Dr.

A P J Abdul Kalam
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Biography
 Biography

The Missile Man of India: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Great personalities are not born every day; they are born once in a century
and are remembered for millennials to come. One such great personality
that we will always be proud of is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. His full name was
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, born in Rameswaram of Madras
Presidency on 15th October 1931 and died on July 27, 2015, Shillong. He was
an Indian Scientist and also a politician leader, who later became the 11th
President of India. He played an important role in the development of India’s
missile and nuclear weapons program.

It is an absolute honor for us to learn about his great leader in the form of
his biography. Without much ado, let us start.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - About His Family and Struggle

Life
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was born to a poor Tamil Muslim family. He lived with
his family in the temple city of Tamilnadu, Rameswaram, where his father,
Jainulabdeen, had a boat and was an imam of a local mosque. At the same
time, his mother, Ashiamma, was a housewife. Kalam had four brothers and
one sister in his family, from which he was the youngest. Kalam's ancestors
were wealthy traders and landowners and had vast land and property tracts.
But with time, their business of ferrying pilgrims and trading groceries
suffered huge losses due to the Pamban Bridge's opening. As a result,
Kalam's family had become inadequate and struggled hard to make a living.
At a tender age, Kalam had to sell newspapers to supplement his family
income.
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - Educational Background of
Kalam
Although Kalam had average grades in school, he was very hard working and
had an immense desire to learn. He spent a lot of time studying and had
developed a particular interest in mathematics. Kalam left Schwartz higher
secondary school after completing his early education and went to Saint
Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. From Saint Joseph's College, he graduated
in physics in 1954. He moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace
engineering at Madras Institute of Technology.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - Kalam as a Scientist

Kalam joined as a scientist in the aeronautical development establishment of
DRDO in 1960, after graduation. His career started with him designing a
small hovercraft. However, he was not convinced by his choice of a job at the
DRDO. Kalam was transferred to ISRO in 1969, where he was the project
director of India's first satellite vehicle launch. The satellite vehicle deployed
the Rohini satellite successfully in near-Earth orbit in July 1980. Kalam
received the Government's LV and Slv projects between the 1970s-90s. He
directed two projects like Project Devil and Project Valiant, which aimed at
developing ballistic missiles from the successful SLV program's technology
Kalam somehow convinced Indira Gandhi and sought secret funds for these
aerospace projects. His research and immense knowledge brought him and
the nation great laurels in the 1980s.

Kalam then went on to become the scientific advisor of the defence minister
in 1992 and served at the same post for five years before getting promoted
to the post of principal scientific advisor to the government. His immense
role in the country's 1998 nuclear weapons tests solidified India as a nuclear
power. Kamal had now become a national hero, to be remembered for ages
to come. However, the tests he conducted caused a huge uproar in the
international community. Kamal put forward a nationwide plan called
Technology Vision 2020, which according to him, was a fantastic way for
transforming the stature of India in 20 years, taking it from a developing to a
developed nation. The plan envisioned the progress of the nation by
adopting advanced technology, expanding healthcare facilities, and
emphasizing the education of the masses.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography -Kalam as the 11th President of

India
Sir Kalam was entitled to be the 11th president of India. His term period of
25th July 2002 to 25th July 2007 was achieved by winning a presidential
election in 2002 with a massive margin of votes. National Democratic
Alliances’ nominated him to be president and it was supported by Samajwadi
Party and National Congress Party. He was lovingly called as peoples’
president as he had done uncountable works for the welfare of the people
and through the entire country.

He was brave and courageous enough to take decisions and implement them
no matter if that was tough or sensitive or highly controversial. The “office of
profit” is perhaps the hard Act that he had to sign. The “office of profit”,
according to the English Act of Settlement in 1701 explains that no single
individual who has a professional set up under the royal family, who has
some kind of provision with or who is taking a pension from the prince has
the right to work for the of the “House of Commons”. This will allow the
royal family to have zero influence on the administrative conditions.

He had also become one of the most talked-about presidents Rule in 2005
for imposing the Presidents’ rule in Bihar. Kalam expressed his wish to take
up the position one more time but then later changed his mind.

After taking farewell from the office, he shifted and commenced his career as
a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong. He
served as an Aerospace Engineering professor at Anna University, Tamil
Nadu. He also lit up educational institutions like the Indian Institute of
Indore, Indian Institute of Bangalore with his presence and knowledge. Sir
Kalam served as chancellor Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology,
Thiruvananthapuram.

