Abdul Kalam

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A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

11th President of India

In office
July 25, 2002 July 25, 2007

Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

Preceded by K. R. Narayanan

Succeeded by Pratibha Patil

October 15, 1931 (age 77)[1]

Born
Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India

Political party Not affiliated

Spouse Single; Bachelor

Religion Islam
For, the freedom fighter, see Abul Kalam Azad.

Bharat Ratna Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil:

) born October 15, 1931, Tamil Nadu, India, usually referred to as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul
Kalam^, was the eleventh President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007.[2] During his term as The President, he
was popularly known as the People's President[3][4]. Before his term as India's president, he worked as an
engineer with DRDO and ISRO and was awarded India's highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna in 1997 for his
work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Indian government. He is popularly
known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket
technology[5]. In India he is highly respected as a Statist and as an Engineer.

Kalam played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the
first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974[6]. He is a professor at Anna University (Chennai) and
adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India. Although he is an
engineer he has received many honorary doctorate degrees.

With the death of R. Venkataraman on January 27, 2009, Kalam became the only surviving former President of
India.[7]

Contents
[hide]

1 Political views
2 Personal life
3 Kalam as an engineer
4 Honours
5 Books and Documentaries
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Political views

APJ Abdul Kalam's probable views on certain issues have been espoused by him in his book India 2020 where
he strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and into a developed nation
by the year 2020. Kalam is credited with the view that India ought to take a more assertive stance in
international relations; he regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place
as a future superpower.

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology as well.
He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open source software
over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will bring more
people the benefits of information technology.

Kalam's belief in the power of science to resolve society's problems and his views of these problems as a result
of inefficient distribution of resources is modernistic. He also sees science and technology as ideology-free
areas and emphasizes the cultivation of scientific temper and entrepreneurial drive. In this, he finds a lot of
support among India's new business leaders like the founders of Infosys and Wipro, (leading Indian IT
corporations) who began their careers as technology professionals much in the same way Kalam did.
His views on issues of peace and weapons are controversial. He is quoted as follows:

In the 3,000-year history of India, barring 600 years, the country has been ruled by others. If you need development, the
country should witness peace and peace is ensured by strength. Missiles were developed to strengthen the country.

[edit] Personal life

Kalam's father was a devout Muslim, who owned boats which he rented out to local fishermen and was a good
friend of Hindu religious leaders and the school teachers at Rameshwaram. APJ Abdul Kalam mentions in his
biography that to support his studies, he started his career as a newspaper vendor. This was also told in the
book, A Boy and His Dream: Three Stories from the Childhood of Abdul Kalam by Vinita Krishna. The house
Kalam was born in can still be found on the Mosque street in Rameshwaram, and his brother's curio shop abuts
it. This has become a point-of-call for tourists who seek out the place. Kalam grew up in an intimate
relationship with nature, and he says in Wings of Fire that he never could imagine that water could be so
powerful a destroying force as that he witnessed when he was thirty three. That was in 1964 when a cyclonic
storm swept away the Pamban bridge and a trainload of passengers with it and also Kalam's native village,
Dhanushkodi.

Kalam observes strict personal discipline, vegetarianism, teetotalism and celibacy. Kalam is a scholar of
Thirukkural; in most of his speeches, he quotes at least one kural. Kalam has written several inspirational
books, most notably his autobiography Wings of Fire, aimed at motivating Indian youth. Another of his books,
Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life reveals his spiritual side. He has written poems in Tamil as
well. It has been reported that there is considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books
authored by him. [8].

Dr. Kalam received an honorary doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University.

[edit] Kalam as an engineer

Abdul Kalam graduated from Madras Institute of Technology majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. As the
Project Director, He was heavily involved in the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), he
also played a major part in developing many missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. Although the entire
project has been criticized for being overrun and mismanaged.[9]. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to
Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December
1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period, led by him.

