Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: life, ideas, books and debates

डॉ. ए. पी. जे. अब्दुल कलाम Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was born in Rameswaram in 1931. He studied physics in Tiruchirappalli and aerospace engineering in Madras. He spent four decades at DRDO and ISRO and led the SLV-3 launch of 1980 and the guided missile programme. He was India’s 11th President from 2002 to 2007. He died while lecturing at IIM Shillong in July 2015.

Curated by Nikhil Sharma: a boatman’s son from Rameswaram who put India’s first satellite in orbit and led the missile programme. He became the People’s President. He spent his last years in classrooms and died at a lectern in Shillong.

Photographed in August 2008. Photograph: Lijesh K, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

1980 SLV-3 puts Rohini in orbit: He was project director of India’s first satellite launch vehicle
1997 Bharat Ratna: India’s highest civilian honour. After the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan
11th President of India: Served from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007
48 Honorary doctorates: From Indian and foreign universities by 2015

The facts

Born: 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram in the Madras Presidency (Wikipedia: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Full name: Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (President of India: Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Education: BSc in physics from St Joseph’s College in Tiruchirappalli (1954). Aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology (Wikipedia: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Career: DRDO from 1960. ISRO from 1969. Chief executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (Wikipedia: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Government: Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister from 1992 to 1999. Principal Scientific Adviser from 1999 to 2001 (IIIT-Delhi: Profile of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (2015))
President: 11th President of India from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007 (President of India: Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Honours: Padma Bhushan (1981). Padma Vibhushan (1990). Bharat Ratna (1997) (Wikipedia: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)
Honorary degrees: 48 honorary doctorates including Carnegie Mellon and the University of Sydney (IIIT-Delhi: Profile of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (2015))
Died: 27 July 2015 in Shillong. Buried at Pei Karumbu in Rameswaram on 30 July (Wikipedia: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)

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