“If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun” : Remembering APJ Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary

Pune, July 27, 2019 : On this day in 2015, former President of India and Missileman Dr APJ Abdul Kalam while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest, aged 83. Thousands including national-level dignitaries attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameshwaram, where he was buried with full state honours.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015) was an aerospace scientist who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts.[1] He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the “People’s President”, he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

On his death anniversary, people from various fields remembered him.  Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Tributes to our former President, Bharat Ratna Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam ji on his punyatithi. He was an outstanding scientist and a great motivator whose teachings has inspired millions of lives. Nation can never forget his monumental contribution in the field of science & technology.”

“Dreams are not those which we see when we sleep but they are those which do not let us sleep”. #UPPolice salutes the immortal missile man & People’s President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who inspired millions to dream & dedicate one’s life for a noble cause !

Congress Party tweeted, “Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, known as the Missile Man of India, played pivotal roles in INCOSPAR, ISRO, DRDO & the missile program from 1960 to 1999. He served as the 11th President & was awarded the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan. We remember him on his death anniversary.”