A.P.J. ABDULKALAM

✍C.V.S.Raju

(The Missile Man of India)

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(The Missile Man of India)

Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

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A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 3

Introduction

“What is diamond? It is but Carbon!”A man, who is well-known all over the world, needs

no introduction. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Abul PakirJainulabdeen Abdul Kalam), popularly known as the“Missile Man of India”, was born on 15th October, 1931into a middle class Tamil family in the island town ofRameswaram. He was an example to show that externalconditions, though unfavourable, would not deteranyone’s capabilities. He was a unique personality ofmodern India, who made our country stand on par withthe most developed countries in every respect-especiallyin technology.

Kalam studied aeronautical engineering at the Ma-dras Institute of Technology. He played a key role in thedevelopment of India’s first Satellite launching Vehicle(SLV-3) in the building of India’s strategic missile sys-tems and in the nuclear tests in 1998.

The ambition of Dr. Kalam was to make India tech-nically strong. But is it so easy a task to fulfil his ambi-tion with the tuning population of our country? But Kalamrealized that there was no other way but to become tech-nically strong. Is it possible to make India the leader in

❂

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 4

the technological field? Kalam’s answer was in the affir-mative. Some incidents in his life reflect the story of mod-ern India and its social structure at that time. There weremany frustrations in Kalam’s life. But he was undauntedin his beliefs and endeavours. He was not dejected by theunfavourable conditions. Inspite of the fact that he was agreat scientist and technologist, he was simple, solemnand contented. He was a real model of Indian life styleand character. He never attributed his greatness to him-self. He used to narrate how many people around himhad influence over him. He used to thank them for theirsuggestions and the help they rendered to him during hislife. The great scientist, Sir Isaac Newton said that everyone should try to stand upon the shoulders of giants.

Kalam was a pious man. He believed that an indi-vidual could not achieve anything unless there was God’sgrace. He was tolerant towards other religions. He alsobelieved that every indivividual is created by God to ful-fil a particular role in the world. God would certainlyhelp those who help themselves. He was a good Veenaplayer too.

Kalam’s Slogan was “Dream, dream and dream use-fully” and he dreamt so fulfilling his ambition in the fieldin which he graced, “Whatever man does, it is with God’sgrace only”. This is the firm conviction of Dr. Kalam. Hebecame the president of India and was called “People’sPresident,” He was the recipient of many awards likePadma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.He liked students and used to spend most of his time

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 5

with them and counselled them. He travelled across thecountry for his teaching assignments at IITs and IIMs, toaddress conferences and meet students and people fromall walks of life. He liked teaching profession very much.He used to say that whatever opinion he expressed, itwas for inspiring the youth. Kalam left his material bodyon 27th July, 2015 while delivering a speech to the stu-dents in Shillong.

This book contains many incidents that led Kalam toascend to the highest position in his life. Kalam lives inour hearts for ever. Everyone has to draw inspiration fromhis life. He wrote many books, which are inspiring, in alucid style.

I pay my homage to Dr. Kalam by writing his biog-raphy.

- author

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 6

Contents

Introduction

1. Childhood and Education 72. Career 173. Creativity 244. Change from ISRO to DRDO 435. Work at DRDL 506. Abdul Kalam in different angles 567. Kalam’s 2020 Mission 628. Kalam and Youth 829. Kalam, the poet 86

10. Learning from others 9011. Kalam’s family, friends and relations 9612. Some suggestions and thoughts of Kalam 10013. Kalam and his philosophy. 10614. Kalam as president of India 10915. Awards and Honours 114

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 7

Kalam was born into a middle class Tamil familyin the island town of Rameswaram on 15th October, 1931.Rameswaram was in the Madras State at that time. Hisfather was Jainulabdeen did not have either education orwealth. It was a poor family. Inspite of these disadvan-tages, he had gre-at wisdom andgenerosity. Hismother was Ash-iamma. She wasan ideal house-wife. She used tofeed many visi-tors everyday. Kalam’s parents were regarded as an idealcouple. In his mother’s lineage, one of her ancestors hadbeen bestowed the title of “Bahadur” by the British.

