Former President of India “ Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam” - Salute of Honor to the Divine Soul

I, Gyanendra Bajpai on behalf of Pratibha Preparation Classes, deeply shocked with the news that Former President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam passes away on 27^th July 2015 at 07: 45 pm. The whole team of Pratibha Preparation Classes pay our sincere tribute to the Divine Soul to the Missile Man of India “ Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam”.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 to a Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father's name was Jainulabudeen, a boat owner, and his mother Ashiamma, a housewife.

He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income. After completing school, Kalam distributed newspapers to contribute to his father's income. After completing his education at the Ramanathapuram Schwartz Matriculation School, 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.

After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. He started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced by his choice of a job at DRDO. Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Vikram 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 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.

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. The Pokhran-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 with Rajagopala Chidambaram, during the testing phase.

In 1998, along with cardiologist Soma Raju, Kalam developed a low cost coronary stent, named the "Kalam-Raju Stent"

Some Awards and honours to The Missile Man of India

S.No.	Year	Award or Honor	Awarding organisation
01	1981	Padma Bhushan	Government of India
02	1990	Padma Vibhushan	Government of India
03	1994	Distinguished Fellow	Institute of Directors (India)
04	1997	Bharat Ratna	Government of India
05	1997	Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.	Indian National Congress
06	1998	Veer Savarkar Award	Government of India
07	2000	Ramanujan Award	Alwars Research Centre, Chennai

Dr. 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. During his term as president, he was affectionately known as the People's President.

After leaving office, Kalam sir 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 the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad and technology at Banaras Hindu University and Anna University.

On the evening of 27 July 2015, Kalam collapsed at around 6:30 p.m. while delivering a lecture on "The Livable Planet Earth" at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. He was rushed to Bethania Hospital in a critical condition and was placed in the intensive care unit, but was confirmed dead of a massive cardiac arrest more than two hours later.