Intro
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, alias APJ Abdul Kalam, was born in Dhanushkodi, Rameswaran, India on October 15, 1931. The son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, he had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country's defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. A lifelong scientist, engineer and world leader, Kalam's prominent role in India's 1998 nuclear weapons tests established him as a national hero. Kalam is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. In 2002, India's ruling National Democratic Alliance helped him win election against the country's former president, Kocheril Raman Narayanan; Kalam became India's 11th president on 25th July 2002 and completed his term in 2007. APJ Abdul Kalam is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country. He firmly believes that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations. He was the first scientist and bachelor to occupy the seat of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and fellow of many professional institutions. This project attempts to explore, in brief, the interesting life history of the man who was popularly termed as The People’s President in his tenure, for all the love, admiration and respect that he gained in the minds of the people of our country.

Method of Study

This project is a historical research on the life of an eminent personality and national icon -APJ Abdul Kalam. It presents a brief biography of the former president, with focus on his early years, schooling and educational background, his professional life as a scientist and engineer, his philosophy and vision, his awards & accolades and his famous publications. Data for this project has been collected from numerous sources such as online articles of biographical nature, newspaper publishings and from Kalam’s autobiography, Wings Of Fire. The project is a result of research and exploration of the various facets of the life of a national hero, with an aim to gain more knowledge and to provide a brief representation of the life of a man celebrated for his tremendous contribution in the field of science and technology and for his tireless efforts towards a better India.

The Early Life of APJ Abdul Kalam
"I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my father; and from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness as did my three brothers and sisters."
—A quote from Kalam's autobiography , Wings of Fire

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in a Tamil Muslim family to Jainulabdeen, a boat owner and Ashiamma, a housewife, in the island town of Rameswaram, located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father was a boatman who had neither much formal education, nor much wealth. But as described in his autobiography, his parents possessed great innate wisdom and generosity. Kalam recalls that his mother fed a large number of people every day and more outsiders at with them than all the members of the family put together. He was one of many children and they lived in their ancestral house which was built in the middle of the 19th century. It was a fairly large house made of limestone and brick on the Mosque Street in Rameswaran. Kalam’s austere father avoided all unnecessary comforts and luxuries, but all his necessities in terms of food, medicines and clothes were provided for. He believes that we had a very secure childhood, materially as well as emotionally.
In the humble environs of Kalam’s boyhood, books were a scarce commodity. He often visited the home of STR Manickam, a former militant nationalist, to borrow books. Manickam encouraged Kalam to read all he could from Manickam’s personal library, which was sizeable by local standards.
The Second World War broke out in 1939, when Kalam was eight years old. There was a sudden demand for tamarind seeds in the market, and Kalam would collect the seeds and sell them to a provision store which earned him a princely sum of one anna. Kalam also worked for his first cousin Samsuddin, a person who he describes to have greatly influenced his boyhood. He was the sole distributor for newspapers in the 1000-strong literate population of Rameswaran. When India was forced to join the Allied Forces and something like a state of emergency was declared, it led to suspension of the train halt at Rameswaran station. Newspapers now had to be bundled and thrown out of the moving train, which forced Samsuddin to look for a helping hand to catch the bundles. Kalam filled this slot and thus earned his first wages. As he quotes in Wings of Fire, “Half a century later, I can still feel the surge of pride in earning my own money for the first time.”

Education
After completing his school education at the Rameshwaram Elementary School, Kalam went on to Schwartz High School, Ramanathapuram. His best memories are of his teachers, Prof Solomon and Prof Iyer, who he still believes to be the best examples of small-town Indian teachers committed to nurturing talent. and then attended Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated with the University of Madras, from where he graduated in physics in 1954. He earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) and received about honorary doctorates from about 30 universities globally.
Kalam’s Detour into Aeronautical Engineering:
When he joined the B.Sc degree course at St Joseph’s, there was not much awareness about any other option for higher education. Only after obtaining a B.Sc degree did Kalam realise that physics was not his subject, and that he should have chosen engineering to fulfil his dreams. “Better late than never”, he thought to himself, and made a detour by applying for an engineering degree in Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), regarded as the crown jewel of technical education in South India at that time.
Admission to this prestigious institution was expensive, about a thousand rupees, which was a very huge amount at that time. Kalam’s sister, Zohara, helped fund his education by mortgaging her bangles and jewellery,as his father could not afford to spare that much money. Kalam was greatly touched by her generous support and encouragement for his education.
A Famous Incident from Kalam’s college days at MIT: While Kalam was working on his third year project, building a low-level aircraft in a group, his design professor and the then Director of MIT, Prof Srinivasan, declared it dismal and disappointing. Kalam gave him a thousand excuses for the delay, and pleaded for one month’s time to complete his project, but Prof Srinivasan wouldn’t entertain any of it. The Professor said, “I give you three days time. If by Monday morning I don’t get the configuration drawing, your scholarship will be revoked.”
Kalam was dumbstruck, for this scholarship was his lifeline. It was his passion, and it was the only way he could release his sisters jewellery from mortgage. He worked tirelessly for three days and nights, skipping meals and saving only one hour of time for freshening up. He ultimately submitted his project on time. Prof Srinivasan, hugging him affectionately, said that “I knew I was putting you under stress and asking you to meet an impossible deadline. I never expected you to perform so well.”

