Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is the most luminous star in the history of Presidents in India. He was born on October 15, 1931 in Tamil Nadu. From Rameshwaram to Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi, Dr. Abdul Kalam’s life is literally a story of success through sheer hard work and determination. He grew up in Rameshwaram where his father was a boat builder.
His personal life was full of struggles and hard work. Starting the career as a newspaper vendor, Dr. Kalam was striving only to go upward. He was fascinated by the flight of seagulls.
The boy who found his vision in the wings of seagull donning the spectacles of observance, leaped into fame in every step of life. Dr. Kalam has quoted “You have to dream before your dreams can come true”. Later, his interest in flight led him to a specialisation in Aeronautical Engineering. In spite of deficiency of money, he continued his education. After graduating in Science from St.
Joseph’s College in Tiruchirappalli, he enrolled for Aeronautical Engineering at Madras Institute of Technology in 1954.In 1958, Dr. Kalam joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and served as a senior scientific assistant, heading a small team that developed a prototype hover- craft. Following the lukewarm response to his hovercraft programme, Dr.
Kalam moved out of DRDO and joined Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).Widely known as the “Missile Man of India” for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology, Dr. Kalam is acknowledged as the driving force behind India's leap in the defence technology that brought India into the league of nuclear nations. Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr. A. P.
J. Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.Dr.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country. His perspectives on important topics have been enunciated by him in the book “India-2020”.
It highlights the action plans that will help to develop the country into a knowledge superpower by 2020. For Dr. Abdul Kalam, India’s true asset is its youth and he continues to try to motivate them. He has quoted, “The nation requires role models in leadership who can inspire youngsters.
