On 15 October 1931, a gem enlightened the house of middle-class Tamil Muslim parents in the island town of Rameshwaram. Who would have imagined that this little boy would grow up to be the inspiration of millions?
YES, he is none other than Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Early days
Kalam Sahab was called Azad by his family. He drew his spiritual inspiration from his father Jainulabdeen. Later, he was inspired by Jalaluddin, his brother-in-law who spoke to him about great personalities, discoveries, and literature.
Education
After completing elementary education in Rameshwaram, Kalam was sent to Schwartz Higher Secondary School where he was greatly influenced by his teacher. He graduated in Physics from the University of Madras in 1954. In 1955, he got admitted to MIT(Madras Institute of Technology) where his professor assigned him a 30-day task to be completed within 3 days. Kalam’s scholarship being endangered, he met the deadline impressing his professor.
His vision
He was fascinated by the mystery of the sky and the flight of birds seeing cranes and seagulls soar into flight. For Dr. Kalam, science has always been the path to spiritual enlightenment.
Career as a scientist
Kalam joined DRDO in 1960 as the Senior Scientific Assistant and later joined ADE. In 1963, he was appointed as Rocket Engineer at INCOSPAR after being interviewed by Professor Vikram Sarabhai.
Kalam was appointed as the project head of the SLV launch. The launch of SLV III, Rohini satellite put India into the exclusive space club nations. In 1982, he re-joined DRDO and the following year he successfully led the Agni and Prithvi missiles. This earned him the title ‘Missile Man’.
Career as a Statesman
Dr. Kalam served as the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Indian Government from 1992 to 1999. The success of Agni, Prithvi, and Pokhran II catapulted him from a scientist to a national hero. He won the 2002 Presidential Election and served the office till 2007. He became known as the People’s President.
Other Inventions
Very few people know that Dr. Kalam has invented Kalam-Raju Stents for heart surgery which costs only 15% of theIt regular ones. He also invented Carbon-Carbon Calliper for limb prosthetics.
Post Presidency Life
APJ Abdul Kalam took up the mission to educate and ignite young student minds by attending various programs and seminars. He worked for people below the poverty line and inspired millions of people.
Achievements
Dr. Kalam has been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981, and Padma Vibhushan in 1990. He was awarded with Bharat Ratna (the highest civilian award by the Indian Government) in 1997. The United Nations declared Dr. Kalam’s birthday as ‘World Students‘ Day.
The story of Dr. Kalam gives every common man the hope to chase their dreams, to rise beyond their imaginary limitations, and to serve humanity with a righteous heart. His unwavering message to the world will connect him with generations to come!
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Writer,
Razna Rahman
Intern
Content Writing Department,
YSSE.