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Paying Tribute To The Missile Man of India' - DR APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in Rameswaram, India to a poor Tamil Muslim family. He excelled in school despite humble beginnings and went on to study physics and aerospace engineering. He had a dream of becoming a fighter pilot but instead joined the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientist. There he helped develop key projects, including India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. He went on to lead the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program, earning the nickname "Missile Man of India." From 1992 to 1999 he served as Secretary of DRDO and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister. Dr. Kalam later served as the 11th President of India from 2002

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93 views5 pages

Paying Tribute To The Missile Man of India' - DR APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in Rameswaram, India to a poor Tamil Muslim family. He excelled in school despite humble beginnings and went on to study physics and aerospace engineering. He had a dream of becoming a fighter pilot but instead joined the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientist. There he helped develop key projects, including India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. He went on to lead the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program, earning the nickname "Missile Man of India." From 1992 to 1999 he served as Secretary of DRDO and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister. Dr. Kalam later served as the 11th President of India from 2002

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Lalit Singh
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Paying Tribute to the Missile Man of India Dr APJ Abdul

Kalam
Brief About Early Life
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was born to a poor Tamil Muslim family on 15 October 1931 at
Rameswaram in the State of Tamil Nadu, India. His father, Jainulabdeen, was a boat
owner, and his mother, Ashiamma, was a homemaker.
Being from a very humble background, he had to start working early to contribute
towards his family income and to support his education. Though, he used to get
average grades in school but was seen as a hardworking and bright student with a
strong desire to learn new things.
He completed his schooling from Rameshwaram Elementary School. In 1954 he
graduated in Physics from St. Joseph's College in Tiruchirappalli, which was then
affiliated to the University of Madras.
Thereafter in 1955, he moved to Madras and joined the Madras Institute of Technology
and studied aerospace engineering. His dream was to become a fighter pilot,
unfortunately as destiny would have it, he could not qualify to join the forces.
However, to give wings to his dreams, after completion of his graduation in 1960, Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam joined as a scientist in Defence Research and Development
Organization's (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Establishment.
Dr Kalam was so much in love with his professional work that he remained a bachelor
all his life.
Professional Progression
He worked as a junior scientist at Aeronautical Development Establishment and at the
very start of his career; he designed a small helicopter for the India Army.
Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established at
Bangalore in 1962 with Viram Sarabhai as its Chairman, which was later rechristened
as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969.
In 1965, Dr Kalam, for the first time, worked independently in Defence Research and
Development Organization (DRDO) on an expandable rocket project. The project

received government approval in 1969, as it was considered viable for furtherance of


the Indias nascent Space Research Programme.
Consequently, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, was transferred to Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) in 1969, as the Project Director of India's first indigenous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (SLV-III).
Finally, making a historic breakthrough, in July 1980 his team was successful in
deploying the Rohini satellite near the orbit of the Earth.
Once, Dr. Kalam's efforts in developing the projects on SLV-III and Polar SLV from
1970s to 1990s were proved to be successful, Indira Gandhi Government funded
Project Valiant and Project Devil that aimed at developing ballistic missiles using the
technology of the SLV programme.
Dr. Kalam and Dr. V.S. Arunachalam, on the proposal of the then Defence Minister R.
Venkataraman, worked on the simultaneous development of a wide range of missiles
instead of one at a time.
Dr. Kalam was made the Chief Executive of the programme, which was named
Integrated Guided Missile Development programme and he, for himself earned the nick
name of The Missile Man of India.
Please read a very informative previous blog on the subject:
http://www.olivegreens.co.in/blog/india-s-integrated-guided-missile-developmentprogramme
From July 1992 to December 1999 he remained the Secretary of the Defence Research
and Development Organisation, and also the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime
Minister. This period witnessed the Pokhran II nuclear tests, when Dr. Kalam played a
key technological and political role.
Besides, the missile technology, he had also developed a low-cost Coronary Stent and
a tablet PC for healthcare in rural areas along with Dr. Soma Raju, a cardiologist, in
1998. These were named "Kalam-Raju Stent" and "Kalam-Raju Tablet" after them.
Dr Kalam as the President
Dr. Kalam succeeded K.R. Narayanan as the 11th President of India from 25 July 2002
to 25 July 2007. He was affectionately called the People's President.

He was a Presidential nominee from The National Democratic Alliance (NDA)


government and won the election after defeating Lakshmi Sehgal, who got 107,366
votes, as against 922,884 votes won by Dr Kalam. His candidature was supported by
the Nationalist Congress Party and the Samajwadi Party.
Besides, Dr. Sarvapali Radhakrishnan in 1954 and Dr Zakir Hussain in 1963, Dr APJ
Abdul Kalam was the third President of India to have received the prestigious Bharat
Ratna, the highest civilian honour.
Being a very humane person, he was sometimes criticized as a President for his
inaction to decide the fate of 20 mercy petitions out of 21, including that of the Kashmiri
Terrorist Afzal Guru, who was convicted for the Parliament attacks in December 2001.
Honours and Awards
The United Nations has recognized Dr. Kalam's 79th birthday as "World Student's Day".
Padma Bhushan 1981.
Padma Vibhushan 1990, for his work with DRDO and ISRO and as scientific advisor
to the government.
Bharat Ratna 1997, for his contribution in the field of scientific research, development
and modernization of technology in the defence sector of India.
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 1997.
Veer Savarkar Award 1998.
The University of Wolverhampton in UK bestowed on him the Honorary Doctorate of
Science in 2007.
The Royal Society of UK honoured him with the King Charles II Medal in 2007.
In 2008 he received the Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa) from Singapore's
Nanyang Technological University.
The California Institute of Technology, USA honoured him with the International von
Karman Wings Award in 2009.
He received the Hoover Medal from ASME Foundation, U.S.A in 2009.

The University of Waterloo honoured him with the Doctor of Engineering in 2010.
In 2011 he became the Honorary member of the IEEE.
In 2012 the Simon Fraser University conferred him the Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa).
Final Journey
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam left for the heavenly abode doing what he liked to do best,
interacting with young minds. He collapsed in the middle of his speech on the stage in
Meghalaya where he had gone to address the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong
on 27 July 2015.
He lives on in our hearts and memories through his teaching and literary work. His
words have always ignited the minds of one and all, especially students. Some of his
very inspiring quotes are as given below:
You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.
Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.
Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and
safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.
Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that
breeds bitterness all around.
Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity,
entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.
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.
If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly
feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the
father, the mother and the teacher.

My message, especially to young people is to 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 they must work
towards. This is my message to the young people

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