A Timeline of Kalam’s Work and Professional Life

* From MIT, Kalam went to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Bangalore as a trainee, where he worked on aircraft engines. * Kalam took up a job at the Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a scientist. However, the profile didn’t appeal Kalam, thus he shifted to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle. EDIT • LIKE 5 People Like this *  Being a part of the ISRO was one of his biggest achievements in life and he is said to have found himself when he started to work on the SLV project. Kalam lead many projects and turned out to be successful each time. EDIT • LIKE 1 Person Likes this *  In the 1970s, Kalam directed two projects, namely, Project Devil and Project Valiant, which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of the successful SLV programme. Despite the disapproval of Union Cabinet, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's directorship.[19] Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects EDIT • LIKE 2 People Like this *  A milestone was achieved when locally built Rohini-1 was launched into space, using the SLV rocket. Upon watching the raving success of Kalam, the government agreed for initiation of an advanced missile program under his directorship. He played a pivotal role in developing missiles under the missions Agni and Prithvi. EDIT • LIKE 2 People Like this *  Kalam was the Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P) which researched in simultaneous development of a quiver of missiles instead of taking planned missiles one by one. EDIT • LIKE 2 People Like this *  From 1992 until 1999, Kalam was appointed as the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation. It was during this time that Kalam served as the Chief Project Coordinator for Pokhran II nuclear tests, after which he was fondly called the “Missile Man of India”. EDIT • LIKE 4 People Like this *  Kalam succeeded K. R. Narayan to serve as the 11th President of India in 2002, defeating Lakshmi Sahgal. With his appointment, Kalam became the first scientist and first ever bachelor to occupy the Rastrapati Bhawan. EDIT • LIKE 4 People Like this *  During his tenure as a President, Kalam was affectioinately known as The Peoples President. He was both appreciated and criticised. The latter was mostly due to his inaction in deciding the fate of 20 mercy petitioners. EDIT • LIKE 5 People Like this * EDIT • LIKE 5 People Like this *  In 2011, he launched his mission for the youth of the nation called the “What Can I Give Movement” with the main aim to defeat corruption in India. EDIT • LIKE 4 People Like this *  Currently, Kalam serves as the visiting professor in various esteemed institutes and universities of India, such as Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indore, Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), JSS University (Mysore). EDIT • LIKE 2 People Like this

Books In addition to all the profiles that Kalam holds, he has authored numerous influential and inspirational books. In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages. Here is a brief preview of his most famous works:

India 2020 – A Vision for the New Millenium Kalam’s most widely read and acclaimed book, a chronicle of his perspectives on various topics of national importance have been enunciated by him in this book. It highlights the action plans that will help develop the country into a knowledge superpower by the time 2020. One thing for which he received ample kudos is his unambiguous statement that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations.

Wings of Fire – An Autobiography
A result of the selfless efforts of author Arun Tiwari, who worked under Kalam for over a decade, this autobiography is a culmination of various insightful conversations in which Kalam examines his early life, effort, hardship, fortitude, luck and chance that eventually led him to lead Indian space research, nuclear and missile programs. A touching, inspiring and heartfelt autobiography filled with Kalam’s poignant philosophy.

Ignited Minds – Unleashing The Power Within India
A logical step forward from Vision 2020, it is a highly motivating book for young Indians, as also to anyone interested in understanding the reasons for remaining behind in the march of human civilization. It contains dynamic and original ideas, examines attitudes afflicting the Indians, and present prescriptions for rapid growth of India to enable the country to emerge as a developed country. The scientist and the seer inside Kalam has addressed the book to young [citizen]s of India.

Indomitable Spirit the book "brings together the values, thoughts and ideas of President Kalam as reflected in his speeches and addresses. Interspersed with interesting anecdotes and observations, Indomitable Spirit represents the quintessential APJ Abdul Kalam - the man, the scientist, the teacher and the President."[1]

Other books by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam * Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology * The Luminous Sparks * Mission India * Inspiring Thoughts * Envisioning an Empowered Nation * You Are Born To Blossom: Take My Journey Beyond * Turning Points: A journey through challenges * My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions