Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: "Indian Missile man"

"We must think and act like a nation of a billion people and not like that of a million people. Dream, dream, dream ! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action," said the man who dreamt for India, and acted on its behalf to place her in the exclusive Space Club. He wove a first world dream for the third world nation. He is a vegetarian and teetotaler, who recites the Quran and the Bhagwad Gita with equal devotion and has an unparalleled career as a defense scientist.

Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is the father of India’s indigenous missile program. His three visions for India – Freedom, Development and Self-Reliance, are arrived at on the basis of achievements and progress made by India, and during his own career as a missile scientist. Recipient of several awards including the Padma Bhusan (1981), the Padma Vibhushan (1990), he has been honored with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna (1997).
As the Scientific and Technology Advisor to the Prime Minister Of India, he propelled India into the select club of Missiles possessing countries. He recently resigned from the post to take up a more ambitious program of teaching and creating scientific temper in the minds of young inquisitive and knowledge thirsty Indians. His potent concoction to 'hurl' India in the Super Power Countries Club, 'Vision 2020', spells nothing short of a revolution at grass-root levels.

Childhood
Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam studied at Schwartz High School in Ramanathapuram. After graduating in science from St. Joseph's College in Tiruchi, he did his DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the MIT, Madras, during 1954-57.
His father Jainulabdeen Marakayar was not a well-educated person, nor did he possess wealth in excess. Mother Ashiamma, had gained much formal education. His father possessed great innate wisdom, true generosity of spirit and was a spiritual person. In a remote belt of a spiritually charged island town, at the southern tip, his father rented boats to fishermen.
Abdul had a materially and emotionally secure childhood. Being the youngest in the family he was pampered a lot. His neighbors remember him as an introvert interested in reading. In the environment that he grew up, books were a scarce commodity. Mr STR Manickam, his neighbor, who encouraged him to read books, says, "I used to have a library and Kalam was always there. He used to read everything he could lay his hands on."
His decision to become a vegetarian was partly due to his financial constraints – but later on, he cultivated it as a habit. Kalam believes that he has inherited honesty and self-discipline from his father, while faith in goodness and kindness is the trait inherited from his mother.

Activities
After completing his third year at MIT, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL), Bangalore as a trainee. Here, he worked on piston and turbine engines examining as part of a team. He also received training on radial engine-cum-drum operations. Here he also learnt how to check a crankshaft for wear and tear, and a connecting rod and crankshaft for twist.
In 1958, when he came out of HAL as a graduate of aeronautical engineering, he had his long-standing dream of flying, as two alternative opportunities for employment. One was the job at Directorate of Technical Development and Production(DTD&P) of the Ministry of Defence and another was a career in the Indian Air Force. He applied at both the places, and the interview calls came simultaneously from both.
He went to Delhi for an interview with DTD&P, which did not challenge his knowledge of the subject. Then he went to Dehra Dun for interview with the Air Force Selection Board. Here too, the interview was more on personality test, rather than testing his knowledge. He stood ninth in the batch of 25, and eight officers were selected to be commissioned in the Air Force. Kalam could feel the opportunity to join the Air Force slipping from his hands.
After returning to Delhi, Kalam received an appointment letter from DTD&P. On the next day he joined as Senior Scientific Assistant, with a basic salary of Rs. 250/- per month. Here, he was posted at the Technical Center(Civil Aviation). He lost his resentment of failure, thinking he would be able to make aeroplanes airworthy if not fly aeroplanes. During his first year in the Directorate, he carried out a design assignment on supersonic target aircraft with the help of his officer-in-charge, R. Varadharajan, and won praise from the Director, Dr Neelakantan. Then he was sent to the Aircraft and Armament Testing Unit(A & ATU) at Kanpur to get shop-floor exposure to aircraft maintenance.
Upon his return to Delhi, he was informed that the design of a DART target had been taken up at the DTD&P and he was included in the design team. After that, he undertook a preliminary design study on Human Centrifuge. He designed and developed a vertical takeoff and landing platform, and Hot Cockpit. Three years later, the Aeronautical Development Establishment(ADE) was formed in Bangalore and he was posted there.
During 1963-82, he served the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) in various capacities. Here Kalam initiated Fibre Reinforced Plastics(FRP) activities, then after a stint with the aerodynamics and design group, he joined the satellite launch vehicle team at Thumba, near Trivandram and soon became Project Director for SLV-3. As Project Director, he was responsible for carrying out the design, development, qualification and flight testing of 44 major sub systems. The project managed to put Rohini, a scientific satellite, into orbit in July 1980. He was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1981.
In 1982, as Director of DRDO, Kalam was entrusted with the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMDP), India's most successful military research task to date. The programme constituted of 5 major projects for meeting the requirements of the defence services and for establishing re-entry technology.
From his SLV-3 experience, Kalam had learned the advantages of team work and of sharing the tasks with partners in private and public sector industries. In the new management structure of the missile program, Kalam, as the Chairman of the Programme Management Board, delegated almost all executive and financial powers to five carefully selected Project Directors and kept himself free to address the core technology issues. His task was to inspire and monitor over 20 institutions and partners outside - ranging from large public and private sector suppliers to small specialist firms that needed seed money to take up the precision tasks.
The missiles went up more or less on schedule: Trishul in 1985, Prithvi in 1988, Agni in 1989 and the others in 1990. The development and successful flight test of Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag, and Agni established the indigeneous capability towards self reliance in defence preparedness. The successful launching of 'Agni' surface-to-surface missile was a unique achievement which made India a member of an exclusive club of highly developed countries. The Trishul has the unique distinction of being capable of serving all three services.
The establishment of the Research Centre Imarat(RCI), a campus 8km from DRDL, in 1988 was perhaps the most satisfying achievement for Kalam during the missile years. He received generous funding from the Government to build the futuristic centre, which is totally geared for work in advanced missile technologies. Its state-of-the-art facilities are set in a unique ambience and the level of comfort accorded to the individual worker is matched by few R&D institutions. And Kalam's interest in the environment saw RCI emerge as an oasis in a rocky wasteland. It has a small farm that meets the food requirements of those who stay in the RCI quarters. Kalam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1990.

Kalam is by no means a miracle man. As the head of a vast network of laboratories - whose products include avalanche-controlling structures in Kashmir, water desalination kits for the Thar desert, a world class sonar submarine finder for the latest warship - INS Delhi, and infra-red night vision goggles for the Indian Army - Kalam's attention is necessarily a bit diffused. His self-effacing persona cloaks a formidable catalyst who can make people work.
On 25th November 1999, Kalam was appointed Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and accorded the rank of a Cabinet Minister. His role was to advise on overall scientific development in the country on issues relating to scientific and technical policy in different sectors. Kalam also advised on matters relating to achieving technological self-reliance and foreign collaboration.
On December 8, 2000, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Shri K.C. Pant conferred the "Life-time Contribution Award in Engineering 2000" on Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the annual function of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Kalam said that Engineering and technology should be used for the upliftment of the people living below the poverty line.
On November 10, 2001, Kalam quit as principal scientific advisor to the government. Sources close to Kalam, said he quit because of "lack of executive authority". However Kalam had been for quite some time keen on pursuing academic interests and helping scientists across the country in developing their research capabilities. Thats why after quitting he took over the job as ISRO's distinguished professor.
Dr Kalam has spent the past few years developing the concept of "India Millennium Missions 2020" - a blueprint for transforming India into a developed nation. He calls it "the second vision of the nation" and says he wants to focus on the children of India to ignite in their minds a love for science and the nation's mission: a developed India.
On July 18, 2002, Kalam was elected as President of India