In 2012, he introduced a program called “What Can I Give?” focusing on the

theme of eradicating corruption from the country,

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - The Demise of Abdul Kalam

Abdul Kalam was a mortal human being just like us, but for his contribution
to the country he remained immortal in the hearts of people. Dr. APJ Abdul
Kalam was one such personality who died at 83. It was shocking news for the
entire country as a pure soul left us forever. Abdul Kalam while delivering a
speech for the youth in an event at IIM Shillong. During the middle of the
speech, he suffered from a cardiac arrest and collapsed. Although he got
admitted to the best hospital in Shillong, the doctors could not save him.

Then his body was airlifted to Gugati, and from there, it was taken to New
Delhi in an Airforce plane. Their President, vice president, and some other
leaders prayed for his soul. His body was then covered in the Indian National
flag and brought to his hometown. About 35000 people attended his funeral
event and prayed for such a great soul.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - Writings of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr. Abdul Kalam was a person who was not only a great political leader but
also a good teacher and a writer. He had many delicate qualities and
visionaries. He always had an excellent dream for the country's development
and realized that the youth can bring revolution. During his university career,
he inspired many of the students through his inspirational speech and
tremendous visionaries. Apart from this, Dr. Kalam was a great writer. He has
written several books, which are mainly meant for the nation's
empowerment. His creation of India 2020 was like a gift for us, and he had all
the strategies to make India a Superpower. In this book, he had primarily
focused on some factors like food and development in the Agriculture sector,
improved health care facilities, advanced information and communication
system, good infrastructure, sufficiency in electricity production, Self-reliance
in some advanced technologies.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - Achievements of Abdul Kalam

Abdul Kalam was a person of a golden heart who has received ample awards
and achieved many things during his life journey. In 1981 Abdul Kalam
received the prestigious Padma Bhushan award. In 1990 he received the
Padma Bhushan award. The renowned personality, because of his
tremendous effort towards the nation, received the Bharat Ratna in 1997. In
the same year, he was awarded the Indira Gandhi Award for National
Integration. The government of India awarded Kalam with the Veer Savarkar
award in 1998. Because of his contribution to arts, science, and technology,
he received the SASTRA Ramanujan prize in 2000. Finally, in the year 2013,
the eminent personality was bestowed with the Von Braun Award by the
National Space Society.

Abdul Kalam’s Profession

APJ Abdul Kalam

This complex persona was a notable researcher displaying huge and
unending science and mechanical innovative work. It was he who made our
country atomic in its most genuine sense. It was in the year 1974, under the
oversight of Dr. Kalam, that India went through its most memorable atomic
test. Next came the Pokhran - II in the year 1988. It was through these atomic
tests Dr. Kalam showed the world India's situation and power in atomic
innovation.
Abdul kalam’s Grants and Accomplishments
His works granted him three great honours from the Govt. of India
specifically Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and the Bharat Ratna. In the
year 1997, Kalam was likewise granted the Indira Gandhi Award for National
Integration. He was granted the Veer Savarkar Award in the year 1980 and
the Ramanujan Award in the year 2000. From 40 colleges all over the world,
Kalam got privileged doctorates.

Kalam’s Works and Motivation

He was the writer of various motivational books like "India 2010", "Touched
off Minds", "Mission India", "The Luminous Sparks", "Wings of Fire", and
"Moving Thoughts".

His life, work, and convictions are loaded up with models and motivations.
He will keep on inspiring us for eternity. Furthermore, this is the genuine
justification for why individuals from every one of the segments of the
general public precipitously show love for this incredible person on his
miserable end at IIM Shillong on 27th July 2015.
May this Noble and faithful Soul find happiness in the hereafter!

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam's Biography - Some Interesting Facts

Let us now study some interesting facts about Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam:
1. His full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.
2. He was born in a Tamil Muslim Family.
3. Kalam was a vegeterian. In his words “I was forced to become a
vegetarian due to financial constraints, but I eventually came to enjoy
it.” Today, I am a complete vegetarian”
4. He was India’s ‘first bachelor President.
5. He was very popular among children.
6. Kalam’s autobiography ‘Wings of Fire was initially published in English
Language but then later published in 13 other languages.
Although the life of Abdul Kalam was filled with struggles and hardships, he
rose above the adversaries to become one of the greatest scientists of
modern India. His role in nation- building will be remembered till posterity.

Summary
Abdul Kalam was elected as the eleventh president of India in 2002 with the
assistance of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-competition
Indian National Congress. He is widely referred to as the "People's
President". He spent four decades as a scientist and science administrator,
especially on the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and became
concerned with India's civilian space program and army missile improvement
efforts.

Abdul Kalam lowered back to his civilian lifestyle of schooling, writing, and
public career after a single term. He received Bharat Ratna for his
prestigious work.