Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – The Missile Man of India

15-Oct -1931 to 27 July 2015

Bharat Ratna Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Ab dul Kalam, generally known as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was the 11th President of India (2002-2007). He was elected against Lakshmi Sehgal in 2002 and had support from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, the two leading political parties of India. By profession, he was a scientist and an administrator in India. He worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as an aerospace engineer before becoming the President of India. His work on the development of launch vehicle and ballistic missile technology had earned him the name of the ‘Missile Man of India’. The Pokhran-II nuclear tests conducted in India in 1998 after the original nuclear test of 1974 saw him in a pivotal political, organisational and technical role.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was the visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore; the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; and the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. He was a professor of Aerospace Engineering at the JSS University in Mysore and at the Anna University in Chennai, apart from being an adjunct and visiting faculty at other research and academic institutions in India. He was the honorary fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and the Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology at Thiruvananthapuram.

In his book ‘India 2020’, he recommended plans to make the nation a fully developed one by the year 2020. His interactions with the student community and his motivational speeches made him quite popular among the youth. In 2011, he launched a mission called ‘What Can I Give Movement’ aimed at the youth of India, which focused on defeating corruption in the country.

Early Life

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was born in a necessitous and little educated Tamil family on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram district of Tamil Nadu, India. His father, Jainulabdeen, was a boat owner, and his mother, Ashiamma, was a homemaker. He started working at a young age to support his father. He received average grades in school but was seen as a hardworking and bright student with a strong desire to learn things. He used to study for hours, especially mathematics. He completed his schooling from Rameswaram 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 (now Chennai) and joined the Madras Institute of Technology and studied aerospace engineering. His dream was to become a fighter pilot but he was ranked ninth while the IAF offered only eight slots. He remained a bachelor.

Kalam rose from obscurity through his personal and professional struggles and his work on Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles became a household name in India and raised the nation’s prestige to international reckoning.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as a President of India

In the Presidential election held on July 15, 2002, Dr. A.P.J. Kalam, a renowed scientist of the country, was elected with an overwhelming majority.  The election of Dr. Kalam, the son of a poor boatman from Tamil Nadu, is a tribute not only to the sterling qualities of the man but also to the democratic process of the country.  This ‘missile man’ of India, is a real visionary who rose to be Scientific Advisor to Prime Minister by sheer hard work and intelligence.  He is a man with a vision.

                On his election to the highest office in the country, Dr. Kalam said, “I am indeed delighted to have become President.  I thank God, my parents and the great minds of India for having got me the status of First Citizen.” His message to the nation was: “We need a vision, a second Vision 2020, for the nation to get India transformed into a developed country in 20 years.”

Kalam’s Death

On 27 July 2015, Dr. Abdul Kalam was delivering a lecture at IIM Shillong where he suffered a heart attack and his condition became critical, so, he was shifted to Bethany Hospital where thereafter, he died of cardiac arrest. His last words, to Srijan Pal Singh, were "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"