Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdin Abdul Kalam served as the 11th president of India from the period
2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of
the country and is often also referred to as the Missile Man of India. People loved and
respected Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM so much during his tenure as President that was popularly
called the people’s President.
Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi, in the state of
Tamil Nadu, to a middle class Tamil Muslim family. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam graduated in
aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1958 and joined the
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). In 1962, Kalam joined the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO). In 1982, he rejoined DRDO as the Chief Executive of
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Dr. Kalam is credited with the development and operationalization of India's Agni and
Prithvi missiles. He worked as the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Secretary,
Department of Defence Research & Development from 1992 to 1999. During this period, the
Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted. Dr. Kalam held the office of the Principal Scientific
Advisor to the Government of India from November 1999 to November 2001.
Dr. Kalam took up teaching at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001. He is a
prolific author. His books, "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium",
"My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become
bestsellers. He is a favourite with children all over the country and has met children all over
the country and has encouraged them with his learned talks.
Dr. Abdul Kalam was conferred with the Degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa by the
Simon Fraser University, Canada. He also wrote a book named “Turning Points: A journey
through challenges” which was published by Harper Collins India. The book tells us about his
story with details from his career and presidency that are not generally known. He speaks
on certain points of controversy offering insight into an extraordinary personality and shows
a vision of how a country with a great heritage can turn out to be great with perseverance,
confidence and effort.
Dr. Kalam has received a host of awards both in India and abroad. He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. He is of the
view that we should work wholeheartedly to make India a developed nation by 2020.
Besides being a bachelor, Kalam is a strict disciplinarian, a complete vegetarian and
teetotaler. Among the many firsts to his credit, he became India's first President to
undertake an undersea journey when he boarded the INS Sindhurakshak, a submarine, from
Visakhapatnam. He also became the first president to undertake a sortie in a fighter aircraft,
a Sukhoi-30 MKI.
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