Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam 15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015 was an Indian aerospace scientistand statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised inRameswaram, Tamil Nadu,and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science
administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research
Organisation and was intimately involved in India’scivilian space program and military missile development
efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic
missiles and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organizational,technical, and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first sincethe original nuclear test byIndia in 1974.Dr. Kalam’s childhood
was very tough as the business run by his family failed and they lost allsources of income. He was
born in a poverty-strickentime in his family butmanaged to overcome allobstacles and worked hard inlife to achieve his dream. Heused to sell newspapers tosupport his family at a veryearly age. Even though hegot average grades in
school, his teachersremembered him as a hardworkingstudent with aninquisitive mind. Kalam waselected as the 11th presidentof India in 2002 with thesupport of both the rulingBharatiya Janata Party andthe then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widelyreferred to as the “People’sPresident”, he returned to hiscivilian life of education,
writing and public serviceafter a single term. He was arecipient of severalprestigious awards,including the Bharat Ratna,India’s highest civilian honor.While delivering a lecture atthe Indian Institute ofManagement Shillong, Kalam
collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest on 27July 2015, aged 83.Thousands, includingnational-level dignitaries,attended the funeralceremony held in hishometown of Rameswaram,where he was buried with full
state honors.”Dream, dream, dream.Dreams transform intothoughts and thoughtsresult in action”- one of the
inspirational messages givento the children and the youth of our country by the Missile Man of India. He is none
other than Dr. Abdul Kalam, one of the greatest Indians of all time who made the nation proud with his
contribution to space research as an aerospace scientist. He kept inspiring children to dream and think big in life. In 2002, he became the 11th President of India,and his tenure lasted till 2007.APJ Abdul Kalam was born
on 15th October 1931 atRameswaram in Tamil Nadu.We celebrate his birthday as”World Students’ Day.”
Door Sanchar Bhawan,Cuttack
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