was sworn in as the president on 25th July. He was the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, before becoming the president. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1954) and Zakir Hussain (1963) were his two predecessors who had become president after receiving the Bharat Ratna.

Dr. Kalam was the first scientist and the first bachelor to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He was referred to as the people’s president with love, as he had done countless deeds for the welfare of the people and the country.

He was brave and courageous enough to prioritise progress and took some decisions which were sometimes controversial. One of them was his so-called ‘inaction’ in deciding the fate of 20 out of the 21 mercy petitions submitted to him during his tenure. President’s rule in Bihar in 2005 during his tenure was also controversial. Despite all this however, he received immense recognition due to his stance and his works.

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One of Dr. Kalam’s remarkable achievements was the establishment of the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a DRDO laboratory in Hyderabad, Telangana, in 1988. This was set up with generous government funding to build a centre for the future, which is geared for work in advanced missile technologies.

The ambience of the state-of-the-art facilities and the level of comfort provided to the workers are only matched by a few research and development facilities other than RCI.

Dr. Kalam’s interest in the environment ensured that the Centre was set up in beautiful premises in the midst of a rocky wasteland. Apart from the state-of-the art facilities, it also has a small orchard and a farm that meets the food requirements of those who stay in the RCI quarters.

RCI is located in an area called Vignyana Kancha, which was given by the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh. The foundation stone for the project was laid by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 5th August 1985, and it was inaugurated by the former President of India, R. Venkataraman, on 27th August 1988.

Research Centre Imarat is a global pioneer in developing avionics and navigation systems for missiles. It is the leading laboratory that has spearheaded the Indo-Israel joint development of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) programme and had a hat-trick success in its first three consecutive missions.

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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam derived immense satisfaction from saving lives through the development of the famed ‘Kalam-Raju stent’ for coronary heart disease. Kalam collaborated with the renowned cardiologist Dr. B. Soma Raju of Care Foundation and his colleagues to design the ‘K-R stent’ in the 1990s. These stents were developed to bring down the cost and make them affordable to the common man. They were made in India and introduced in the market in 1994. Cardiologists use these coronary stents to dilate constricted arteries while treating heart attacks.

Dr. B. Soma Raju was associated with Kalam since 1985. He used to say that Dr. Kalam was the “guiding soul” for the project. For this effort, the Care Foundation received the Defence Technology Spin-off Award in 1998, and, ‘Kalam – Raju stent’ went on to gain widespread acclaim.

Dr. Kalam along with Dr. B. Soma Raju also introduced the concept of a tablet PC for health care workers at primary health centres in rural areas.

While the Kalam-Raju stent took the centre stage for its affordability, the Kalam-Raju tablet was designed and aimed at arming healthcare personnel at the primary level like doctors, Anganwadi workers, ayahs and first responders to deal with an emergency. The tablet was capable of performing a number of medical processes at the rural level.

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Dr. Kalam served as the first Principal Scientific Advisor or PSA from November 1999 to November 2001. The post of PSA is equal to that of a Secretary in any ministry. Dr. Kalam developed numerous policies, strategies and missions for many development applications while serving as PSA.

The position of PSA was created with a Cabinet rank in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. However, in 2018, the Union Ministry decided that the scientific advisor would have a position equal to a Secretary, with tenure of three years. It is the job of the PSA to advise the prime minister and the cabinet on matters related to science and technology, and how they can affect economic and social structures.

The office of the PSA also helps various ministries, institutions and the industry to cooperate and work together in matters related to science and technology, through the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

Dr. Kalam had served as the Scientific Adviser to the defence minister from 1992-99 before being appointed as the PSA in 1999.

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India’s attempt to conduct a second nuclear test was revived in 1998, during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s second term as prime minister. On April 8, approval for the tests was given by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) chief R Chidambaram and DRDO chief Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The entire operation was controlled by Vajpayee and his principal secretary Brajesh Mishra from the prime minister’s office. The operation was conducted in such high secrecy that nobody except the then home minister LK Advani knew about it. Even important persons such as the then defence minister, George Fernandes, were told about the tests on May 9 and the three service chiefs and the foreign secretary were informed over the next three days. On May 11, this information was shared by the Cabinet Committee on Security.

