Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born
on 15 October 1931 to a Tamil Muslim family in the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the Madras Presidency and now in the State of
Tamil Nadu. His father Jainulabudeen was a boat owner andimam of
a local mosque; his mother Ashiamma was a housewife. His father owned
a ferry that took Hindu pilgrims back and forth
between Rameswaram and the now
uninhabited Dhanushkodi. Kalam was the youngest
of four brothers and one sister in his family. His ancestors had been
wealthy traders and landowners, with numerous properties and large tracts of
land. Their business had involved trading groceries between the mainland and
the island and to and from Sri Lanka, as well as ferrying pilgrims between the mainland
and Pamban. As a result, the family acquired the title of "Mara Kalam
iyakkivar" (wooden boat steerers), which over the years became shortened to
"Marakier." With the opening of the Pamban Bridge to the mainland in 1914, however, the
businesses failed and the family fortune and properties were lost over time,
apart from the ancestral home. By his early childhood, Kalam's family had
become poor; at an early age, he sold newspapers to supplement his family's
income.
In his school years, Kalam had average grades
but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire
to learn. He spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics. After
completing his education at the Schwartz Higher Secondary School,
Ramanathapuram, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's
College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated with the University of Madras, from
where he graduated in physics in 1954.\ He moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering in Madras Institute of Technology. While
Kalam was working on a senior class project, the Dean was dissatisfied with his
lack of progress and threatened to revoke his scholarship unless the project
was finished within the next three days. Kalam met the deadline, impressing the
Dean, who later said to him, "I was putting you under stress and asking you
to meet a difficult deadline". He narrowly missed achieving his dream
of becoming a fighter pilot, as he placed ninth in qualifiers, and only eight
positions were available in the IAF.
After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in
1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical
Development Establishment of theDefence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. He started
his career by designing a small hovercraft, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at
DRDO. Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR
committee working underVikram Sarabhai, the renowned space scientist. In 1969,
Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research
Organisation(ISRO) where he was the project director of India's
first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which
successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in
near-earth orbit in July 1980; Kalam had first started work on an expandable
rocket project independently at DRDO in 1965. In 1969, Kalam received the
government's approval and expanded the programme to include more engineers.
In 1963–64, he visited NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland;
and Wallops Flight Facility. Between
the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful.
Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear
test Smiling Buddha as the
representative of TBRL,
even though he had not participated in its development. In the 1970s, Kalam
also directed two projects, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic
missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme. Despite the
disapproval of the Union Cabinet,
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds
for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's
directorship. Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to
conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects. His
research and educational leadership brought him great laurels and prestige in
the 1980s, which prompted the government to initiate an advanced missile programme
under his directorship.Kalam and Dr V S Arunachalam,
metallurgist and scientific adviser to the Defence Minister, worked on the
suggestion by the then Defence Minister, R. Venkataraman on a proposal for simultaneous
development of a quiver of missiles instead of taking planned missiles one
after another. R Venkatraman was instrumental in getting the cabinet
approval for allocating ₹388 crores for the mission, named Integrated
Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and appointed Kalam
as the chief executive. Kalam played a major part in developing many
missiles under the mission including Agni, an intermediate range ballistic missile and Prithvi, the tactical surface-to-surface missile, although the
projects have been criticised for mismanagement and cost and time overruns.
Kalam served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to
the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the Defence Research
and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999.
ThePokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this
period in which he played an intensive political and technological role. Kalam
served as the Chief Project Coordinator, along withRajagopala Chidambaram,
during the testing phase. Media coverage of Kalam during this period made
him the country's best known nuclear scientist. However, the director of
the site test, K Santhanam, said that the thermonuclear bomb had
been a "fizzle" and
criticisied Kalam for issuing an incorrect report. Both Kalam and
Chidambaram dismissed the claims.
In 1998, along with cardiologist Soma Raju, Kalam developed
a low cost coronary stent, named the
"Kalam-Raju Stent". In 2012, the duo designed a rugged tablet
computer for health care in rural areas, which was named the "Kalam-Raju
Tablet".Kalam served as the 11th President of India,
succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won
the 2002 presidential election with
an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing the 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. His term lasted from 25 July 2002 to 25 July
2007.On 10 June 2002, the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) which was in power at the time,
expressed that they would nominate Kalam for the post of President, and both
theSamajwadi Party and
the Nationalist Congress Party backed
his candidacy. After the Samajwadi Party announced its support for Kalam,
Narayanan chose not to seek a second term in office, leaving the field clear. Kalam
said of the announcement of his candidature:
I am really overwhelmed.
Everywhere both in Internet and in other media, I have been asked for a
message. I was thinking what message I can give to the people of the country at
this juncture.On 18 June, Kalam filed his nomination papers
in the Indian Parliament,
accompanied by Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues.The polling for the presidential election
began on 15 July 2002 in Parliament and the state assemblies, with the media
claiming that the election was a one-sided affair and Kalam's victory was a
foregone conclusion; the count was held on 18 July. Kalam became the 11th
president of the Republic of India in an easy victory and moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan after
he was sworn in on 25 July. Kalam was the third President of India to have
been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, before
becoming the President.Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954)
and Dr Zakir Hussain (1963)
were the earlier recipients of Bharat Ratna who later became the President of
India. He was also the first scientist and the first bachelor to
occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.
