Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam being sworn-in as the 11th President of India by the then Chief Justice of India B N
Kirpal at the central hall of Parliament in New Delhi. (Source: PTI file photo)
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam presents the outstanding parliamentarian award for the year 2000 to the member
of parliament Arjun Singh as the then speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee looks on during a
function to confer the awards for the year 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 in the parliament house in New
Delhi.
Young Abdul Kalam With Vikram Sarabhai
Time line of important events in Kalam’s Life
1931 – Born in Rameshwaram
1950-56 - Finished Schooling, Graduation in Physics and Post graduation
in Aeronautical Engineering
1960 – Joined DRDO as chief Scientist
1969 – Transferred to ISRO
1970’s-1990’s – Involved in polar SLV and SLV III projects
1995 -1998 - Involved in Nuclear Test (Pokhran)
2002- 2007 served as 11th President of India
2007 – present – Serving youth of India in various ways
SLV - III Review meeting, Sathish Dhawan present
Receiving Padma Bhushan Award from Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
Receiving Bharatha Ratna
Walking as President of India
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born to Jainulabdeen, a boat owner and Imam,
and Ashiamma, a housewife. Kalam had four brothers and a sister, all elder to him.
Although Kalam’s ancestors had been wealthy traders, the family had descended into
difficult times and Kalam used to sell newspapers as a child to add-on to his family’s modest
income.
Kalam studied at a school in Ramanathapuram and acquired a degree in Physics from Saint
Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli. In 1955, he went to the Madras Institute of Technology to
pursue aerospace engineering. His dream of becoming a fighter pilot was thwarted when he
missed the qualifier by a narrow margin. He was ranked ninth but only 8 positions were
available with the IAF.
After that, he got a job as a scientist at the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He also worked under eminent
scientist Vikram Sarabhai.
Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969. At ISRO,
he was the Project Director of the satellite launch vehicle (SLV) that successfully deployed
the satellite Rohini into orbit in 1980. It was India’s first SLV.
Kalam also worked to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
He was also the director of two projects, Project Valiant and Project Devil for developing
ballistic missiles from the SLV technology. His research and leadership led him to the
directorship of an advanced missile development programme.
When R Venkataraman was the Defence Minister, Kalam was appointed the chief executive
of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that was a project aimed at
developing a fleet of missiles.
He was known as the ‘Missile Man of India’ for his work in the development of ballistic
missile technology.
From 1992 to 1999, Kalam was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the
Secretary of the DRDO. Kalam was the Chief Project Coordinator during the Pokhran II tests.
During this time, Kalam became India’s best-known scientist.
In 2002, Abdul Kalam was elected the 11th President of India. He had won by a huge margin.
He was the first scientist to become India’s President and incidentally the first bachelor too.
Kalam’s term as the president which lasted the full term till 2007 was beneficial for the office
of the president itself. He came to be called the People’s President. His popularity soared
among the people, especially school children. He visited many parts of the country and his
speeches became popular for their motivational content.
Despite pressure from the people to have him stand for a second term, he decided not to
contest.
After the presidency, Kalam became a visiting professor at the IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Shillong,
IIM Indore, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Anna University, etc.
Abdul Kalam died of a cardiac arrest while giving a lecture at the IIM Shillong on 27 July
2015. There was widespread grief expressed at his passing away with the government of
India declaring a 7-day state mourning. The governments of various other countries as well
as the United Nations expressed their grief.
He was laid to rest with full state honours at his native Rameswaram.
Abdul Kalam was a man of integrity who was known for his honesty. He left no personal
wealth after his death barring a few personal possessions which included his books, laptop,
etc.
He was knowledgeable in the teachings of various religions and had become a symbol of
inter-faith dialogue.
