Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a scientist who later became the 11th President of India and served the country from 2002 to 2007. He was the most respected person of the country as he contributed immensely to the country as a scientist and as a president. His contributions to the Indian Space Research Organization are unforgettable. Numerous projects were headed by him such as launch of the Rohini-1, Project Devil and Project Valiant, developing missiles (under missions Agni and Prithvi), etc. For his great contributions in improving the nuclear power of India, he is popularly known as the “Missile Man of India”. He has been honored with the highest civilian awards for his dedicated works. After completing his service to the government of India as President, he served the country as a visiting professor at various valued institutes and universities.
His Career and Contributions
He was born to the Jainulabdeen and Ashiamma on 15th of October in 1931. The financial conditions of his family was little poor so he started supporting his family financially in his early age. He started earning money to support his family however never gave up on his education. He completed his graduation in 1954 from Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli and aerospace engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. After his graduation, he joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a chief scientist however; soon he shifted to the Indian Space Research Organization as a project director of India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle. He also worked as a Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program which involved in simultaneous development of a quiver of missiles.
He also became the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister from 1992 to 1999 and Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organization. He was called as the “Missile Man of India” after his successful contribution as the Chief Project Coordinator for Pokhran II nuclear tests. He was the first scientist who served as the President of India from 2002 to 2007 without any political background.
He wrote many inspirational books such as “India 2020”, “Ignited Minds”, “Mission India”, “The Luminous Sparks”, “Inspiring Thoughts”, etc. In order to beat the corruption in country he launched a mission for youths named “What Can I Give Movement”. He served as visiting professor in various universities and institutes of the country (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indore, etc), as Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, JSS University (Mysore), Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), etc. He has been awarded with the awards like Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Bharat Ratna, Indira Gandhi Award, Veer Savarkar Award, Ramanujan Award and many more.
