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About A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (born October 15 1931, in Rameswaram, India - died on July 27 2015, in Shillong) was an Indian politician and scientist who was a key player in India's nuclear weapons and missile programmes. Kalam is considered one of the best inspiring personalities of the world. He was the president of India from 2002 until 2007. His accomplishments in the field of science and fame led to him being nicknamed "Missile Man" as well as "People's president."

The beginning of life and a career

Kalam was born in a town within Tamil Nadu state to a fisherman who was part of an earlier prosperous family. Being the youngest of five children, Kalam persevered with his studies despite the poverty of his surroundings. He obtained a bachelor's diploma in aeronautical engineering at Madras Institute of Technology. Madras Institute of Technology, and in 1958, he joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In 1969, he joined as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he served as responsible for the project SLV-III, which was the first launch vehicle for satellites created and manufactured in India. In the year 1980, SLV-III succeeded in sending the satellite Rohini into orbit near Earth, which took India's space programs on the international scene. Kalam directed the developments in launch vehicle technology at ISRO and also that of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Missile program

After joining DRDO at the time of his rejoining in 1982, Kalam created his Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which resulted in a variety of highly successful missiles. One of them was Agni, which was India's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, which included elements of the SLV-III and was released in 1989. A different success was the surface-to-surface strategic missile Prithvi.

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Nuclear tests

From 1992 until 1999, Kalam served as a scientific advisor to the defence minister of India, and later, he was the chief scientific advisor (1999-2001) in the government in the position of a cabinet minister. During this time, he was an integral part of the weaponization of missile systems, which gave India nuclear capability. In 1998, he was one of the principal organizers of the Pokhran II series of nuclear testing, where five bombs were set off at a testing range within the town of Pokhran, Rajasthan state. His role as a key player during the nation's nuclear weapons tests has established India as a nuclear power and also established Kalam as a hero of the country; however, the testing was a source of concern for the world community. In 1998, Kalam presented a national strategy dubbed Technology Vision 2020, which Kalam described as transforming India from a society that was not developed to one that was created in twenty years. In addition, the plan called for improving the productivity of agriculture, focusing on the use of technology to drive the development of the economy, as well as for expanding access to healthcare as well as education.

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Presidency

The ruling party in India, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), offered Kalam the title of the successor to the outgoing Prem. Kocheril Raman Narayanan. Kalam's fame and popularity proved so appealing that he was chosen for his party, the Hindu Nationalist (Hindutva) NDA; despite his being Muslim, the party was the most significant opposition, and the Indian National Congress proposed Kalam's candidacy. 

Kalam effortlessly won the support of the electoral college, beating the former leader of the revolution, Lakshmi Sahgal. Kalam was inaugurated as the 11th Indian president, which is a mostly ceremonial position, at the end of July 2002. The president resigned after the expiration of his presidency in 2007 and was replaced by Pratibha Patil, who was India's first female president.

Legacy

After his return to civilian life, Kalam was determined to use technology and science to turn India into a more developed nation. He also served as a lecturer in a variety of institutions. He was a visiting professor at several campuses of the Indian Institute of Management and the founding chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (Thiruvananthapuram). 

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He was a great success engaging with kids and set out on a personal endeavour to interact with children, engage with them, and encourage youngsters.

On July 27, 2015. Kalam was struck by a fall while speaking an address at the Institute for Management of India, Shillong and died of heart failure shortly afterwards.

Kalam has written a number of books, among them his autobiography, Wings of Fire (1999), and also a book entitled "Ignited Minds (2002). The awards he received were three of India's top honours, which include the Padma Bhushan (1981) and the Padma Vibhushan (1990), as well as the Bharat Ratna (1997).

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Numerous roadways, structures, and institutions bear the name Kalam. In 2015, the name of an area for missile tests in Odisha changed from Wheeler Island to Abdul Kalam Island. In 2017, a different species of bacterium was discovered in the International Space Station and was identified as Solibacillus Kalamii in honour of his name.