A team which included Dr. K Santhanam, Dr. Kalam, Chidambaram and few other nuclear scientists and engineers started arriving in Pokhran in May 1998. The entire operation was conducted in utmost secrecy. The tunnels were only dug at night, not to be seen by the U.S spy satellites. The scientists used army uniforms and camouflages to disguise themselves and dig the bomb shafts. To avoid suspicion, nuclear devices were also flown from different parts of the country.

On May 11, 1998, at around 3:45 PM, India tested three devices – a thermonuclear device (Shakti I), a fission device (Shakti II), and a sub-kiloton device (Shakti III).On May 13, India detonated two more sub-kiloton devices-Shakti IV and V.

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Dr. Sarabhai and his fellow scientists including Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam visited Thumba to talk with the then-Bishop of Trivandrum, who lived next to the church. They requested permission to use the church and the nearby land for scientific purposes.

With the support of the parishioners to provide the land for scientific use, the bishop agreed to their proposal. His home was quickly converted into an office; the church into a workshop and the cattle sheds into storage houses and laboratories. Even with little funding and few facilities, the enthusiastic scientists were all set to build their first rocket.

In the early stages, Thumba had no proper facilities such as canteen or vehicular transport. Jeeps were reserved for technical assistance and so moving around was either by foot or cycle.

The story of how India staged its first launch of a Nike-apache rocket supplied by NASA, is forever etched in the mind of Indians with the image of Vikram Sarabhai, APJ Kalam and fellow scientists passionately carrying the payload and rocket parts in carts and bicycles to the launch pad.

At the end of six months of hard work, on 21 November 1963, India was ready for its very first rocket launch. Along with the governor of Kerala, the district collector and the bishop, many other eminent figures in science and technology had gathered for the occasion, including Dr Homi Bhabha (the father of Indian nuclear programme) and Dr P R Pisharoty the founder-director of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

When everything was set to go, the air was thick with tension and excitement for the launch. Just as the rocket was rolled on to the launch pad, things started going south. The hydraulic crane developed a leak and it was tackled by manually shifting it into position. The remote system of the launcher also malfunctioned. All of these were fixed and things finally seemed in order. As the alarm sounded to clear the area around the launch pad, the scientists held their breath to witness the moment they had been waiting for.

At 6.25 pm, India made history as the rocket streaked away into the dimming sky. High up in the sky, a sodium vapour cloud emerged, which looked orange in the setting Sun.

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Dr. Kalam was part of India’s first rocket launch, which happened in 1963, soon after his return from the U.S. It was a great learning experience for Dr. Kalam to work with Dr. Sarabhai, the father of the Indian Space Programme. His vision helped India achieve the milestone of successfully launching its first rocket.

Until 1963, the village of Thumba would not have attracted a second look. It was a typical Kerala fishing hamlet and was quite an unlikely setting for a rocket launch. In the village, a small church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene caught the attention of Dr. Sarabhai, because it was located on Earth’s magnetic equator.

The magnetic equator is an imaginary line around the planet that connects all the points where a magnetic needle, when freely suspended, is horizontal. The magnetic equator is scientifically a very important location, where the Equatorial Electrojet exists, which is a stream of electrons moving across the sky at about 110-120 km above the Earth’s Surface.

The sounding rockets sent out by any space programme, test and study these electrons for research in the field of physics. These rockets are the first steps to establish a full fledged space programme. The low-altitude of Thumba’s location was ideal for upper atmosphere and ionosphere studies.

Thus, Thumba became an ideal site for a rocket launching centre.

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Although we are familiar with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s various accomplishments, there are some that are less talked about. One among them is a hovercraft called Nandi. Nandi was developed in India and is the first of its kind. It was named after Lord Shiva’s bull Nandi. This project was almost completely led by Dr. Kalam at the Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bangalore, a laboratory of DRDO.

When this project was assigned to him, Dr. Kalam had little knowledge of how to design such a craft. He wasn’t sure of the kind of propeller that would be necessary for the aircraft. In order to study that, Kalam spent the next 10 Sundays visiting a professor in IISC, Bangalore learning to perfect the design. By the end of his learning, Project Nandi was not only successful but was also ahead of schedule with a working prototype.

But by this time, VK Krishna Menon was no longer the Minister of Defence and this project was put on hold by the government. But it was not a waste of effort as the hovercraft program captured the interest of Prof. MGK Menon, the Director of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, who called Dr. Kalam for an interview. Prof. Menon was very impressed with the work of Dr. Kalam and in a week’s time, Kalam was offered the post of rocket engineer at the Indian Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR).

