A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen "A. P. J." Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. A career scientist turned reluctant politician, 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. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organizational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Kalam was elected President of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Indian National Congress. After serving a term of five years, he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Stories of extreme hardship, braving impossible odds and innumerable sacrifices, abound in the lives of nearly 90 percent of the students in the country. But among them, some perform exceptionally well. Their academic laurels are so brilliant, that at times their CV looks intimidating. And each one acknowledges that it’s the right education that made them what they are today.

Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 to a Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father, a humble boat owner, Jainulabdeen, was a devout Muslim and a close friend of the Rameswaran temple priest. Kalam was brought up in a multi-religious, tolerant society; one with a progressive outlook. His father often quoted from the Quran to make the young Kalam see the world without fear. He had seven siblings, and a doting mother who, at times, made chappatis for Kalam, while the others were given rice as Kalam’s day would start at four in the morning and end at 11 pm.

His father wasn’t educated, but he wanted Kalam to study. Kalam would get up at 4 am, bathe, and then go for his mathematics class, which was taught by a teacher who took only five students in the whole session; and bathing before class was a condition he had laid to all his students. After his morning class, Kalam along with his cousin Samsuddin went around

town distributing the newspaper. As the town had no electricity, kerosene lamps were lit at his home between 7 pm and 9 pm. But because Kalam studied until 11, his mother would save some for him for later use.

Being a bright student, Kalam always had the support of his schoolteachers. Schwarzt High School’s (Ramnathpuram) Iyadurai Solomon often told Kalam that if he truly, intensely desired something, he would get it. “This made

me fearless,” said Dr Kalam. And outside school, Ahmed Jallaluddin, who later became his brother-in-law, and Samsuddin, encouraged Kalam to appreciate nature’s wonders. So at once, while growing up, he was exposed to a religious and a practical way of looking at the world.

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Schwartz High School at Ramnathpuram

The flight of birds had fascinated him since he was a boy, but it was years later he realised that he wanted to fly aircrafts. After finishing school, he took up Physics at St Joseph’s College, Trichi, but towards the end he was dissatisfied. When he discovered aeronautical engineering, he regretted having lost three precious years. But he was glad to have discovered Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy and F Scott Fitzgerald and other English poets in his college years.

At Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Chennai, where Kalam studied aeronautics, he learnt an important lesson: the value of time. He was leading a project on system design, when one day the principal walked into the class to see his work. He appeared dissatisfied and told Kalam that he wanted the project finished in the next two days; else his scholarship aid would be withdrawn. That unsettled Kalam; years of his father’s hardships would come to naught. Kalam worked without food and sleep. On the last day, his professor came to check on his progress. He was impressed and said: “I was putting you under stress and asking you to meet a difficult deadline,” recounted Dr Kalam.

Although Kalam has led several projects in his professional life, he’s treated each like his last. Such was his passion. No wonder, he’s always led projects. His advisor, Major General R Swaminathan explained Kalam’s success as a leader. “He has this unique capability of being a boss as well as a worker. He can take on any role with ease.”

When Dr Kalam’s first major project SLV 3-failed the first time he was almost shattered. Also, around this time, Kalam’s childhood mentor, Jallaluddin, died. “A part of me too passed away…” said Dr Kalam. But he never thought of quitting after SLV-3. “I knew that for success, we have to work hard and persevere.” And so, SLV-3 was launched again, this time with success. He drew strength from philosophy, religion and literature to tide by his professional setbacks; also a life with few companions. In time, he also learnt to deal with professional jealousy and uncooperative team members.

Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. He is chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (Thiruvanthapuram), a professor at Anna University (Chennai) and adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.

Success followed Dr Kalam. Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles were huge successes. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and Bharat Ratna, and then he became the President of India; one of the few presidents who have touched the hearts of so many poor children in the country. Because he also came from a poor background, he knew the power of education in changing one’s future.

Death

On 27 July 2015, Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on "Creating a Livable Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. He did not want to be late for the lecture. “Students should never be made to wait”, he always said. At around 6:35 p.m, his aide, Srijan Pal Singh, quickly set up his mike, briefed on final lecture and took position on the computers. As he pinned his mike, he smiled and said, “Funny guy! Are you doing well?” ‘Funny guy’, when said by Kalam could mean a variety of things, depending on the tone and your own assessment. It could mean, you have done well, you have messed up something, you should listen to him or just that you have been plain naïve or he was just being jovial.

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Srijan smiled back, “Yes”. Those were the last words he said. Two minutes into the speech, sitting behind him, he heard a long pause after completing one sentence. Srijan looked at him, he fell down.

He was rushed to the nearby Bethany Hospital in a critical condition; upon arrival, he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life. Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m IST

The property left behind by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam was estimated.

