Article Contents
Introduction
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen “A. P. J.” Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007. Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, and studied physics and aerospace engineering.
He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and was intimately involved in India’s civilian space program and military missile development efforts.
Facts
- APJ Kalam was born on October 15, 1931, into a poor family. His father had only one boat to support his family.
- APJ Kalam was a hardworking student too, who enjoyed spending hours on his studies.
- His favourite subjects were Mathematics and Physics and ultimately, he took up aerospace engineering later in life.
- India owes its development as a nuclear nation to Kalam’s organizational and technical support for Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first such tests after a gap of 24 years.
- Missile Man of India: Due to his contribution for the development of missile and nuclear programs, he was widely known as the Missile Man of India.
- Inspired Millions of Youth: Dr. Abdul Kalam inspired millions of youth especially students. He visited as much schools and colleges as he can. He was considered the most popular speaker among the students.
- Honoured by the Government of India: The Government of India honoured our respect People’s President with many prestigious awards including the highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1997. He was also awarded Padma Bhushan (1981), and Padma Vibhushan (1990).
- Kalam is among only three presidents of India who were conferred the Bharat Ratna before they were elected President.
- After the term of his presidency, he became busier as a visiting professor at various institutes of management and leadership including those located at Ahmadabad, Indore, and Shillong.
- He was once asked by a journalist how would he like to be remembered: as a scientist, a president or a teacher. And he replied smilingly – “I want to be remembered as a teacher first and then as any other person.”