He is one of those scientists who aims at putting technology created by him to multiple use. He used the light
weight carbon-compound material designed for Agni to make callipers for the polio affected. This carbon
composite material reduced the weight of the calipers to 400 grams (from its original weight of 4kgs.) Nizam's
Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS, Hyderabad) was the birthplace for the defence technology spin offs from
Kalam's labs via the DRDL (Defence Research and Development Laboratory), DMRL (Defence Metallurgical
Research Lab) and the RCI (Research Centre Imarat). Addressing a conference at Athens, Greece, Kalam told
that "Seeing the children run with lighter callipers brought tears to the eyes of their parents. That was the real
moment of bliss for me".

[edit] Honours
He has received honorary doctorates from as many as thirty universities .[10] The Government of India has
honoured him with the nation's highest civilian honours: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; Padma Vibhushan in
1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Kalam is the Third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna before being elected to the
highest office, the other two being Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain. He is also the first scientist and
first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Referred to as the "People's President", Kalam is often considered amongst India's greatest presidents, going on
to win a poll conducted by news channel CNN-IBN for India's Best President. Dr. Abdul Kalam is not only
popular in India, but he is widely known in adjacent country such as Pakistan.

Kalam has also patronised grassroots innovations. He is closely associated with the Honey Bee Network and
The National innovation Foundation. The NIF is a body of Government of India and operates from Ahmadabad,
Gujrat.

Honey Bee Network promotes, recognises, and develops businesses around the genius of grassroots innovators.
The network has a database of over 70,000 Innovations and traditional knowledge best practices.

Profile

25/Jul/2007 : -
 Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical
Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first
indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and
made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO's launch vehicle programme, particularly
the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the
responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief Executive of
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI
and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was
the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December
1999. During this period he led to the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with
Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by
progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft.

As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country
with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present developing
status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, in the rank of
Cabinet Minister, from November 1999 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many
development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C)

and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020.

Dr. Kalam took up academic pursuit as Professor, Technology & Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November
2001 and was involved in teaching and research tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national
development by meeting high school students across the country.

In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and
"Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad.
These books have been translated in many Indian languages.

Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30
universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990)
and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional
institutions.

Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

Address and Interaction with the Students during the inauguration of Computer Lab of
Koddepalli Z P High School
20/Mar/2009 : K.Oddepalli Zila Panchayat

Knowledge makes you Great

Small aim is a crime

I am indeed delighted to be here at Koddepalli Zilla Parishad High School. My greetings to all of you. When I am in the midst of
the Students of Koddepalli Zilla Parishad High School, I would like to talk on the topic Knowledge makes you Great.

Knowledge

Knowledge has three components: creativity + righteousness + courage. The combination of these characteristics can generate
enlightened citizens.

Creativity
Learning gives creativity
Creativity leads to thinking
Thinking provides knowledge
Knowledge makes you great
The next component of knowledge is righteousness. Righteousness is described in a divine hymn.

Righteousness
Where there is righteousness in the heart
There is beauty in the character.
When there is beauty in the character,
there is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home.
There is an order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
There is peace in the world.

Friends, when you are growing as a young person, in student life you have to acquire a unique trait of righteousness in the heart. The
student life is very important. With righteous in the heart you will develop and evolve beauty in the character. The beauty in the
character in a young person brings harmony in the home to the joy of the parents. Harmony in the home propagates to the society
and the nation. Order in the nation leads to peace in the world. Righteousness in the heart of the youth of the nation finally leads to

peace in the world.

The third component is courage, which is defined as follows:

COURAGE
Courage to think different,
Courage to invent,
Courage to travel into an unexplored path,
Courage to discover the impossible,
Courage to combat the problems
And Succeed, Are the unique qualities of the youth.
As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all the missions.

Where from you will acquire the knowledge upto the age of seventeen? Yes you can certainly acquire from home, good books, teachers

and teaching environment and coming into contact with good human beings.