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In 1958, when Dr. Kalam came out of HAL as a graduate of aeronautical engineering, he had two options for employment in flying. One was the job at the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTD&P) (Air) of the Ministry of Defence and another was a career in the Indian Air Force. He had applied to both the places and received interview calls simultaneously.

He went to Delhi for an interview with DTD&P, in which he performed well because of his knowledge in the subject. Then he went to Dehradun for the interview with the Air Force Selection Board. But here, the interview was more on personality rather than testing his knowledge. He came ninth in the batch of 25, and the first eight officers were selected to be commissioned in the Air Force.

After returning to Delhi, Kalam received his appointment letter from DTD&P and he joined as Senior Scientific Assistant the very next day with a basic salary of Rs. 250 per month. At DTD&P, he was posted at the Technical Centre (Civil Aviation). During his initial years in the Directorate, he worked on supersonic target aircraft with the help of his officer-in-charge, R. Varadharajan, which got him the appreciation of the Director, Dr. Neelakantan. Then he was sent to the Aircraft and Armament Testing Unit (AP&ATU) at Kanpur to get shop-floor exposure to aircraft maintenance.

In 1968, the groups of officers under the Chief Resident Engineer of DTD&P were brought under the control of DRDO. Thus, Dr. Kalam became a part of DRDO.

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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam studied at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School in Ramanathapuram. Though he had only average grades, he had the mindset to work harder. Kalam was aware of his father’s dream of him becoming an IAS officer and wanted to fulfil it. At the age of 15, he met lyadurai Solomon, who became a perfect guide for the young boy. Solomon told Abdul Kalam that a hard worker like him would be able to achieve anything with the power of education. He inspired young Kalam, who had high hopes for the future.

While studying at Schwartz he grew up as a confident boy. He was determined to succeed and fulfil his parents’ dream. Later he joined St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli, in 1950 and gave his intermediate examinations. When he was in his final year at St. Joseph’s, Kalam started to love English literature. He was very fond of reading great classics by writers like Tolstoy and Thomas Hardy; he even developed an inclination towards philosophy. It was by this time that he also developed an interest in Physics. Prof. Chinna Durai and Prof. Krishnamurthy, who were his Physics teachers at St. Joseph’s, introduced him to the beautiful and intriguing concepts of Physics.

He had a very limited knowledge about other subjects when he was at St. Joseph’s college and soon realized that the subject he enjoyed the most was engineering. So he applied to the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT). Although he was on the merit list, the institute was very expensive. His sister Zohra had to sell her gold ornaments to send him to study there.

At MIT, young Kalam was intrigued by the numerous aircraft that were on display. He opted for aeronautical engineering after his first year at MIT. In the institute, Kalam was working on a senior class project, and his Dean was dissatisfied with the lack of progress. He asked Kalam to finish the project within the next three days. Kalam met the deadline, impressing the Dean, who later said to him, “l was putting you under stress and asking you to meet a difficult deadline”.

After completing his third year at MIT, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, as a trainee. He worked on piston and turbine engines at HAL as a part of a team. Here he came to know about the technical aspects of an aircraft.

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Inspired by his teacher and driven by his passion for studies, young Kalam wanted to leave Rameswaram because this place did not offer any options for higher education. It only had an elementary school, and in order to study further, he had to go to the district headquarters at Ramanathapuram, which had many educational facilities.

Kalam’s father was not an educated man but he understood the significance of education. He did not want to stop the growth of his children in any way; so, he willingly allowed Kalam to go to Ramanathapuram to pursue higher studies. He never expressed his opinions in words, but he trusted his son’s decision to grow. Kalam’s father knew that just like the birds that leave their nests to fly across the skies, children must be allowed to leave home and find their place in the world outside.

Apart from accepting it himself, his father convinced Kalam’s mother by quoting Khalil Gibran. It was a quote that meant that all human beings must be given the opportunity to build their life as per their wishes and that parents should not stop them in their efforts.

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Dr. Kalam had his early Schooling at the Rameshwaram Elementary School. His then teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer hailed from an orthodox Brahmin family, but he was very broadminded. He was a rebel who wanted the society to change, and was ready to face the challenges on the way. In one of the incidents, his wife refused to serve food to young Kalam, whom he had invited to his home. As a response, he himself served the boy and went on to invite the boy the next weekend as well.