During his term as president, he was
affectionately known as the People's President, saying that signing
the Office of Profit Bill was
the toughest decision he had taken during his tenure. Kalam was criticised for
his inaction in deciding the fate of 20 out of the 21 mercy petitions submitted
to him during his tenure.Article 72 of the Constitution of India empowers
the President of India to grant pardons, and suspend or commute the death
sentence of convicts on death row. Kalam acted on only one mercy plea in his
five-year tenure as president, rejecting the plea of rapist Dhananjoy
Chatterjee, who was later hanged. Perhaps the most notable plea was
from Afzal Guru, aKashmiri terrorist who was convicted of conspiracy in
the December 2001 attack on the
Indian Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India in
2004. While the sentence was scheduled to be carried out on 20 October 2006,
the pending action on his mercy plea resulted in him remaining on death row. He
also took the controversial decision to impose President's Rule in Bihar in
2005.In September 2003, in an interactive session
in PGI Chandigarh, Kalam supported the need of Uniform Civil Code in
India, keeping in view the population of the country.At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007,
Kalam expressed his willingness to consider a second term in office provided
there was certainty about his victory in the 2007 presidential election.
However, two days later, he decided not to contest the Presidential election
again stating that he wanted to avoid involving Rashtrapati Bhavan from
any political processes. He did not have the support of the left
parties, Shiv Sena and UPA constituents, to
receive a renewed mandate.
Nearing the expiry of the term of the 12th
President Pratibha Patil on 24
July 2012, media reports in April claimed that Kalam was likely to be nominated
for his second term. After the reports, social networking sites witnessed
a number of people supporting his candidature. The BJP potentially backed his
nomination, saying that the party would lend their support if the Trinamool Congress,
Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress proposed him for the 2012 presidential election.\ A month ahead of the
election,Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee also expressed their support for Kalam. Days
afterwards, Mulayam Singh Yadav backed out, leaving Mamata Banerjee as the solitary
supporter. On 18 June 2012, Kalam declined to contest the 2012
presidential poll. He said of his decision not to do so:
Many, many citizens have
also expressed the same wish. It only reflects their love and affection for me
and the aspiration of the people. I am really overwhelmed by this support. This
being their wish, I respect it. I want to thank them for the trust they have in
me.After leaving office, Kalam became a visiting
professor at the Indian Institute
of Management Shillong, the Indian Institute
of Management Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute
of Management Indore; an honorary fellow of Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore; chancellor of
the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram;
professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University; and an adjunct at many other academic and
research institutions across India. He taught information technology at theInternational Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad,
and technology at Banaras Hindu University and
Anna University.
In May 2012, Kalam launched a programme for
the youth of India called the What Can I Give Movement, with a
central theme of defeating corruption.
In 2011, Kalam was criticised by civil groups
over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant;
he supported the establishment of the nuclear power plant and was accused of
n
On 27 July 2015, Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on "Creating a Livable
Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute
of Management Shillong. While climbing a flight of stairs, he
experienced some discomfort, but was able to enter the auditorium after a brief
rest. At around 6:35 p.m. IST, only five minutes
into his lecture, he collapsed. He was rushed to the nearby Bethany
Hospital in a critical condition; upon arrival, he lacked a pulse or any other
signs of life. Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam
was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m IST. His last words,
to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were
reportedly: "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"
Following his death, Kalam's body was
airlifted in an Indian Air Force helicopter
from Shillong to Guwahati, from where it was flown to New Delhi on the morning
of 28 July in an air force C-130J Hercules. The flight landed at Palam Air Base
that afternoon and was received by the President, the Prime Minister, Chief
Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, and the
three service chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, who
laid wreaths on Kalam's body. His body was then placed on a gun carriage
draped with the Indian flag and taken to his Delhi residence at 10 Rajaji Marg;
there, the public and numerous dignitaries paid homage, including former prime
minister Manmohan Singh, Congress
PresidentSonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
On the morning of 29 July, Kalam's body,
wrapped in the Indian flag, was taken to Palam Air Base and flown to Madurai in an air force C-130J aircraft, arriving
at Madurai Airport that
afternoon. His body was received at the airport by the three service chiefs and
national and state dignitaries, including cabinet ministersManohar Parrikar, Venkaiah Naidu, Pon Radhakrishnan and the governors of Tamil Nadu and
Meghalaya, K Rosaiah and V. Shanmuganathan. After a brief ceremony, Kalam's body was
flown by air force helicopter to the town of Mandapam, from where it was taken in an army truck to his
hometown of Rameswaram. Upon arriving at Rameswaram, his body was displayed in
an open area in front of the local bus station to allow the public to pay their
final respects until 8 p.m. that evening.
On 30 July 2015, the former President was
laid to rest at Rameswaram's Pei Karumbu Ground with full
state honours. Over 350,000 people attended the last rites, including the Prime
Minister, the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chief ministers of Karnataka,
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
0 comments:
Post a Comment