Hence friends, now you realize, knowledge is equal to the equation: Knowledge = creativity + righteousness+ Courage. Now the

teachers and educators may like to see how the real knowledge can be imparted to the students.

Conclusion

I would like the youth take an oath with me.

Oath for the Youth

1 I will have a goal and work hard to achieve that goal. I realize that small aim is a crime.
2 I will work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
3 I will be a good citizen of the country, a good member of my family, a good member of the society, a good member of the nation
and a good member of the world.
4 I will always try to save or better someone's life, without any discrimination of caste, creed, language religion or state. Wherever
I am, a thought will always come to my mind. That is What can I give?
5 I will always protect and enhance the dignity of every human life without any bias.
6 I will always remember that Let not my winged days, be spent in vain.
7 I will always work for clean planet Earth and clean energy.
8 As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my tasks and enjoy the success of others.

9 My National Flag flies in my heart and I will bring glory to my nation.

 With these words, I inaugurate the computer laboratory of Koddepalli Zilla Parishad High School. My best wishes to all the members of
the school success in their educational mission.

May God bless you.

APJ Abdul Kalam,

20.03.2009

Where are we?

Where are we?

Where are we now, dear friends,

In the Maha Sabha that shapes as history,
The call of heart beats of Indian people,
People ask us, people ask us;
?Oh! Parliamentarians, the sculptors of Mother India,
Lead us unto light, enrich our lives.
Your righteous toil, is our guiding light,
If you work hard, we all can prosper.?
Like King, so the people,
Nurture great thoughts, rise up in actions,
May righteous methods be your guide;
May you all prosper ever with Almighty?s grace.

A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

A Message from Mother Earth

1. Beautiful Environment leads

To beautiful minds
Beautiful minds generate,
Freshness and creativity

2. Created explorers of land and sea

Created minds that innovate
Created great scientific minds
Created everywhere, why?

3. Gave birth to many discoveries

Discovered a continent and unknown lands
Ventured into unexplored paths
Created new highways

4. In the minds of the best

Worst was also born
Generated seeds of battle and hatred
Hundreds of years of wars and blood;

5. Millions of my wonderful children

Lost in the land and sea
Tears flooded many nations
Many engulfed in ocean of sadness

6. Then, then came, the vision of European Union,

Took the oath,
"Never to turn human knowledge,
Against ourselves or others".

7. United in their thinking,

Actions emanated,
To make Europe prosperous and peaceful,
Born, the European Union.

8. That "Glad Tidings", captivated,

The people of the planet of my galaxy.
OH! European Union, let your missions,
Spread everywhere, like the air we breathe.

Dr. A.PJ. AbdulKalam

24 APR 2007
 Teaching is a life time mission

25/Jul/2007 : -

To enable development of youth first and foremost, the teachers love for teaching is essential, with teaching as the soul of the
teacher. The teacher must realize that they are responsible for shaping not just students but ignited youth who are the most powerful
resource under the earth, on the earth and above the earth. With their full commitment to the great mission of teaching, the teacher
transforms himself or herself as a great teacher only when he or she is capable of elevating the average student to high performance.
The teacher conducting himself or herself in a noble way itself is a lifetime message for students. They should encourage the students
and children to ask questions and develop the spirit of enquiry, so that they blossom into creative enlightened citizens. They should
treat all the students equally and should not support any differentiation on account of religion, community or language and
continuously upgrade the capacities in teaching so that they can impart quality education to the students. They should realize by being
a teacher, they are making an important contribution to the efforts of national development. The teachers must constantly endeavour
to fill their mind, with great thoughts and spread the nobility in thinking and action among the students. Teacher should celebrate the

success of the students.

