Bharat Ratna A P J Abdul Kalam can ‘never’ pass away!

Most people ‘pass away’ when they die. They are like the blink of an eye on the Earth – at one moment, they are here and in the other moment, they are gone. They just disappear. Few people close to them may carry their memories in their hearts and some more may think about them once in a while but for most people – they just don’t exist. A P J Abdul Kalam was different. He was a living legend. His very life was an example of how one should live. His thoughts and his ideas were simple and practical – and yet so ingenious!

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam – former President of India – crossed over to the other side at the ripe old age of 84 years. Lakhs of Indians were shocked by his death and many more claimed that he had been their ‘inspiration’. Let’s see some of his major achievements and quotes that have made Professor Kalam immortal in the history of modern world:

Awards & Honours

• Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (A P J) Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was the first President who was an eminent scientist and was basically a non-politician. He was also the first Bachelor to have lived in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• He came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his pivotal role in development of missiles during his work at the DRDO and India’s civilian space program during his tenure at ISRO.
• In 1997, Kalam was awarded India’s highest civilian honour – Bharat Ratna – for his contribution to scientific research and modernisation of defence technology in India. He had also been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981 and Padma Vibhushan in 1990.
• The United Nations recognised Kalam’s birthday ‘October 15’ as ‘World Student Day’ when he was 79 years old. He has received honorary doctorates from as many as 40 universities1
• In 2005, Switzerland declared May 26 as ‘Science Day’ to commemorate Kalam’s visit to the country.
• In 2013, the National Space Society (an American non-profit organisation) awarded him the Von Braun Award for ‘excellence in management and leadership of a space-related project’.

Achievements

The beginnings of Dr Kalam were quite humble. Born in Rameshwarama in Tamil Nadu, he came from a poor family. His father was a boat owner. At an early age, he started working to supplement family income. He used to get average grades at schools but was considered a bright and hardworking student with a strong desire to ‘learn’. He graduated as an Aerospace Engineer from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960 and joined DRDO as a scientist. He got a chance to work under the renowned space scientist Vikram Sarabhai. In 1969, he was transferred to ISRO where he was the project director of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV III).

Kalam also played a major role in development of various Agni and Prithvi missiles. He served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and DRDO Secretary from July 1992 to December 1999 during which he played an intensive political and technological role in Pokhran-II nuclear tests. Soon, he came to be known as the best known nuclear scientists of India. Kalam also developed a low-cost coronary stent and a low-cost tablet computer for health care in rural areas along with cardiologist Soma Raju.

During his Presidential term, he was affectionately called ‘People’s President’ and took several difficult decisions. After leaving office, he became a visiting professpr at IIM Shillong, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Indore. He also became an honorary fellow of IISc Bangalore, Chancellor of IISST, Thiruvanandthapuram, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University and several other teaching positions. He was an accomplished writer, poet and musician too.

Famous Quotes of Abdul Kalam meant to inspire Students

• You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
• Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.
• Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.
• To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.
• If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
• Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.
• Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.
• You see, God helps only people who work hard. That principle is very clear.
• We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.

Dr Kalam has ‘not’ passed away! His body may be no more but his spirit will continue to live in us forever.