Although Kalam was reluctant to visit Iyer’s home, this time he was welcomed by Iyer’s wife and she took him to the kitchen and served him food with her own hands. This was a great instance where Iyer reformed his wife not by force but by setting an example. Sivasubramania Iyer refused to believe that caste and religion segregate people and advised Kalam to be prepared to face such situations if he wished to change the system.

Iyer was also a dedicated teacher and established a good rapport with his students. He encouraged them to aim higher. He encouraged young Kalam to study further and to develop so that he could be “on par with the highly educated people of the big cities.”

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“Every child is born, with some inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional environment, and trained in certain ways by figures of authority,” wrote Dr. Kalam in his autobiography, Wings of Fire.

Dr. Kalam always understood that the acceptance of religions was a way of life and that we live in a society where religions confluence. Young Kalam had three close friends, all three of them from orthodox Brahmin families. Though from different backgrounds and up-bringing, his friendship with Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan, and Sivaprakasan never had any problems.

All of them chose different ways of life in their adulthood as well. Ramanadha Sastry, who was the son of Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the high priest of the Rameswaram temple, took over the priesthood of the Rameswaram temple from his father. Aravindan went into the business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims, Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for the Southern Railways, and Kalam went on to become a scientist.

Another interesting story in Dr. Kalam’s upbringing is that his family used to arrange boats with a special platform during the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony. This platform was used for carrying the idols of Lord Rama from the temple to the ceremonial wedding site ‘Ram Tirtha’, which was a pond near Kalam’s house. Young Kalam grew up listening to the stories both from the Ramayana and the life of the Prophet Muhammed, laying the foundation of secularism very early in his life.

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A person knows the value of work when he has been through difficult times and has survived on simple jobs. Dr. Kalam used to collect tamarind seeds and sell them during the Second World War. He also worked as a newspaper boy.

Kalam was only eight years old when the Second World War broke out. It was the year 1939 and there was a huge demand for tamarind seeds in the market. He collected them and sold them for an anna, a very small coin, but substantial for a young boy like him.

His brother-in-law Jallaluddin used to tell him stories about the war and young Kalam would try to follow these stories through the pages of Dinamani, a Tamil newspaper. Although Rameswaram was not directly impacted by the war as it was an isolated island, trains stopped halting at the station. This meant bundles of newspapers were now thrown off running trains. Kalam’s cousin Samsuddin, who used to distribute the newspapers in Rameswaram, asked Kalam’s help to catch the bundles, and he thus started working as a newspaper boy.

Kalam earned his first wages in this work and it gave him a great sense of self-confidence and pride.

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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born to a Tamil family from Rameswaram on 15 October, 1931. Rameswaram was then part of the Madras Presidency in British India but it is now in Tamil Nadu. His father’s name was Jainulabdeen, who was a boat owner and imam of a local mosque. His mother was Ashiamma, a housewife.

Abdul Kalam was the youngest of five siblings. His eldest sibling was his sister Asim Zohra. He had three elder brothers, namely Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikayar, Mustafa Kalam and Kasim Mohammed. He was close to his family and always helped them while remaining a bachelor his whole life.

His ancestors were wealthy traders and landowners, who owned numerous properties and large areas of land. They traded groceries between the mainland and the Pamban Island and between the island and Sri Lanka. They also ferried the pilgrims from the mainland to the Pamban Island. This tradition earned their family the title “Mara Kalam lyakkivar” (wooden boat steerers), to be later known as “Maraikayar.”

Unfortunately, in the 1920s, his family lost most of its fortune, and by the time Kalam was born, the family was poverty-stricken.

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History has shown us that great men are not born every day. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was one such legend who left his mark on the world and people’s hearts.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, also known as APJ Abdul Kalam was a scientist who had great dreams for the country. He worked as a science administrator and scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for over forty years before becoming the president of the country. His contributions to the military missile development efforts and civilian space programme of India earned him the title ‘The Missile Man of India.’ His contributions to developing the launch vehicle technology of ballistic missiles are particularly noteworthy. In 1998, he played a critical role in the Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests.

Later in 2002, he was elected the 11th president of India and was widely known as the ‘People’s President.’ He was the first scientist to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan. After serving his tenure as the president, he went on to pursue teaching, writing and reading-his most passionate vocations. He was honoured with the ‘Bharat Ratna Award’, India’s highest civilian honour, for his contributions.

He died on 27 July 2015 while delivering a talk at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong. He was laid to rest with full state honours with thousands of people attending the funeral.

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