Value to Science

26/Aug/2007 : -

I thought of sharing with you an incident about Sir CV Raman a Nobel Laureate in Physics for discovering Raman Effect. Raman gives
the view that the color of sky is blue due to molecular diffraction, which determines the observed luminosity, and in great measures
also its color. This led to the birth of the Raman Effect. Raman was in the first batch of Bharat Ratna Award winners. The award
ceremony was to take place in the last week of January, soon after the Republic Day celebrations of 1954. The then President Dr.
Rajendra Prasad wrote to Raman inviting him to be the personal guest in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, when Raman came to Delhi for the
award ceremony. Sir CV Raman wrote a polite letter, regretting his inability to go. Raman had a noble reason for his inability to attend
the investiture ceremony. He explained to the President that he was guiding a Ph.D. student and that thesis was positively due by the
last day of January. The student was valiantly trying to wrap it all up and Raman felt, he had to be by the side of the research student,
see that the thesis was finished, sign the thesis as the guide and then have it submitted.

Here was a scientist who gave up the pomp of a glittering ceremony associated with the highest honour, because he felt that his duty

required him to be by the side of the student. It is this unique trait of giving value to science that builds science.
www.abdulkalam.com

Science as a Life time mission

26/Aug/2007 : -

Chandrasekhar Subramanyans most famous discovery was the

astrophysical Chandrasekhar limit. The limit describes the maximum
mass (~1.44 solar masses) of a white dwarf star, or equivalently, the
minimum mass for which a star will ultimately collapse into a neutron
star or black hole following a supernova. The limit was first calculated by
Chandrasekhar while on a ship from India to Cambridge, England. The
Chandrasekhar Limit led to the determination of how long a star of
particular mass will shine. In 1983, Chandrasekhar Subramanyan got the
Nobel Price for this discovery.

Two of Chandrasekhar's students in 1947 were the doctoral candidates

Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang in Particle Physics research. Even
though Chandrasekhar Subramanyan maintained his office at the Yerkes
Observatory in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, he would regularly drive the one
hundred miles to Chicago to guide and teach Lee and Yang and others
many a times in difficult weather conditions. In 1957, these two of his
students won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in particle physics
research. This also brings out Chandrasekhar Subramanyans
commitment to science and there by to his students. Science indeed is a
life time mission for Chandrasekhar. It is this characteristic which makes

youth to become passionate towards science.

www.abdulkalam.com

Converting challenges into opportunities

26/Aug/2007 : -
Prof. Paul Crutzen (Chemistry, 1995) got Nobel Price for chemistry for demonstrating that the chemical compounds of Nitrogen Oxide
accelerate the destruction of Stratospheric Ozone, which protects the Earth from the Suns ultraviolet radiation. From the young age,
Paul Crutzen was challenged by war, family conditions, and his atmospheric research interest was shining despite different types of
work environment. He is indeed an example of how a strong mind can defeat the problem and succeed.

In his younger days itself, Paul Crutzen was fond of Physics and Mathematics and also he was a good chess player. For many years,
Crutzen longed for an academic career and accidentally joined Meteorology Department of Stockholm University as a programmer.
There he programmed a model of tropical cyclone. Also, he attended some of the lecture courses and fulfilled the requirement of
Master of Science degree taking the combination of Mathematics, Mathematical Statistics and Meteorology. Time constraints did not
permit him to pursue Physics or Chemistry which needed large amount laboratory work. With this background, he took up Ph.D. thesis
on a meteorological topic using his experience in the development of numerical model of a tropical cyclone. Simultaneously, he was
given a task of helping a scientist from US to develop a numerical model of the oxygen allotrope distribution in the stratosphere,
mesosphere and thermosphere. He got interested in this project leading to the study of photochemistry of atmospheric ocean and
started an intensive study of the scientific literature which provided him the initial conditions for his scientific career. With this
experience, he also changed the research topic to stratospheric chemistry.

