Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul
Kalam, popularly known as the “Missile Man of India” was a scientist and the
11th President of India. He was the epitome of modesty, kindness and is a
soft-spoken person. He believed in high thinking and simple living.
Dr. Kalam was born on 15 October,
1931 at Rameswaram, a small town in Tamil Nadu. He completed his school
education from Rameswaram Elementary School and went on to study B.Sc. Physics
from Saint Joseph College, Tiruchirappali, graduating in 1954. He got his
Masters Degree in aerospace engineering from Madras Institute of Technology in
1960. He has been conferred with several honorary doctorates yet his formal
education stopped at the master's degree.
In 1960, Dr. Kalam joined the
Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) as the chief scientist. He was the Project Director of
India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) and helped in
developing the PSLV with which India became capable of launching its Remote
Sensing satellites. He played a pivotal role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test
in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. Indira
Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India recognised the worth of Kalam’s
brilliant mind and named him the Chief Executive for Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program (IGMDP). He played a major role in developing intermediate
ballistic missiles (IBMs) including Agni and Prithvi, the tactical surface to
surface missiles. He was the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and
the Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation from 1992 to 1997.
On 25 July, 2002, he was elected the
11th president of India. He is the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy
the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He was popularly known as people’s president and was
voted “India’s Best President”. For his excellence and brilliance, Dr. Kalam
was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in
1997.
Dr. Kalam was a man of vision. He
had a dream to make India a developed country by 2020. In his book, India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium,
he examined the strengths and weaknesses of India as a nation. He discussed many aspects on how to make India an economic superpower by 2020.
On 27 July, 2015, Dr. Kalam died of cardiac arrest at Shillong doing what he loved best : teaching. He devoted his time to visit
several schools and undertake social work. He was very popular among children
and believed that they are the future of the country. His popular words to
children are : "You have to dream before your dreams can come true."
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