Dr. APJ abdul Kalam’s full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. He was born in a Tamil Muslim family on 15th October 1931. His birthplace was Rameshwaram in Ramnad district of Madras presidency under British India. This place is presently in Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu.
He was a mediocre student at school and he had average grades, though he used to be highly appreciated for his will to study. He completed his school education from Schwartz higher secondary school at Ramanathapuram. After that he studied his Bsc Degree education from Saint Joseph College in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. He had his major in Physics. He finally graduated from college in the year 1954. Then he moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering in Madras Institute of Technology.
Though as a child he had a dream of becoming a fighter pilot, he missed his chance very narrowly. But it didn’t break him down . His contributions are immense. He was responsible for the development of India’s first satellite launch vehicle, the SLV- 3, development and operation of strategic missiles and building indigenous capability in critical technologies. He was appointed as the chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment council (TIFAC). He guided a number of Technology projects and missions to take India into the 21st century.
APJ Abdul Kalam was elected as the 11th president of India in 2002 and stayed in his position for 5 years. Widely referred to as the people’s President, he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. Abdul Kalam held various positions under ISRO and DRDO and became Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government Of India holding the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
He has received honorary doctorates from 30 universities and the country’s three highest civilian honours – Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997).
This great personality had his last breath while giving a lecture at IIM, Meghalaya on 27th July 2015. He had a sudden cardiac arrest and he died on the spot. Whole country was in shock and mourned the death of him. He maynot be present physically but his works will always be remembered. And all we can do is to contribute our part as a new generation kid in making India a developed country. This is what he expressed in his book” India 2020- A vision for the New Millennium”.
