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Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (born October 15, 1931, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India), usually referred to as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is the President of India. He is a notable Indian scientist and an engineer.
Biography Born in Dhanushkodi, in what is now Tamil Nadu, to a working class Muslim family, Kalam received his degree in aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1958. He joined India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) upon graduation to work on a failed hovercraft project. In 1962, he moved to the Indian Space Research Organisation, where his team successfully launched several satellites. He made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980.
In 1982, he returned to the DRDO as director, focusing on guided missiles. He was responsible for development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI missiles. In July 1992, he became scientific advisor to India's defence minister. His work led to the successful Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998 which made India a nuclear weapon state.
Kalam received India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1997.
On July 18, 2002, Kalam was elected by an overwhelming majority (upwards of 90%) as President of India and took office on July 25. He was nominated for the position by the then ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the Congress Party, the primary opposition, concurred. His only opposition in the race was a leftist nominee, 87-year-old Lakshmi Sahgal, best known for having served under Subhash Chandra Bose in the Indian National Army in its campaign against the British during World War 2.
Kalam observes strict personal discipline, practicing vegetarianism, teetotalism, and celibacy. It is believed that he reads both the Qur'an (the main holy text of his family's faith, Islam) and the Bhagavad Gita (the main holy text of India's majority religion, Hinduism), and many hope that he will be able to heal recent religious factionalism in India (especially in Gujarat). Kalam acknowledged in many places that he is following Tirukkural; in most of his speeches, he quotes at least one kural.
Politically, Kalam wants India to take a more assertive stance in international relations and sees his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.
He has written many inspirational books like his autobiography Wings of Fire aimed at encouraging the Indian youth. He strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and into a developed nation by the year 2020. He takes active interest in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research programme to increase intelligence using bio-implants. He is also a supporter of open source software over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will let more people enjoy the benefits of information technology.
Trivia - Closing salutation: Jai hind
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