It is extraordinary that even though his earlier circumstances did not permit him to take up the pure science studies, his inherent
passion enabled him to achieve at the highest level on the pure science related to atmospheric science. Here is a scientist who

coverted all the challenges into opportunities in pursuit of his life time mission.
www.abdulkalam.com

Innovation and Indias Role in the Knowledge Economy

25/Jun/2008 : -

Dear friends, let me share with you Innovation ecosystem to empower Indian innovations. I will discuss about few instances of

Indian innovations.

Innovation in IT: We all know about the recent rise of Indias IT sector. Today the IT sector employs more than 2 million persons
and contributes roughly 25% of Indias exports. The IT sector also contributes around 4% to Indias GDP. When you consider that the
IT sector employs just 0.2% of the population, you can see that the IT sector is contributing many times its share to the Indian
economy. Indeed it is not wrong to say that the IT sector, perhaps single-handedly, changed the worlds perception about India. IT is

not the only area where India is innovative.

Innovation in Consumer items: The sachet of shampoo that costs just Rs. 2, or about five cents! Imagine producing something for
five cents that includes not just the aluminum for the sachet, but also its contents, not to mention the cost of distribution. Yet these

sachets can be found everywhere in India.

Innovation in Cell phone Business model: Today villagers are all speaking on cell phone. India has the cheapest telephone rates in
the world, for both land lines as well as cell phones. India also has the fastest growing telecom market in the world, adding roughly
eight million cell phones every month! This amazing growth has been made possible because the Indian cell phone service providers
have a number of innovative business models, such as free incoming calls, prepaid calling cards, etc. We should remember that

innovation in business models is also innovation!

Innovation in healthcare: Next innovation let me focus on the Jaipur foot, which was originally made for about $ 28, by itself a
very low price. But the DRDO applied its technical competence to the problem, and designed a still lighter and more durable foot called
FRO using carbon-composite material. The Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad also developed a very low-cost stent
that brought down the price of stents by more than 90% to the Indian consumers. Similarly, the cost of a heart bypass surgery in

India is just about $ 3 5K, compared to more than $ 50K abroad.

Innovation in Election system: Indias democratic society also benefits from Indian innovation. We see here an Electronic Voting
Machine used in our elections. Foreigners are often surprised to find out that in Indian elections, 100% of the voting is through EVMs.
In recent times doubts have been raised about the reliability of the software used in electronic voting machines in some other
countries. Our EVMs are based on push button technology (rather than touch screen technology) which makes them absolutely
tamper-proof. Moreover, it is also possible to have a recount in the case of close contests, without any difficulty. In some regions,
Election Commission carrying EVMs on elephant back particularly in Northeastern area is by itself an innovation in transportation.
Innovation in Nuclear Science: On 11 May 2008, I was with the members of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) on the
occasion of the National Technology Day celebrations-2008 and distributed the DAE Awards-2006. I have seen 400 scientists who have
shown excellent performance in Science, Engineering and Technology in Department of Atomic Energy. Their innovations in the nuclear

science and technology will have tremendous potential; I would like to particularly mention a few, such as

a. Carbide fuel processing in the nuclear Fast reactors at IGCAR, DAE;

b. reduced use of uranium to attain the same level of performance in power generation by DAE;
c. Indigenous design and development of an unique variable low energy positron beam system to enable depth-resolved defect studies
at surfaces and interfaces of materials;
d. BHABHA-TRON the first indigenous tele-cobalt machine;
e. design and development of optically pumped infrared molecular gas lasers producing output at 16 micron for molecular uranium

isotope separation are some the innovative research which I have witnessed.

Innovation in other Science and Technology departments: Dear friends, our scientists in multiple scientific departments have
worked for self-reliance and have succeeded. Some of the innovative examples such as
a. Making the cryogenic engine; Successful launch of 10 satellites in one go and Successful Satellite Recovery Experiment by ISRO;
b. Anti Ballistic Missile System and Indigenous Ring Laser Gyro based INS with high impact accuracy in Agni-III by DRDO
c. Flight control system for LCA by ADA
Are some of the innovative achievements which stand today as witness to Indian innovations in science and technology.

