Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the 11th India president from 2002 to 2007. His career as scientist had turned into politician. He was born in Tamil Nadu, and studied both aerospace and physics engineering. He spent decades as scientist at DRDO. Later, he was elected as India President in 2002 with the help of both parties. He’s known as People’s President who achieved many awards such as Bharat Ratna, and many others. While giving a lecture at the IIMS, Kalam fainted and died from a cardiovascular problem. Kalam died on 27 July 2015, at the age of 83. His death made the entire country sad. He was buried with respects and honors in his hometown.
Personal Life of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam was the youngest of 5 siblings. Kalam was very close to his families and siblings throughout his life, and would send money regularly to his relations. However, Abdul Kalam was a life-long single. Kalam was noticed for his regular lifestyle and integrity. He never bought a television, and had the habit of rising at 6.30 and sleeping by 2 a.m. His personal possessions were veena, books, clothing, articles, a laptop and CD player. At his death, there was no will and all of his possessions went to the eldest. There was a film in the 2011, I Am Kalam. It was made to honor Abdul Kalam.
The Presidency
Kalam became the 11th India President, following K.R. Narayanan. Kalam won the election in 2002 with a total vote of 922,884. It surpassed Laksmi Sahgal who got only 107,366 votes. Kalam’s term of presidency lasted from 2002-2007. Kalam became professor at IIMS after leaving the office. He also became a professor at any other institutions. He also taught information technology at IIIT. It was in May 2012, Kalam launched a particular program, namely What Can I Give Movement. It was aimed for the youth of India. The major theme or central is to defeat the corruption of in the India.
In the year 2011, Abdul Kalam was criticized by several civil groups. It was because of his support to the nuclear power plant establishment. He was criticized about his wrong decision to legalize the nuclear power plant without consulting with the locals. Mostly, the protesters were aggressive to Kalam’s visit as they considered him to be pro-nuclear scientist. Local people weren’t impressed by the assurances given by Kalam regarding to the security features of the nuclear power plant.
Writings
In Abdul Kalam’s book India 2020, he strongly promoted an action plan to improve India to be a developed nation and “knowledge superpower” by the year 2020. He advocated his work on India’s nuclear program as a method to get into India’s place as future advanced nation and superpower. Kalam described the transformative event in his life when he consulted with Pramukh Swami. Pramuk was the guru of BAPS. Based on this, India required the absolute solution to deal with current condition of corruption and crime. It became the vision in Kalam’s life. There was his final book before his death, namely Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh.
Personality
Well, there were different faces behind this man. He was considered as a sensitive being, prolific poet, and an Indian patriot, who always thought that India should adopt nuclear technology to get the respect in World Nations. Kalam was also considered as a humble man with full of curiosity. He got an award of Bharat Ratna, which brought revolution through integrated missile development program. He also made a poem that’s written based on the aim to make his nuclear project well known. Kalam was also known as a person who made an example of simple lifestyle to the entire country.
There was a moment when Kalam was bitten by a peacock. Yet, he brought the peacock to doctors for treatment. It’s true that Kalam was always a bachelor until his death. APJ Abdul Kalam was a nation’s gem. He gave the best tribute to the nation. The entire country mourned for his death. Kalam once sold newspapers during his childhood. He was considered as a rare gem with rich of potentials. Abdul was believed to be successful in removing poverty. He also included spiritual solutions for the entire country. Modi, India PM always called Kalam as respectable teacher.
The Death
Speaking at a commiseration meeting of the BJP parliamentary gathering, Modi gave a description to Abdul Kalam. He was mentioned as a simple man with special personalities, who gave the best for everything that he did. Kalam died during his lecture at IIMS. He collapsed while giving a lecture for only 5 minutes. Later, he was brought to Bethany Hospital in a very critical condition. However, there was no sign of life upon the arrival. The cause of the death was sudden cardiac failure. Kalam’s body was taken to his hometown. There were many attendants during the burial ceremony. It was the end of nation’s gemstone.
