Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as Dr. A. P. J.

Abdul
Kalam, was the 11th President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007.[2] He was
elected during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance coalition government,
under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.[3] During his term as President, he was
popularly known as the People's President

Born - 15 October 1931

Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam (1999) is an

autobiography of A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India. It was written by
President Kalam and Arun Tiwari.

from his birth in a middle class Tamil people,Tamil family in the island
town of Rameshwaram, his early schooling at Schwartz High School,
Ramanathapuram, his undergraduate education at St. Joseph College, Trichy,
completion of a degree course in aeronautic engineering from Madras Institute of
Technology, and ends with him moving to the United States for a six month training
program at NASA.

Political views
In his book India 2020, Abdul Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a
knowledge superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's
nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.
It has been reported that there is a considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of
books authored by him.[8]

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and
technology. He has proposed a research program for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter
of free software over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of free software on a large
scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people.[9]

[edit] Aerospace engineer

After graduating in physics from St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, Abdul Kalam graduated
with a diploma in Aeronautical Engineering in the mid-1950s from the Madras Institute of
Technology.[10] As the Project Director, he was heavily involved in the development of India's
first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided
Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P), he played a major part in developing many missiles
in India including Agni and Prithvi although the entire project has been criticised for being
overrun and mismanaged.[11] He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the
Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December
1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period and have been associated with
Kalam although he was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.

[edit] Awards and Honours

Year of Award or
Name of Award or Honor Awarding Organization
Honor
2009 Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) Anna University of Technology.
2009 Hoover Medal ASME Foundation, USA[12].
International von Kármán Wings California Institute of Technology,
2009
Award USA[13].
1997 Bharat Ratna President of India.
1990 Padma Vibhushan President of India.
1981 Padma Bhushan President of India.

After his tenure as the President he is now a visiting professor at J.S.S. University, Mysore. He is
also a visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad from 2008.

Honesty, hard work key to success: APJ Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam was among India's best-known scientists before he became the
country's President. An alumnus of the Madras Institute of Technology, he worked
for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he helped launch India's
first satellites into orbit. Later, Kalam worked on developing missiles and other
strategic weapons; he was widely regarded as a national hero for leading India's
nuclear weapons tests in 1998. In 2002, Kalam was named the country's President,
and he held that position until 2007. During the Wharton India Economic Forum in
Philadelphia, Kalam spoke with India Knowledge@Wharton about his career as a
scientist, his vision for India's future, and the most important traits for leaders,
among other issues. An edited transcript of the interview follows

Home » Profile
Profile

DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM

Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen
Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology.
Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first
indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini
satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space
Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO's launch vehicle programme, particularly
the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch
vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided
Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief Executive of
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). He was responsible for the
development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building
indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He
was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence
Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the
weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration
with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave
thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing multiple development tasks and
mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft.

As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and

as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at
Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present
developing status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific
Advisor to the Government of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, from November 1999
to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for
many development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the
Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium
Mission 2020.

Dr. Kalam took up academic pursuit as Professor, Technology & Societal Transformation at
Anna University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and research
tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by
meeting high school students across the country.

In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision
for the New Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within
India" have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These
books have been translated in many Indian languages.

Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of
receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the
coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the
highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and
Fellow of many professional institutions.

Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002. His focus is on
transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

WINGS OF FIRE
Summary: The book as I said is about Kalam rise from humble circumstances &
his narrative of India’s strides in rocketry & space science. The book is neatly
divided into four sections – Orientation, Creation, Propitiation & Contemplation.
The book dedicated to his parents begins with ‘My mother’ – a poetic tribute to
his mother Kalam.
The first section covers the early life of Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.
Hope you noted the expansion of APJ .. it could be asked when you are on hot
seat on KBC3 ;-). His memories of the early days are very reminiscent of good
old magudi set up. The way he remembers his relatives, teachers who
influenced him makes one wonder. Adding color to the section are the black and
white pics of that time. This section covers all his education and early travels.

The next section deals with Kalam’s further trainings and his association with
defense and space projects, mainly the SLV3. This section has too much
scientific details and introduces you to a list of defense and space research
establishments that you may have not even heard of. Just as he thanks his
family and mentors in the first section here you find him thanking the stalwarts
of Indian science like Prof Vikram sarabhai, Dr Brahm prakash, Prof Satish
Dhawan. That Kalam is an aam aadmi at heart is proved by his many narratives
involving his interaction with committed but insignificant people in the
hierarchy. All through the book you are continually fed with acronyms, which
again can come back to you on any KBC3 as a question.

The third section covers the years 80-91 when Kalam moves from ISRO to
defence Labs. Here again like the previous section there are many black and
white pictures where like the 70s hero, you find kalam in bell bottom pants ;-).
The book covers the story behind the names we have all heard, the SLV3, PSLV,
Akaash, Naga, Agni, Trishul and what not. The book apart from Kalam’s story is
also a list of Indian space who is who & achievements.

The last section deals with later years where Kalam is conferred with a list of
awards, his contemplations, his visions for the country. There is a very touchy
narration of how he visited a old teacher of his & the reunion of a pupil who went
beyond teachers expectations. Its difficult not to be inspired by this life. The
section along with epilogue also mentions of Kalams vision 2020 – of self
reliance vision & technology vision.

I says I Would recommend this book to any one who can read this. This has
something to inspire everyone. His undying spirit, quest for knowledge, trusting
people etc are a great lesson to kids. No wonder that you see him spending
much time with kids. If you read the book its as if he is speaking to you in the
simple English that he always uses. And to imagine he worked mostly in govt
establishments where red tapes, bureaucracy is the order of the day. Read this
for the follwing reasons – Kalam’s story, General knowledge about Indian
scientists, space programs, defence research, rocketry.

All through the book there are many lessons even for the managers as kalam
narrates how the best out of people can be brought out. No politician reads a
book these days, they cant write as they don’t have vision. Kalam isn’t a
politician, as the media says he is a ‘spiritual scientist’, read his visions and
contribute in every little ways to make it come true. I was expecting him to write
why he didn’t get married, the book doesn’t say anything. Apparently he didn’t
have a personal life, it was a life totally well spent for science, for nation.
Whatever I write its going to be insufficient revu on this book, it has to be read,
it has to be experienced – and that happens only when you read and Kalam
takes you through his journey, by hand.

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