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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam: The People’s President

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 R.N. 70269/98 Postal Registration No.: DL-SW-1/4082/15-17
ISSN : 0972-169X Date of posting: 26-27 of advance month
Date of publication: 24 of advance month

October 2015 Vol. 18 No. 1 Rs. 5.00

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APJ Abdul Kalam:

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The People's President

Editorial: Some grassroots 35
level engagement with
students on biotechnology

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam: 34

The People's President

Surrogacy: A New 31
Dimension to Motherhood

Polio-free India 29

Microbes: The Tiny Friends 28

of Farmers

Organic Cultivation of Rice 26

Lactose Intolerance: When 24

your body fails to digest milk

Recent developments 21
in science and technology

36
 Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam:
The People’s President Dr. Anup Kumar Das
E-mail: [email protected]

T he eleventh President of India Bharat

Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (1931-
2015) was the finest technocrat, who led
for the IAF.
In 1963, he was selected to join the
Indian Committee for Space Research
NASA such as the Langley Research Centre
at Hampton, Virginia, and the Goddard
Space Flight Centre at Greenbelt, Maryland.
many high technology missions in taking (INCOSPAR) in a position of a rocket His training at NASA became very fruitful
the country on the path of self-reliance with engineer. INCOSPAR was the predecessor while he served as one of the chief architects
home-grown technologies. His approaches of now flourishing Indian space programme.
were simple that led to the development of He took a leadership role in development and
frugal indigenous solutions, instead of high- launching of India’s first indigenous Satellite
technology acquisitions from the developed Launch Vehicle (SLV-3), which placed
nations. Rohini RS-1 satellite into Earth orbit in July
Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul 1980. SLV-3 was a historical achievement
Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in for India, as the country entered the elite
a Tamil Muslim family at Rameswaram space club. Kalam was fortunate to received
in Tamil Nadu state (then the Madras affectionate mentorship during his scientific
Presidency). His father Jainulabudeen was a career from renowned Indian scientists such
boat owner and part-time imam at a local as Professor Vikram Sarabhai, Professor
mosque while his mother Ashiamma was a MGK Menon, Professor Satish Dhawan and
caring homemaker. His father had a good Professor Raja Ramanna.
rapport with local Hindu and Christian After his stint at the ISRO for about
priests that imbibed Kalam with spiritual President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam addressing two decades, he moved back to DRDO
values and principles. Kalam recalls the nature the nation on the eve of 58th Republic in 1983 as its Chief Executive to lead the
of his father: “My father Jainulabudeen was Day in New Delhi on January 25, Integrated Guided Missiles Development
not formally educated but was a man of great 2007 (Credit: Photodivision.gov.in) Programme (IGMDP). Under his leadership,
wisdom and kindness” . the IGMDP developed and operationalised
Kalam completed his school education to Indian Space Research Organisation the Agni and Prithvi missiles during the
from Ramanathapuram Schwartz High (ISRO) led by Professor Vikram Sarabhai. 1980s for building indigenous capability
School, where he showed the distinction of Soon after joining at INCOSPAR, Kalam in critical technologies. After the success of
a hardworking student with special interest was nominated for a six-month training IGMDP programme, Kalam was elevated to
in mathematics. He then studied graduation programme on sounding rocket launching the position of the Chief Scientific Adviser to
in physics at Saint Joseph’s College at techniques at the National Aeronautics the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the
Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, which was and Space Administration (NASA) in the DRDO and served te country between July
then affiliated to the University of Madras, United States. He joined advanced training 1992 and December 1999. Subsequently
and he completed his first degree in 1954. programme at NASA in 1963 and received he also served as one of the Chief Project
After his BSc degree, he enrolled in a degree practical training at various R&D centres of Coordinators in the Operation Shakti
course in aeronautical engineering (Pokhran-II) nuclear tests in 1998,
at Madras Institute of Technology which received global attention as
in Tamil Nadu. He completed India became a full-fledged nuclear
engineering education in 1958. state in order to strike a balance
His priority was to join Indian Air to achieve regional stability and
Force (IAF) as a fighter pilot soon peace.
after completion of his engineering Kalam served as Chairman
education, but he narrowly missed of the Technology Information
it. Instead, he joined the Defence Forecasting and Assessment
Research and Development Council (TIFAC), an autonomous
Organisation (DRDO) as a junior organisation under Ministry of
scientist at the Aeronautical Science and Technology while his
Development Establishment in co-author of many books Professor
Bangalore in 1958, where he YS Rajan was its Executive
was involved in research and Kalam with young dancers in Singapore Director. During 1990s, TIFAC
development of fighter airplanes (Credit: Photodivision.gov.in) was engaged in Technology Vision

Dream 2047, October 2015, Vol. 18 No. 1 34

Biography
2020 exercise for India with an objective of (The Journal of Business Perspective, 10(3),
“Transforming the nation into a developed 11-21, 2006).
country, with five areas in combination During his presidency (2002-2007),
having been identified based on India’s core Kalam evolved many innovative ideas
competence, natural resources and talented for sustainable development and peoples’
manpower for integrated action to double empowerment, to be implemented by the
the growth rate of GDP and realise the national and local governments, including
Vision of Developed India.” The identified the Providing Urban Amenities in Rural
areas were namely: Areas (PURA). PURA became a central
• “Agriculture and food processing, scheme titled ‘Provision of Urban Amenities
with a target of doubling the present in Rural Areas’ in 2010 led by Ministry of
production of food and agricultural Rural Development and implemented on
products by 2020. Agro food pilot basis under a public-private partnership
processing industry would lead to (PPP) framework during the 11th Five Year
the prosperity of rural people, food Plan.
security and speed up the economic He was bestowed Bharat Ratna,
growth; the highest civilian honour, in 1997 by
• Infrastructure with reliable and quality Government of India for his leadership
electric power including solar farming roles in attaining the country’s scientific and
for all parts of the country, providing technological competencies. He was earlier
urban amenities in rural areas and A Poster of the Film “I Am Kalam”
awarded two other coveted civilian honours
interlinking of rivers; inspired by life of AJP Abdul Kalam the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma
• Education and healthcare, to provide acknowledges: “He became known as the Vibhushan in 1990. He became an elected
social security and eradication of “People’s President” because he welcomed Fellow of the national academies such as the
illiteracy and health for all; and the public into the palace in New Delhi Indian National Academy of Engineering
• Information and communication (built for the last of the viceroys by the (INAE), the Indian Academy of Sciences
technology: This is one of our core British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens) and Bangalore (IAS), the National Academy of
competencies and wealth generators. made himself accessible whenever he Sciences of India (NASI), and an honorary
ICT can be used for tele-education, travelled”. Tully further described Kalam fellow of the Institution of Electronics and
tele-medicine and e-governance to as one who played a crucial role in India’s Telecommunication Engineering (IETE).
promote education in remote areas, most successful technological programmes He also received honorary doctorates from
healthcare and also transparency in such as development and launching of the many universities in India and abroad,
the administration; SLV-3, and indigenous guided missiles that such as, Aligarh Muslim University, India;
• Critical technologies and strategic earned him a coveted title “Missile Man of Edinburgh University, UK; University of
industries witnessed the Wolver Hampton, UK; Simon
growth in nuclear technology, Fraser University, USA; Oakland
space technology and defence University, USA; Carnegie Mellon
technology.” University, USA; University of
The book titled India 2020: Waterloo, Canada; and Nanyang
A Vision for the New Millennium Technological University, Singapore.
was a refinement of the series He remained a bachelor throughout
of “Technology Vision 2020” life.
documents published by TIFAC. Kalam had proved himself
Kalam and Rajan wrote a touching as an accomplished writer. He has
dedication to the book: written more than twenty books,
After one of the talks delivered although an official webpage of the
by Dr. Kalam, a ten-year-old girl came former President (on Abdulkalam.
up to him for his autograph. ‘What nic.in/books.html) enlists thirteen
is your ambition,’ he asked her. ‘I Kalam helps students at the inauguration of speech books written by him. His works
want to live in a developed India,’ she applet ‘Virtual Vision’ software for visually challenged can be categorised in three genres,
replied without hesitation. This book students (Credit: Photodivision.gov.in) namely, autobiographical, futuristic
is dedicated to her and the millions of or visionary, and inspirational. He
Indians who share her aspiration. India”. His leadership style was very unique wrote two autobiographical books, namely,
Kalam was popularly known as and exemplary, as it was documented in a Wings of Fire: An Autobiography jointly
“the People’s President” and “Missile Man research paper titled “Visionary Leadership: written with Arun Tiwari (1999) and Turning
of India” for divergent reasons. In an A Survey of Literature and Case Study of Dr Points: A Journey through Challenges (2012).
obituary, renowned journalist Mark Tully APJ Abdul Kalam at DRDL” by RS Dwivedi His inspirational book titles are similar to

33 Dream 2047, October 2015, Vol. 18 No. 1

 Biography
the topics of his public lectures he loved to Timeline Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
deliver in the assemblies of school, college
and university students and youth citizens Born on 15 October at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, India. Mother: Ashiamma,
1931
of India to ignite a dream for a developed Father: Jainulabudeen.
nation in near future. Completed B.Sc. in Physics from Saint Joseph’s College at Tiruchirappalli in
1954
Many of his writings are highly Tamil Nadu, affiliated to University of Madras.
rated or reviewed by the book readers. The Completed Engineering degree in aeronautical engineering from Madras
1958
top five books based on readers’ choice at Institute of Technology (MIT) in Tamil Nadu.
GoodReads.com website, which facilitates Joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of DRDO in Bangalore
the readers and booklovers to rate and 1958
as junior scientist.
review a published book, are: Wings of Fire: Joined the Indian Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), predecessor of
An Autobiography (1999); Ignited Minds: 1963
ISRO, as rocket engineer.
Unleashing the Power within India (2002); Joined advanced training programme at NASA and received practical training
Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges 1963
at various R&D centres of NASA.
(2012); India 2020: A Vision for the New
Millennium jointly with YS Rajan (1999); Led launching of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3), which placed
and My Journey: Transforming Dreams into 1980 Rohini RS-1 satellite into earth orbit on 18th July. India became a member of
Actions (2013). the elite space club.
The top five books, based on the 1981 Conferred the Padma Bhushan.
number of citations each book received as Joined as Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development
reflected on Google Scholar search engine, 1983
Programme (IGMDP) of DRDO, the Ministry of Defence.
are: India 2020: A Vision for the New
1990 Conferred Padma Vibhushan.
Millennium; Ignited Minds: Unleashing
the Power within India; Wings of Fire: An Became the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of
1992
Autobiography; Target 3 Billion: Innovative DRDO and served till 1999.
Solutions Towards Sustainable Development 1997 Conferred Bharat Ratna.
jointly with SP Singh (2011); and Envisioning
2002 Became President of India and served till 2007.
an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal
Transformation jointly with AS Pillai Died on 27 July; Collapsed due to heart failure while delivering a speech at
2015
(2004). Indian Institute of Management Shillong in Meghalaya, India.
In addition to the above-mentioned
books, Kalam wrote a few more visionary
and inspirational books for the Indian youth, of Chhotu in the film, received the National
namely, Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Film Award for Best Child Artist in 2011.
Brighter Future jointly with SP Singh (2015); Kalam will be remembered by Indian
Beyond 2020: A Vision for Tomorrow’s India children, youth and knowledge workers,
jointly with YS Rajan (2014); A Manifesto who aspire to live in a developed India and
for Change: A Sequel to India 2020 jointly make India a self-reliant nation. He further
with V Ponraj (2014); The Scientific Indian: ignited minds of many youths with his many
A Twenty-first Century Guide to the World famous quotes. An example is given here
around Us jointly with YS Rajan (2011); from the book Ignited Minds: Unleashing the
and Mission India: A Vision for Indian Youth Power within India:
jointly with YS Rajan (2005).
In a highly acclaimed feature film I “Dream, Dream, Dream
Am Kalam, directed by Nila Madhab Panda Dreams transform into thoughts
and produced by Smile Foundation, a child And thoughts result in action.”
labourer inspired by life of Abdul Kalam
Another of his oft-quoted quote is:
dreams to become an educated citizen
overcoming all odds in his early life. The “Dream is not that which
movie trailer further describes I Am Kalam you see while sleeping
as “an endeavour in championing the cause It is something that does not let you sleep.”
of empowering underprivileged children
through education. Moreover, the heart- Dr. Anup Kumar Das is attached with the
warming tale celebrates the survival of the Centre for Studies in Science Policy in
human spirit against overwhelming odds” Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New
(Available at http://vimeo.com/120668088). Cover Page of “Wings of Fire: Delhi, India.
Harsh Mayar, who acted the main character An Autobiography”

Dream 2047, October 2015, Vol. 18 No. 1 32

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