A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
APJ Abdul Kalam ( Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Kalam, Tamil: .. . ஏ பி ஜே அப்துல் கலாம்; born 15 October 1931 in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu ) is an Indian politician. Kalam was from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007, President of the Federal Republic of India.
Life
The son of Muslim parents was born in the fishing village on the island of Rameswaram Dhanushkodi in the Palk Strait off the coast of Tamil Nadu and studied from 1954 to 1957 at the Madras Institute of Technology Aerospace Engineering. Following the successful conclusion as aeronautical engineer to Kalam applied initially unsuccessful in the Indian Air Force. In 1963 he came across the research and development organization of the Ministry of Defence ( Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO ) and Indian Space Agency, where he worked for almost 20 years and was involved in different projects.
1982 Kalam was entrusted with the management of the missile program and director of the DRDO. In subsequent years, five major projects were initiated, the results become the synonym of a new Indian self- consciousness. Nag, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Agni are called the creations of the "father of India's missile program " of which feels threatened, especially Pakistan. With Agni, an intermediate-range missile, but also China could be achieved.
In May 1998, Kalam waved together with the then Defence Minister George Fernandes and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee triumphantly into the cameras of the world press; in the desert of Rajasthan, India had successfully conducted five underground nuclear tests and became a nuclear power. Kalam was instrumental in the development of delivery systems for nuclear weapons.
In November 1999, Prime Minister Vajpayee made the unmarried Kalam to the top science advisor to the government.
2002 Kalam was elected the new President of India, who has mainly representative functions, chosen through indirect election by the members of the central parliament and the national parliaments ( the Hindu nationalist BJP government ). He received nine times as many votes as his communist counterpart candidate Lakshmi Sehgal.
His followers revere Kalam for his boundless patriotism as a " 200 -percent Indian". His visions are ambitious, because he wants to lead India by 2020 in the round of the G8 countries. "Dreams, dreams, dreams! Put these dreams into thoughts and to handle", Kalam had in 1998 announced.
In July 2007, Kalam was replaced as President of the Federal Republic of India Pratibha Patil. He had not offered himself for re-election.
Awards
Abdul Kalam was awarded an honorary doctorate from more than 30 universities. He was awarded the three highest Indian civilian award - Padma Bhushan the 1981, the Padma Vibhushan 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
Works
- India 2020: A Vision of the New Millennium. Penguin Books India, 1998, ISBN 0-670-88271-2
- "Target 3 Billion PURA. Innovative Solutions towards Sustainable Development", with Srijan Pal Singh. Penguin Books India, 2011 ISBN 978-0-14-341730-9