Kalam was one of the many children born to his par-ents. He was a short boy. Their family lived in their an-cestral house. It was built in the middle of the nineteenthcentury. Though their family was poor, there was nodearth of food and other things.

Chapter - 1Chapter - 1Chapter - 1Chapter - 1Chapter - 1

Childhood and EducationChildhood and EducationChildhood and EducationChildhood and EducationChildhood and Education

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 8

Kalam used to take his meals along with his motherin the Indian style, squatting on the ground. TheRameswaram temple was at a distance of ten minutes

walk. Thoughtheir localitywas Muslim,there were afew houses ofHindus also.Kalam used togo to an oldmosque intheir locality

along with his father for prayer. When his father’s prayerwas over, many people belonging to different religionswould sit outside waiting for him. They had bowls con-taining water. Jainulabdeen used to dip his fingers in themand say a prayer. They took the water home and gave itto the sufferers. After they were cured, they came toJainulabdeen’s house and thanked him. Kalam asked hisfather how it could happen. His father told him that hewas only a go between the sufferer and God and it wasGod’s grace that cured him.

The high priest of Rameswaram temple, PakshiLakshmana Sastry was a close friend of his father. Theyused to discuss spiritual matters. They came to the con-clusion that prayer made communion of the spirit betweenpeople possible.

It is natural that when a human being finds himselfalone, he starts looking for company. In the same way,

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 9

when he is in trouble, he seeks help from some one. Soprayer is a go-between the sufferer and God. Kalam wasconvinced that there is a divine power that can lift onefrom misery and guide him in the right way.

When Kalam was six years old, his father started tobuild a boat to take the pilgrims from Rameswaram toDhanushkodi. Jallaluddin, their relative, used to help himin building the boat. Later, he married Jainulabdeen’sdaughter. Jainulabdeen was doing a good business withthe boat. But unfortunately it was carried away by a cy-clone. Inspite of difference in age, Jallaluddin became aclose friend of Kalam. They used to talk about spiritualmatters. Jallaluddin used to present his doubts to God asif He were standing nearby. Kalam believed that theprayers of Jallaluddin as well as those of the pilgrimswould reach God. Jallaluddin encouraged Kalam to ex-cel in studies. He was the only person on the island whocould write English. He always spoke to Kalam abouteducated people, scientific discoveries and literature. Atthat time, there was scarcity of books.

Samsuddin was the cousin of Kalam. His influencefell on Kalam. In those days, Samsuddin was the soledistributor of newspapers in Rameswaram. The newspa-pers would arrive at Rameswaram station by the morn-ing train. Samsuddin’s newspaper agency was a one manorganization. The literates in Rameswaram used to dis-cuss the strategies of leaders and their politics. As Kalamwas unable to read well, he was contented with seeingthe pictures.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 10

When Kalam was eight years old, Second World warbroke out in 1939. At that time, there was a sudden de-mand for tamarind seeds. Kalam used to collect the seedsand sell them to a provision shop. A days’ collectionfetched him one anna. An emergency was declared. Thetrain halt at Rameswaram was suspended. The newspa-pers were bundled and thrown out from the moving train.Samsuddin wanted a helping hand to catch the bundles.Kalam came to his help. That was how Kalam earned hisfirst wages.

Kalam inherited honesty and self-discipline from hisfather and faith in goodness and kindness from his mother.Jallaluddin and Samsuddin contributed to the uniquenessof Kalam’s childhood. Kalam had three close friends inhis childhood. They were Ramanatha Sastry, Aravindanand SivaPrakasan. All those belonged to orthodox HinduBrahmin families. These friends never felt any differencebecause of religious differences and upbringing.Ramanatha Sastry was the son of Pakshi LakshmanaSastry. Aravindan went into business and Siva Prakasanbecame a caterer for Southern Railways.

During Kalam’s childhood days, his mother and grandmother used to tell him stories from the Ramayana andfrom the life of the Prophet. Kalam studied in the El-ementary School in Rameswaram. When he was in thefifth standard, a new teacher came to their school. Kalamwore a cap which marked him as a Muslim. He used tosit in the front row next to Ramanatha Sastry. The new

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 11

teacher could not tolerate the sight. Kalam was asked tosit on the back bench. Both Kalam and Ramanath Sastrybecame sad.

After school, they went home and told the incidentto their parents. Lakshmana Sastry called the teacher, andin the presence of the boys told him not to spread poisonof social inequality and communal intolerance in theminds of innocent children. He asked the teacher eitherto apologize or to quit the school. The teacher regrettedhis behaviour.

Kalam’s science teacher was Siva Subrahmania Iyer.His wife was thoroughly orthodox. He did his best to breakthe social barriers. He used to encourage Kalam to be onpar with highly educated people. One day, he invitedKalam to his home for a meal. His wife was horrified atthe idea of a Muslim boy being invited to dine in herpious kitchen. She refused to serve Kalam. His teacherdid not get angry with her. He served Kalam with hisown hands and sat beside him. His wife watched the wayin which Kalam ate his meal. The teacher invited Kalamto dinner again. Kalam visited the teacher’s house thenext week. The teacher’s wife took him inside the kitchenand served him food.

After his elementary education was over, Kalamwanted to take permission of his father to study inRamanathapuram. His mother hesitated to send him buthis father said that she might give him her love but nother thoughts. Jainulabdeen’s desire was to see his son as

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 12

a collector. He consented to send his son to Ramana-thapuram and blessed him.

Samsuddin and Jallaluddin travelled with Kalam toRamanathapuram. They came to admit Kalam inSchwartz High school and arrange for his boarding. Buthe could not adjust himself there. He felt homesick. De-spite his homesickness, he was determined to come toterms with the new environment. His father had greathopes on him. He wanted to fulfil his father’s desire. Hewas then fifteen years old.

Kalam’s teacher was Iyadurai Solomon. He was anideal guide for an eager mind. During Kalam’s stay atRamanathapuram, his relationship with his teacher grewstronger and stronger, Iyadurai used to say, “To succeedin life and achieve results, you must understand and masterthree mighty forces - desire, belief and expectation”. Heused to tell Kalam to desire intently and be absolutelycertain it would happen. His words actually happened inthe life of Kalam. In his childhood, he used to watchcranes soar in the air. He was convinced that one day hetoo would soar up into the skies. He was actually the firstchild from Rameswaram to fly. The teacher used to say,“with faith, you can change your destiny.”

One day, when Kalam was in the fourth form, heentered another class where his mathematics teacher wasteaching. The teacher caught Kalam by the neck andcaned him. Later, when Kalam scored the highest mark

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 13

in mathematics, the teacher announced in the assembly,“Whomsoever I cane becomes a great man! This boy isgoing to bring glory to the school and to his teachers”.

By the time Kalam completed his education atSchwartz, he became a self confident boy determined tosucceed. He wanted to go in for higher education. In thosedays there was no awareness about professional educa-tion. Higher education meant simply going to college.The nearest college was at Thiruchirapalli pronouncedas Trichy for short.

Kalam came to St. Joseph’s college, Trichy to studyIntermediate. He was not a bright student in terms of exa-mination grades. But at St. Joseph’s he was lucky to finda teacher like Rev. Father TN Sequeira. He taught En-glish and at the same time, he was the warden of theirhostel. It was a three-storeyed building. There were abouta hundred boys in the hostel. Sequeira was energetic andwould look after the minute requirements of the boys.Kalam stayed there for four years. He shared the roomwith two others. One was an orthodox Iyengar and theother was a Christian from Kerala. Kalam was made sec-retary of the vegetarian mess. One Sunday, he invitedthe Father for lunch. The father praised their efforts.

The teachers at St. Joseph’s were staunch followersof Kanchi Paramacharya. He evoked people to enjoy the“act of giving” when Kalam was in the final year, he gota taste for English literature. He read great classics. Heread some works on Philosophy also. During that period

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