He owned

6 pants, 4 shirts, 3 suits ( 1 Western & 2 Indian ), 2500 books, 1 flat ( which he has donated ), 1 Padmashri, 1 Padmabhushan, 1 Bharat Ratna, 16 doctorates, 1 website, 1 twitter account and 1 email id.

He had even donated the last 8 years’ pension towards the development of his village.

Personal life

Kalam was the youngest of five siblings, the eldest of whom was a sister, Asim Zohra (d. 1997), followed by three elder brothers: Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikayar (b. 1916; aged 99), Mustafa Kamal (d. 1999) and Kasim Mohammed (d. 1995). He was extremely close to his elder siblings and their extended families throughout his life, and would regularly send small sums of money to his older relations, himself remaining a life-long bachelor.

Kalam was noted for his integrity and his simple lifestyle. He never owned a television, and was in the habit of rising at 6:30 or 7 a.m and sleeping by 2 a.m. His few personal possessions included his books, his veena, some articles of clothing, a CD player and a laptop; at his death, he left no will, and his possessions went to his eldest brother, who survived him.

In the 2011 Hindi film I Am Kalam, Kalam is portrayed as a positive influence on a poor but bright Rajasthani boy named Chhotu, who renames himself Kalam in honour of his idol.

Writings

In his book India 2020, Kalam strongly advocated an action plan to develop India into a "knowledge superpower" and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regarded his work on India's nuclear weapons programme as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.[137]

I have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action: (1) agriculture and food processing; (2) education and healthcare; (3) information and communication technology; (4) infrastructure, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country; and (5) self-reliance in critical technologies. These five areas are closely inter-related and if advanced in a coordinated way, will lead to food, economic and national security.

Kalam describes a "transformative moment" in his life when he asked Pramukh Swami, the guru of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sampradaya, how India might realize this five-pronged

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vision of development.  Pramukh Swami's answer—to add a sixth area developing faith in God and spirituality to overcome the current climate of crime and corruption—became the spiritual vision for the next 15 years Kalam's life, which he describes in his final book, Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji, published just a month before his death.

It was reported that there was considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him.

Kalam took an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology, including a research programme for developing biomedical implants. He also supported open source technology over proprietary software, predicting that the use of free software on a large scale would bring the benefits of information technology to more people.

Kalam set a target of interacting with 100,000 students during the two years after his resignation from the post of scientific adviser in 1999. He explained, "I feel comfortable in the company of young people, particularly high school students. Henceforth, I intend to share with them experiences, helping them to ignite their imagination and preparing them to work for a developed India for which the road map is already available."

Awards and honours

Kalam received honorary doctorates from 40 universities. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government. In 1997, Kalam received India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology in India. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Von Braun Award from the National Space Society “to recognize excellence in the management and leadership of a space-related project”.

Following his death, Kalam received numerous tributes. The Tamil Nadu state government announced that his birthday, 15 October, would be observed across the state as "Youth Renaissance Day;" the state government further instituted the "Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award," constituting an 8-gram gold medal, a certificate and ₹500,000 (US$7,700). The award will be awarded annually on Independence Day, beginning in 2015, to residents of the state with achievements in promoting scientific growth, the humanities or the welfare of students.

Year of award or honour

Name of award or honour Awarding organisation

2014 Doctor of Science Edinburgh University,UK2012 Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) Simon Fraser University2011 IEEE Honorary Membership IEEE2010 Doctor of Engineering University of Waterloo2009 Honorary Doctorate Oakland University2009 Hoover Medal ASME Foundation, USA

2009International von Kármán Wings Award

California Institute of Technology, USA

2008Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa)

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

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Year of award or honour

Name of award or honour Awarding organisation

2008 Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

2007Honorary Doctorate of Science and Technology

Carnegie Mellon University

2007 King Charles II Medal Royal Society, UK2007 Honorary Doctorate of Science University of Wolverhampton, UK2000 Ramanujan Award Alwars Research Centre, Chennai1998 Veer Savarkar Award Government of India

1997Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

Indian National Congress

1997 Bharat Ratna Government of India1994 Distinguished Fellow Institute of Directors (India)1990 Padma Vibhushan Government of India1981 Padma Bhushan Government of India

Famous Quotes

1. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”2. “Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips

are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.” 3. “All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the

Clouds.” 4. “Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.”5. “If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun.”6. "All of us do not have equal talent. But , all of us have an equal opportunity to

develop our talents.”7. " Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but

synthetic happiness."8. " Without your involvement you can't succeed. With your involvement you can't

fail. "9. “Dreams are not those which comes while we are sleeping, but dreams are those when

u don’t sleep before fulfilling them.”10. “Thinking is the capital, Enterprise is the way, and Hard Work is the solution.”11. “Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to

the top of your career.”12. “One best book is equal to hundred good friends but a good friend is equal to a

library.”

Source : WIKIPEDIA

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