Innovation in Rural transformation through Jatropha : Let me now focus at the innovation in rural transformation through
Jatropha. Rani-dhera a tribal village in Chhattisgarh state which was steeped in darkness after sun set has been lighted with Jatropha
oil drawn straight from the seeds. The villages are paying rupees 20 per light per month. This innovation has been promoted by
Department of New and Renewable energy sources in partnership with an NGO. Rani-Dhera is bubbling with activities and per capita
income of the village has gone up due to the availability of power and light.

One of the unique studies carried out by CSIR through the collaborative effort of over 150 scientists has lead to innovation in Genetic

mapping of Indian Population.

Innovation in Genetic Mapping of Indian Population: Indian Statistical institute, Kolkata and anthropologists from various
institutes of India, and the Centre for Genomic Applications, Delhi, has generated genetic information on over 4000 genetic markers
from over 1000 bio-medically important and Pharmaco-genetically relevant genes in reference populations encompassing diversity of
populations from across the country. This study has resulted in clear genetic profile of our populations, explicitly indicating that there is
a strong association between genetic and linguistic profiles in India and that there are significant genetic differences in the frequencies
of disease-associated genetic markers. For example, this study has revealed that a known protective genetic marker against HIV-1 is

virtually absent in India, implying the absence of natural or genetic protection against HIV-AIDS in our country.

Similarly friends, the industry and service sectors have shown marked growth and our economy is in the ascent phase right from 2003.
All this clearly shows that the countrys landmark decision to become a nuclear weapon state has given strength to the nation. The
confidence in the country has increased the spirit that We can do it. India has always risen to the occasion when we are constrained,
the technological sanction after 1998 has not deterred our progress but has strengthened the minds of every Indian to become self-
reliant in critical technologies. We should understand our own strength first in the scientific and technological achievements that we
have made so far and give confidence and encouragement to the scientists who are working towards making the nation proud.

So can we ask: What drives innovation in India? India has a unique blend of ingredients. We have a shortage of capital, so we have to
be very innovative to stretch our limited capital. By and large, the general perception is that the government agencies are not able to
deliver citizen services effectively, at any level, be it national, state, or regional. But fortunately, we have had democracy, so that
individual citizens have been free to evolve local solutions for local problems. Until now our local innovations have not been able to
spread outside India excepting in certain sectors such as pharmaceutical, Banking, IT Enabled Services, Software and Automobiles and
recently the nano car. Now is the time, for all of us to work together to make Indian innovation to become globalized and have a world
wide impact.
www.abdulkalam.com

Nothing is impossible

06/sep/2007 : -

Human flight is nothing but creativity of human mind and it undergoes several struggles to achieve excellence. In 1895, a great well-
known scientist Lord Kelvin, who was the President of Royal Society of London said, "any thing heavier than air cannot fly, and cannot
be flown." Within a decade, Wright Brothers proved man could fly of course at heavy risk and cost.

On the successful completion of Moon Mission in 1969, Von Braun, a very famous rocket designer, who built Saturn-V, to launch the
capsule with astronauts and made moon walk a reality, in 1975 said "If I am authorized, I will remove the word impossible".

In ancient days, Ptolemaic astronomy is a widely used system in calculating the dynamics of various stars and planets. Assumption by
then was that the earth is flat. What a scientific struggle had to take place to prove that the earth is spherical in shape orbiting around
the sun. The three great astronomers Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had to give a new dimension to the world of astronomy. Today
we take it for granted that earth is a globe, orbiting around the sun, and the sun orbits in the Milky Way. All the technological
advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier centuries. At no time, man was beaten by
problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds.

