By C. N. Vaze, Chartered Accountant
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam) was the 11th President of India. He was the President between 25th July, 2002 to 25th July, 2007. There were only two other Presidents till then who had been awarded the
‘Bharat Ratna’ before becoming the President – Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Dr. Zakir Hussain. Born on 15th October 1931, he passed away on 27th July, 2015 while delivering a lecture at IIM, Shilong. Thus, he was active till he breathed his last.
Kalam was known as the ‘Missile Man of India’. He was an Indian Aerospace Scientist and statesman. He worked as a science administrator, mainly in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He worked on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He played a very important role in India’s 1998 Pokhran II nuclear test. This was the first after the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
He delivered regular lectures in many prestigious institutions like IIM, IIM Indore, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was the Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. He was also a professor at Anna University.
Kalam was born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. His father was a boatman and an
Imam of a local mosque. Mother Ashiamma was a housewife. Kalam was the youngest of four brothers and one sister. Although thei
