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Wednesday 27 July 2016

Remembering Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam


 As the calendar reads July 27, every Indian would recollect the loss of their dear Missile Man, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. It was on the same day, a year ago that the nation mourned the demise of People’s President who won home numerous laurels as a teacher, scientist, president, and a patriot. As the first bachelor and the first scientist to become the President of India, the youth icon showed immense love for children and had always inspired the youth of the nation.

Remembering the multi-faceted Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam

While every single episode of his life is an inspiration by itself, below are some of the interesting facts from the life of this secular leader:

1.       Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the Scientist:
Dr. Kalam spearheaded the Pokhran nuclear tests and raised India to be on par with the countries that had nuclear capabilities. The nuclear bomb tests that were carried out at the Indian army's Pokhran Test Range is still considered a historical incident as the scientists deceived CIA spying by adjusting their working shifts. The expert crew was also made to dress in Indian military uniform as scientists in plain clothes in the army camp would draw attention and suspicion of the CIA.  Remembering this great day, the man behind this important mission had tweeted on May 11, 2015, "Today, I remember the hot day of 1998 at Pokhran: 53-degree celsius. When most of the world was sleeping; India's nuclear era emerged."
During his tenure at ISRO, he always made it a point to come forward and face the press during all the tests that turned out to be failures and accepted it as his fault. On the other hand, the great scientist was never seen boastful of huge success, rather maintained a low profile and always sent his fellow scientists to talk to the press about the success.

2.       Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the President:      
During his tenure of Presidency, he received 21 mercy petitions of which he did not decide the fate of 20. The only petition he acted upon was the plea of infamous rapist Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who was later hanged as the plea was rejected.
Given the great scientist’s vast expertise in science and technology, the Switzerland government honored his visit to the country on 26th of May, 2005 as Science Day. He was also the first Indian head of state visiting Switzerland after 30 long years following the visit of former President V. V. Giri.
An active advocate of renewable energy, he desired to have Rashtrapati  Bhavan powered by solar energy:  Unfortunately, Dr. Kalam's term ended before the suggestion could be executed. Later, he was quoted saying: "I would have liked the Rashtrapati Bhavan to be the first home in India to be powered completely by solar energy.”

3.       Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s Social Contributions:
He founded an NGO trust named PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas) and donated all his life's salaries and savings to the trust.  The concept of the trust is discussed in his book ‘Target 3 Billion,' which he co-authored with Srijan Pal Singh.
Though he was a busy scientist who mentored many advanced technology solutions, he also engaged himself with minor projects like the low-cost coronary stent, now marketed as Kalam-Raju-Stent and the Kalam-Raju-Tablet, a low-cost rugged tool designed specifically for the use of rural healthcare. These small projects and Dr.Kalam’s contributions stay in the hearts of the deprived for bringing advanced healthcare within their reach.

4.       Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s Special Interests:
Dr. Kalam was keen to pursue a career with the Indian Air Force. Becoming a jet fighter pilot with was his dearest dream. He almost made it there by bagging the ninth position out of 25 candidates but was not enrolled as only eight slots were available at that time. But later, then seventy-four-year-old President of India flew in a Sukhoi-30 fighter plane,  thereby becoming the first President to fly a combat aircraft.
Dr. Kalam was known for being active in social media; he once had asked, "What should we do to free our planet from terrorism?" on Yahoo Answers, and received more than 30,000 answers. He had more than a million followers on Twitter but followed only 38 people and made it a point to give personalized reply to emails he received from his fans even during his busy schedule.

There is no doubt that Dr. Kalam is remembered by people from different walks of life in a variety of ways. It is important for all of us to remember that all that he did was to contribute towards a better India that is empowered. Therefore, the most befitting tribute to the visionary leader would be a promise to ourselves that we shall work towards bigger goals – the Nation.


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