Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabhudin Adbul Kalam, the twelfth President of India, is
rightfully termed as the father of India's missile technology. He was born to parents
Jainulabdeen Marakayar and Ashiamma on 15th October,1931, at Dhanushkodi in Rameshwaram district, Tamil Nadu. Dr. Kalam as an eminent Aeronautical Engineer,
contributed for the development of India’s first Satellite launch vehicle SLV-3 and the missiles like the Trishul,Agni, Pritvi etc.
He did his secondary education at Schwartz High School in Ramanathapuram, B.Sc. at St. Joseph's College(1950),Tiruchi, and DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the
MIT, Madras during 1954-57. After passing out as a graduate aeronautical engineer, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore as a trainee and
later joined as a technical assistant in the Directorate of Technical Development and
Production of the Ministry of Defence.
In the 1960's Kalam joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thumba in Kerala. He played a major role in the centre's evolution to a key hub of space research
in India, helping to develop the country's first indigenous satellite-launch vehicle.
During 1963-82, he served the ISRO in various capacities. In 1982, he rejoined
DRDO as Director, and conceived the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Programme (IGMDP) for five indigenous missiles. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has
established an Advanced Technology Research Centre, called 'Research Centre
Imarat' to undertake development in futuristic missile technology areas. He also
served as the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Defence minister and later the
Government of India. After retiring from the post Dr. Kalam joined Annamalai
University till he became the President in January 2002.
He is a member of Indian National Academy of Sciences, Astronautical Society of
India and many other professional bodies. Dr. APJ abdul Kalam has been awarded
Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and India's Highest civilian
Award 'The Bharat Ratna' in 1997. Other prestigious awards include Dr.Biren Roy
Space Award, Om Prakash Basin Award for Science and Technology, National Nehru
Award, Arya Bhatta Award etc. Dr. Kalam was conferred with the degree of Doctor
of Science (D.Sc. Honoris-causa) by twenty eight universities.
Dr. Kalam, a bachelor is a connoisseur of classical Carnatic music. He plays veena in
his leisure. He writes poetry in Tamil, his mother tongue. Seventeen of his poems
were translated into English and published in 1994 as a book entitled 'My Journey'.
He reads the Quran and the Bhagavad Gita with equal devotion. He is also the Author
of the books 'India 2020 : A vision for the New Millennium'(1998 with YS Rajan),
'Wings of Fire : an Autobiography' and 'Ignited Minds – unleashing the power within
India'.
Totally dedicated to the nation, Dr. Abdul Kalam's vision is to transform India into a developed nation by the year 2020 through hard work and perseverance. He holds a
first world dream for the third world nation.
Compiled by Raj, Ramesh & Ravi
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