Passing of a Legend – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Revolutionaries die in the pursuit of patriotism, and their cause stimulates a thousand other minds; leaders die in the pursuit of world peace, and their effort prompts the work of a thousand other hands; teachers die in the pursuit of knowledge, and their lessons ignite the thoughts of a thousand other souls; but when a paragon of humility dies in the pursuit of humanity, his teachings shake the very essence of your being. Former President, Bharat Ratna recipient and the father of India's nuclear programme Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was one such enigma.

The journey of India’s ‘Missile Man’ Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in life and in death is a story of selfless, humble living that exhibited an unconditional love for children, an inspiration for the youth and a never-ending quest for knowledge and its dissemination. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had humble beginnings – one among many siblings, born to a middle class family in a small town – but the simple desire of gaining knowledge, and a lot of hard work drove him to become not only an eminent scientist, but also the President of India.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was born to Jainulabdeen and Ashiamma on October 15, 1931. He came from a family which had poor financial conditions. Being an uneducated man, Dr Kalam’s father wanted his son to study. Kalam would get up at 4 am and then go to his mathematics class, after which he would go about doing odd jobs to earn a little, and study after dark - with the aid of kerosene lamps. He graduated from Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli in 1954 but not satisfied with his degree, he left for Madras later next year to study aerospace engineering. He enrolled at the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT). Fighting through all the obstacles and triumphing over his struggles, Dr Kalam rose up to become a successful scientist in ISRO.

Dr Kalam was one of the few scientists who started working with ISRO during the agency’s early years. A church became the place of work for a handful of India’s rocket scientists – including Dr Kalam; and a nearby beach became the place where the rocket launchpad was set up.

His quality of hard work arose from his belief that those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around. Cycles and bullock-carts were used back in the 1970s & 1980s to transport rocket parts and entire satellites, and Dr Kalam was one of the few scientists who made significant contributions to India’s early space program. In fact, Dr Kalam was the Director of the project that indigenously developed the SLV-III (Satellite Launch Vehicle) and also the PSLV – which is operational even today and was used in the Moon and the Mars missions. In 1980, SLV-III successfully injected the Rohini satellite into a near-Earth orbit and made India an exclusive member of the Space Club.

After working with ISRO, Dr Kalam took up responsibilities for developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at the DRDO which led to the development of AGNI and PRITHVI missiles. He also led the Pokhran-II nuclear tests that made India a nuclear weapon state.

Dr Kalam succeeded K. R. Narayan to serve as the 11th President of India from 2002 until 2007. It was a highly one-sided contest. With his appointment, Kalam became the first scientist and the first ever bachelor to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan. As a leader, he was tremendously loved and respected by all. It is rarely seen in the field of politics, but the respect for Dr Kalam as a leader transcended all political, regional and religious boundaries.

Dr Kalam grew up in a multi-religious, tolerant society with a progressive outlook. His father often quoted from Koran to make the young Kalam see the world without fear. His mother instilled in him an appreciation for art and culture, due to which Dr Kalam continued to dapple in music and poetry throughout his life.

The spiritual simplicity of his parents resulted in the Dr Kalam the world knew as an ideal secular Indian – one who believed in God, and read Koran and Gita daily.

Dr Kalam never identified himself on the basis of region, religion or language. He saw himself as a human being first and viewed everyone in the same way. He believed that life is a difficult game which can be won only by retaining your birth right to be a person.

Dr Kalam was not a stereotypical leader with interest solely in politics, or honours and accolades. Instead he spent his time talking to young students across India, inspiring them and urging them to work for their country. His message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed, as these are the great qualities that they must work towards.

Dr Abdul Kalam passed away at Bethany Hospital, Shillong, Meghalaya, due to heart failure after having collapsed during a lecture at Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. Till his last breath, Kalam was with the students he loved – addressing the students of IIM Shillong on the day of his tragic demise.

If one wants to shine like the sun, one has to burn like it.

Dr Kalam once said in a speech that if one wants to shine like the sun, one has to burn like it as well, and indeed, we know of him as a sun that shone bright with all his might, making the entire nation proud of him. Though he may no longer be in this world with us, yet his life is a living testimony of his greatness, with phenomenal lessons to be learnt. He may have passed on to his journey beyond the world of the living, but his memory lives on.