Abdul Kalam

(Redirected from APJ Abdul Kalam)

Abdul Kalam

11th President of India

In office
July 25, 2002 – July 25, 2007
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by K. R. Narayanan
Succeeded by Pratibha Patil
October 15, 1931 (age 76)[1]
Born Dhanushkodi, Rameswaram,
Madras Presidency,
Political party Not affiliated
Spouse Single; Never married
Religion Islam

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: அவுல் பகீர் ைஜனுலாப்தீன்

அப்துல் கலாம்) (Hindi: अवुल पिकर जैनुलाअबदीन अबदुल कलाम) born October 15, 1931, Tamil
Nadu, India, usually referred as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam^ , was the eleventh President
of India, serving from 2002 to 2007.[2] A notable engineer, he is often referred to as the
Missile Man of India for his work and is considered a progressive mentor, innovator and
visionary in India. He is also popularly known as the People's President. His term as
president ended on July 25, 2007.
Contents

• 1 Honors
• 2 Political views
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Kalam as an Engineer
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Books

• 8 External links

Honors

He is alumnus of King's College London.[3] He has received honorary doctorates from as

many as thirty universities .[4] The Government of India has honored him with the
nation's highest civilian honors: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; Padma Vibhushan in
1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Kalam is the Fourth President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna
before being elected to the highest office, the other three being Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan ,V. V. Giri and Zakir Hussain. He is also the first scientist and first
bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Referred to as the "People's President", Kalam is often considered amongst India's

greatest presidents, going on to win a poll conducted by news channel CNN-IBN for
India's Best President.

In October 2007, Kalam received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University
of Wolverhampton.[5]

Political views
Kalam's probable views on certain issues have been espoused by him in his book India
2020 where he strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge
superpower and into a developed nation by the year 2020. Kalam is credited with the
view that India ought to take a more assertive stance in international relations; he
regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place
as a future superpower. Kalam is also considered to be close with both Bharatiya
janatha party as well as its allies. NDA was the main supporter of kalam's candidature
for presidentship. There has been no serious differences between the kalam and NDA
till date, and he is considered to be their close associate.

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science
and technology as well. He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-
implants. He is a supporter of Open source software over proprietary solutions and
believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will bring more people
the benefits of information technology.

Kalam's belief in the power of science to resolve society's problems and his views of
these problems as a result of inefficient distribution of resources is modernistic. He also
sees science and technology as ideology-free areas and emphasizes the cultivation of
scientific temper and entrepreneurial drive. In this, he finds a lot of support among
India's new business leaders like the founders of Infosys and Wipro, (leading Indian IT
corporations) who began their careers as technology professionals much in the same
way Kalam did.

His views on issues of peace and weapons seem to be contradictory. He is quoted as

follows

In the 3,000-year history of India, barring 600 years, the country has been ruled by
others. If you need development, the country should witness peace and peace is
ensured by strength. Missiles were developed to strengthen the country.[[1]]

Personal life
APJ Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in a middle-class family in Rameshwaram, Tamil
Nadu, a town well-known for its Hindu shrines. His mother tongue is Tamil. His father, a
devout Muslim, owned boats which he rented out to local fishermen and was a good
friend of Hindu religious leaders and the school teachers at Rameshwaram. APJ Abdul
Kalam mentions in his biography that to support his studies, he started his career as a
newspaper vendor. This was also told in the book, A Boy and His Dream: Three Stories
from the Childhood of Abdul Kalam by Vinita Krishna. The house Kalam was born in can
still be found on the Mosque street at Rameswaram, and his brother's curio shop abuts
it. This has become a point-of-call for tourists who seek out the place. Kalam grew up in
an intimate relationship with nature, and he says in Wings of Fire that he never could
imagine that water could be so powerful a destroying force as that he witnessed when
he was six. That was in 1934 when a cyclonic storm swept away the Pamban bridge
and a trainload of passengers with it and also Kalam's native village, Dhanushkodi.

Kalam observes strict personal discipline, vegetarianism, teetotalism and celibacy[6].