According to the laws of aerodynamics the bumble bee should never be able to fly. Because of the size, weight, and shape of its body
in relationship to the total wing span, flying is scientifically impossible. The bumble bee, being ignorant of scientific theory, goes ahead

and flies anyway.

www.abdulkalam.com

Power of the Youth

24/Jul/2007 : New Delhi

I was touched by the variety of Indian panorama, emotional content of the tune, cultural diversity and unity of minds in the vast land
of ours. I have cited these examples just to give a glimpse of the richness of our tradition and effort being taken by different agencies
to preserve it. There are also many new adventures by institutions and individuals. I have experienced many of them and learnt a lot
about my country and our people. Even while pursuing our economic growth, we need to do a lot to preserve the rich and diverse
treasures of our culture and civilization. It is our duty for our future generations. This has to be done in a much larger scale through
countrywide participation of multiple institutions.

Our country is blessed with natural resources, has shown considerable progress in the last sixty years, and above all we have hard
working people particularly the power of the 540 million youth of the country. Every sector of our country has given me the confidence
that India can become a developed nation well before 2020. Whomsoever, I met they constantly ask what they can give to the nation.
We should constantly strive to empower such members of the society. With this spirit, I am extremely happy that we are on the right
path. Here I am reminded of a famous poem:

"When you wish upon a star,

Makes no difference who you are,
Anything your heart desires,
Will come to you?

This poem is true to all of us, and particularly for our youth and if they aim great, I am sure they will reach close to the target or the

target.
www.abdulkalam.com

Defeat the problems and succeed

24/Jul/2007 : New Delhi

On the evening of February 24, 2007, at Coimbatore, I had a very beautiful experience. As I got ready for meeting the first person out
of twenty appointments, a wheel chair was in sight with a smiling person probably in his late fifties; unfortunately he has no hands and
legs. His radiant face was revealing his happy state of mind. He introduced himself as Vidwan Coimbatore SR Krishna Murthy. I
greeted him and asked him how this had happened. He smilingly said that it was from by birth. He thanked God, his parents, teachers
and many others for giving him confidence, training and help.
I asked him, what I could do for him? He said, I don't need anything from you. I would like to sing in front of you?. I readily agreed.
He sang melodiously the Saint Thyagraja's Pancha ratna kriti entharo mahanubavulu in Sriragam giving me a glimpse of his talent. I
was quite touched. What is the message? Despite being physically challenged, the latent talent of music could blossom in this person
with his positive attitude and perseverance, encouraged by the parents, teachers, academics and rasikas. Now he wants to give, give
and give his art to inspire others. Of course, by his merit of music, in July 2007, he performed in the Rashtrapati Bhavan art theatre.

Political System Towards Developed India

06/Aug/2007 : -

The youth should take up politics as their career in large numbers. Political Science should form part of the
curriculum from secondary to college level for all students with development politics as the focus. Citizens
should proactively cast their votes to select candidates of known performance with honesty as the focus. Legal
personalities, experts and professionals should educate citizens about the political process, constitution,
procedures and their rights and responsibilities.

Similarly there are many more important tasks like making education accessible to every citizen, uplifting
citizens below the poverty level through a focused mission and accelerating agriculture reforms. In the same
way, there can be a movement in the judiciary for time bound clearance of pending cases in District Courts and
High Courts within the next 3 years. The Judiciary and Bar should ensure that the common citizen gets speedy
justice with nobility. While citizens demand that our Police Force has to be transparent and action oriented, it is
also essential that police stations are electronically connected and simultaneously they should be empowered
with better quality of life, like proper housing, sanitary facilities, medical cover and childrens education. This will
enable them to concentrate in their work with peace of mind and thereby output from the police would increase.
Above all our women folk constitute fifty percent of our population. Their dignity should be protected and they
should get proper representation in all decision making institutions like Panchayat systems. Our Panchayat
Boards really represent the village citizens and they should ensure that all development funds allotted for rural
development in their area are properly utilised for the intended purpose without dilution. Dear friends, there are
many more areas in which citizens can participate towards the national development movement. Now let me

focus on national security.