Great personalities are not born every day; they are born once in a century and are remembered for millennials to come. One such great personality that we will always be proud of is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. His full name was Avul Pakir Jainul abdeen Abdul Kalam, born in Rameswaram of Madras Presidency on 15th October 1931 and died on July 27, 2015 in Shillong.

He was an Indian Scientist and also a politician leader, who later became the 11th President of India. He played an important role in the development of India’s missile and nuclear weapons program.

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was born to a poor Tamil Muslim family. He lived with his family in the temple city of Rameswaramin Tamilnadu, where his father, Jainulabdeen, had a boat and was an imam of a local mosque. At the same time, his mother, Ashiamma, was a housewife. Kalam had four brothers and one sister in his family, from which he was the youngest.

Kalam's ancestors were wealthy traders and landowners and had vast land and property tracts. But with time, their business of ferrying pilgrims and trading groceries suffered huge losses due to the Pamban Bridge's opening. As a result, Kalam's family had become inadequate and struggled hard to make a living. At a tender age, Kalam had to sell newspapers to supplement his family income.

Although Kalam had average grades in school, he was very hard working and had an immense desire to learn. He spent a lot of time studying and had developed a particular interest in mathematics. Kalam left Schwartz higher secondary school after completing his early education and went to Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. From Saint Joseph's College, he graduated in physics in 1954. He moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technology.

Kalam joined as a scientist in the aeronautical development establishment of DRDO in 1960, after graduation. His career started with him designing a small hovercraft. However, he was not convinced by his choice of a job at the DRDO. Kalam was transferred to ISRO in 1969, where he was the project director of India's first satellite vehicle launch. The satellite vehicle deployed the Rohini satellite successfully in near-Earth orbit in July 1980.

Kalam received the Government's LV and Slv projects between the 1970s-90s. He directed two projects like Project Devil and Project Valiant, which aimed at developing ballistic missiles from the successful SLV program's technology Kalam somehow convinced Indira Gandhi and sought secret funds for these aerospace projects. His research and immense knowledge brought him and the nation great laurels in the 1980s.

Kalam then went on to become the scientific advisor of the defence minister in 1992 and served at the same post for five years before getting promoted to the post of principal scientific advisor to the government. His immense role in the country's 1998 nuclear weapons tests solidified India as a nuclear power.

Kamal put forward a nationwide plan called Technology Vision 2020, which according to him, was a fantastic way for transforming the stature of India in 20 years, taking it from a developing to a developed nation. The plan envisioned the progress of the nation by adopting advanced technology, expanding healthcare facilities, and emphasizing the education of the masses.

Kalam was entitled to be the 11th president of India. His term period of 25th July 2002 to 25th July 2007 was achieved by winning a presidential election in 2002 with a massive margin of votes. National Democratic Alliances’ nominated him to be president and it was supported by Samajwadi Party and National Congress Party. He was lovingly called as peoples’ president as he had done uncountable works for the welfare of the people and through the entire country.

Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 36 universities and institutions from India and abroad. He has been awarded with 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 awards and Fellow of many professional institutions.

He was brave and courageous enough to take decisions and implement them no matter if that was tough or sensitive or highly controversial. The “office of profit” is perhaps the hard Act that he had to sign. The “office of profit”, according to the English Act of Settlement in 1701 explains that no single individual who has a professional set up under the royal family, who has some kind of provision with or who is taking a pension from the prince has the right to work for the of the “House of Commons”. This will allow the royal family to have zero influence on the administrative conditions.

He had also become one of the most talked-about presidents Rule in 2005 for imposing the Presidents’ rule in Bihar. Kalam expressed his wish to take up the position one more time but then later changed his mind.

After taking farewell from the office, he shifted and commenced his career as a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong. He served as an Aerospace Engineering professor at Anna University, Tamil Nadu. He also lit up educational institutions like the Indian Institute of Indore, Indian Institute of Bangalore with his presence and knowledge. Sir Kalam served as Chancellor Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. In 2012, he introduced a program called “What Can I Give?” focusing on the theme of eradicating corruption from the country.

Abdul Kalam was a mortal human being just like us, but for his contribution to the country he remained immortal in the hearts of people. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was one such personality who died at 83. It was shocking news for the entire country as a pure soul left us forever. Abdul Kalam died while delivering a speech for the youth in an event at IIM Shillong. During the middle of the speech, he suffered from a cardiac arrest and collapsed. Although he got admitted to the best hospital in Shillong, the doctors could not save him.

Dr. Abdul Kalam was a person who was not only a great political leader but also a good teacher and a writer. He had many delicate qualities and visionaries. He always had an excellent dream for the country's development and realized that the youth can bring revolution. During his university career, he inspired many of the students through his inspirational speech and tremendous visionaries.

Although the life of Abdul Kalam was filled with struggles and hardships, he rose above the adversaries to become one of the greatest scientists of modern India. His role in nation-building will be remembered till posterity.

Dr. Kalam has left the legacy of his scientific achievements, thoughts and teachings as a source of inspiration for generation to come in future India and the world. Today, we really are grateful to the almighty for giving us the opportunity to live in an era when we could share the sunlight with such a great personality. May his soul rest in peace.

(The author is a freelance columnist and can be mailed at numaanmha@gmail.com)

Box: Although the life of Abdul Kalam was filled with struggles and hardships, he rose above the adversaries to become one of the greatest scientists of modern India. His role in nation-building will be remembered till posterity