Kalam is a scholar of Thirukkural; in most of his speeches, he quotes at least one kural.
Kalam has written several inspirational books, most notably his autobiography Wings of
Fire, aimed at motivating Indian youth. Another of his books, Guiding Souls: Dialogues
on the Purpose of Life reveals his spiritual side. He has written poems in Tamil as well.
It has been reported that there is considerable demand in South Korea for translated
versions of books authored by him. [7].

Dr. Kalam visited the Carnegie Mellon campus on October 16th, 2007 where he spoke
in front of numerous students and faculty regarding the role of science and the view of
India in the future. He received an honorary doctorate from the university.

Kalam as an Engineer

Abdul Kalam graduated from Madras Institute of Technology majoring in Aeronautical

Engineering. He, as the Project Director, made significant contributions to the
development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). He, as Chief
Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), also played
major part in developing many missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. He was the
Chief Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence
Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests
were conducted during this period, led by him.

[edit] References

1. ^ A Brief Biography of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

2. ^ http://www.presidentofindia.nic.in/formerpresidents.html
3. ^ King's College London alumnus Abdul Kalam=THES (2005). Retrieved on
2008-01-16.
4. ^ http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/thepresident.jsp
5. ^ http://www.wlv.ac.uk/Default.aspx?page=14951
6. ^ Profile of India's President: APJ Abdul Kalam
7. ^ Kalam, the author catching on in South Korea.

• India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Y.S. Rajan
(Penguin Books India, 2003) ISBN 0-14-027833-8
• India-my-dream by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Excel Books, 2004) ISBN 81-7446-350-
X
• Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal Transformation by
A.P.J.Abdul Kalam (TATA McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004) ISBN 0-
07-053154-4
• Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun K
Tiwari, (Ocean Books, 2005) ISBN 81-88322-73-3
• Children Ask Kalam by A.P.J Abdul Kalam (Pearson Education) ISBN 81-7758-
245-3
• Biographies and Autobiographies
o Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by A.P.J Abdul
Kalam, Arun Tiwari (Orient Longman, 1999) ISBN 81-7371-146-1
 o Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
(Penguin Books, 2003) ISBN 0-14-302982-7
o Scientist to President by Abdul A.P.J. Kalam (Gyan Publishing House,
2003) ISBN 81-212-0807-6
o Eternal Quest: Life and Times of Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
by S. Chandra (Pentagon Publishers, 2002) ISBN 81-86830-55-3
o President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by R. K. Pruthi (Anmol Publications, 2002)
ISBN 81-261-1344-8
o A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The Visionary of India' by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal
(A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2002) ISBN 81-7648-380-X
o kalAM mEShTru, ಕಲಂ ಮೇಷುಟರ. : The Life sketch of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul
Kalam : A Story of, President , Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, as told to the
Children of India, with interesting anecdotes, and Photos, in Kannada
Language, By Prof. Shri. H. R. Ramakrishna Rao, Published by the
Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara, BeMgaLUrU, Karnataka. ISBN : 81-7713-
199-0, 1,000 Copies.

[edit] External links

• Abdul Kalam's website

• Archived Website of Dr APJ AbdulKalam - Former President of India
• Rediff Page
• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's Biography
• BBC News article on his election
• Frontline article on the Presidential Race and Kalam's election
• Review of "Wings of Fire" - Kalam's autobiography
• http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/16646/kalam-the-king-of-many-firsts.html
 • Abdul Kalam - One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century
• I have three visions for India - Kalam's famous speech that is still passed by
chain emails
• Kalam's famous "Nobility in Leadership" Speech in Online Video
• Link to the Audiobook - Wings of fire

[hide]

v•d•e

Presidents of India
Rajendra Prasad • Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan • Zakir Hussain • V. V. Giri • Muhammad
Hidayat Ullah • V. V. Giri • Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed • Basappa Danappa Jatti • Neelam
Sanjiva Reddy • Zail Singh • R. Venkataraman • Shankar Dayal Sharma • K. R.
Narayanan • Abdul Kalam • Pratibha Patil
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