APJ Abdul Kalam Death Anniversary - Missile Man of India

Remembering APJ Abdul Kalam: India's Visionary Scientist and Statesman

Official portrait, 2002. Source:- Wikipedia 

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (born October 15, 1931 in Rameswaram, India - died July 27, 2015 in Shillong) was an Indian scientist and politician who helped develop India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. From 2002 until 2007, he served as India's President.

Kalam began working for the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in 1958 after graduating from Madras Institute of Technology with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He then relocated to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he worked as the Project Director on SLV-III, the nation's first satellite launch vehicle, whose development and manufacture were carried out entirely domestically.

 He went back to the DRDO in 1982 and designed projects that helped multiple missiles be successfully developed, giving him the moniker "Missile Man." One of these accomplishments was the 1989 launch of Agni, India's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, which used SLV-III components. From 1992 to 1997, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam advised Defense Minister on scientific matters. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. 

His pivotal contribution to India’s nuclear tests in 1998 raised some international questions, but it also boosted the country’s nuclear capabilities and elevated him to hero status in his own country. He unveiled a 20-year national plan called "Technology Vision 2020" in 1998.

He wanted to see India become a developed nation. The main goals of the program were to increase agricultural productivity, use technology to stimulate economic growth, and expand access to health and education. In 2002, Kalam was elected president by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), although he was a Muslim in a Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) political climate and had such stature and popularity that even the main opposition Indian National Congress endorsed his candidacy.

 Kalam promptly won the election and assumed office as the 11th President of India in July 2002, a very ceremonial affair on a grand scale. She completed her term in 2007 and was succeeded by Pratibha Patil, the first female Prime Minister of India. After becoming president, Kalam was determined to use science and technology to transform India into a developed nation, serving as a visiting professor at several universities. On July 27, 2015, while giving a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong, he collapsed and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter of a heart attack.

 Kalam has written several books, including his autobiography "Wings of Fire" (1999). His many awards include the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the Bharat Ratna (1997), two of the country’s highest honours.