The People’s President of India, a great visionary, scientist, writer and teacher Dr. APJ Abdul

Kalam left for heavenly abode on 27th July 2015, leaving a void among millions of people.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam collapsed in the middle of a lecture addressing the students of the

Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. At the age of 83, he passed away after a massive

cardiac arrest doing what he loved the most – talking to students. He will continue to inspire

and influence the hearts of generations to come.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (APJ) Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 into a Tamil

speaking Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. His father Jainulabdeen owned a boat

that used to ferry Hindu pilgrims between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi and he was also

the imam of a local mosque, his mother Ashiamma was a housewife. Life was hard and

challenging for the family of five children with no fortune left behind except for the ancestral

home. APJ Abdul Kalam distributed newspapers to support his family and his education. He

graduated with physics from the Madras University, went on to study aerospace engineering

from Madras Institute of Technology, wanted to be a fighter pilot but became the Missile

Man of India.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam spent 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. His work on the development of ballistic

missile and launch vehicle technology gave him the name “Missile man of India”. 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.

For one of the most celebrated scientist of this century, hard work and determination was the

key to success. He said have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the

unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and

succeed. These are great qualities that one must work towards.

He was honoured with the ‘Padma Bhushan’, ‘Padma Vibhusan’, and the ‘Bharat Ratna’, the

highest civilian award of Indian apart from the numerous awards and honorary doctorates

from over 30 universities.

There was no stopping him, from achieving the laurel of the world renowned scientist to the

11th President of India; he was a man of humility.

Dr. Kalam came into power as the President of India in 2002, a role probably he is most

remembered for - a president who bought Rashtrapati Bhavan to people earning him the

tribute of the People’s President.

Abdul Kalam once said that signing the Office of Profit Bill was the toughest decision he had

taken during his tenure. There were other controversial decisions like his response to the 21

mercy petitions from death row convicts of which he had signed only one and the imposition

of President’s Rule in Bihar in 2005.

He was always eager to utilise any opportunity he had during his five years in office to

address the youth and students, and made himself far more reachable to the people than any

other president has.

A practising Muslim Kalam believed that respect for other faiths was one of the key

cornerstones of Islam, he said: “For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small

people make religion a fighting tool.” Kalam was convinced that the answers to India’s

infinite issues lay in dialogue and cooperation among the country’s religious, social and

political leaders from the early exposure and impression his father laid upon him about the

value of interfaith respect and dialogue.

Dr. Kalam would always be remembered for his engagement with people especially the youth

even after his presidency and his penned works both non-fiction and biographical will be an

inspiration for all Indian. His non-fiction was primarily composed of manifestos for India in

the wake of her future.

Abdul Kalam’s dream of developed India by 2020 as he had written in the book, India 2020:

A Vision for the New Millennium is in the hands of each and every Indian. He strongly

advocated the importance of knowledge in the way of discovery and success and called every

Indian to join hands and make India a developed nation by 2020.

The Former President’s autobiography, Wings of Fire, inspires to unlock the inner potential

of every person. He describes his own journey and how he kept the fire alive within himself:

“Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep”.

Some of his other inspiring books include: Igniting minds, The Luminous Sparks, Mission

India and Inspiring Thoughts, My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions, Turning

Points.

Dr. Abdul Kalam was a visionary dreamer. He believed that great ideas can change the world

if and only if our attitudes change. He left behind inspirational words for the young minds to

transform the nation into a better place.

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to

give the best to those who dream and work.”