A. P. J.

Abdul Kalam

This article is about the former President of India. For the Indian freedom fighter, see Abul Kalam Azad.
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Abdul Kalam at the 12th Wharton India Economic Forum, 2008
11th President of India
In office
25 July 2002 25 July 2007
Prime
Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Manmohan Singh
Vice
President
Krishan Kant
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by K. R. Narayanan
Succeeded by Pratibha Patil
Personal details
Born Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
15 October 1931 (age 82)
Rameswaram,Ramanathapuram District,Madras
Presidency, British India
(now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Profession Professor, author, scientist, president
Aerospace engineer
Website abdulkalam.com
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (born 15 October 1931) is an Indian scientist and
administrator who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Kalam was born and raised
in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, studied physics at the St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, and aerospace
engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai.
Before his term as President, he worked as an Aerospace engineer with Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
[1]
Kalam is popularly
known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch
vehicle technology.
[2]
He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-
II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. Some scientific experts
have however called Kalam a man with no authority over nuclear physics but who just carried on the
works of Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.
[3]

Kalam was elected the President of India in 2002, defeating Lakshmi Sahgal, was nominated
by Bharatiya Janata Party and supported by opposition Indian National Congress, the major political
parties of India. He is currently a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Indian
Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management Indore, honorary fellow of
Indian, Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, a
professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), JSS University (Mysore) and an
adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.
Kalam advocated plans to develop India into a developed nation by 2020 in his book India 2020. He has
received several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. Kalam is
known for his motivational speeches and interaction with the student community in India. He launched
his mission for the youth of the nation in 2011 called the What Can I Give Movement with a central theme
to defeat corruption in India.



SLOGANS
You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three
key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
The world has today 546 nuclear plants generating electricity. Their experience is being continuously
researched, and feedback should be provided to all. Nuclear scientists have to interact with the people of
the nation, and academic institutions continuously update nuclear power generation technology and
safety.
Creativity is the key to success in the future, and primary education is where teachers can bring creativity
in children at that level.