Who was Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam?

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam – This is a household name in India. One of India’s greatest scientist, a great educator, a great visionary and India’s 11th President, his achievements list is long indeed. He was born on 15th October, 1931 to a little educated boatowner in Rameswaram – the holy town in Tamil Nadu. He showed that your background and money cannot be a reason to pull you down. He went on to honour the Bharat Ratna award. Yes!! This is not a typographical error. I did write that he honoured the award. Such was his esteem.

Abdul Kalam
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam delivering a speech (Pic: Pushkarv, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

A Simple and Down to Earth Man

Does knowledge mean a person should become a snob? Does knowledge of science turns a person towards Atheism? You only need to look towards Dr. Kalam and you will find that all this is not true. In fact, in this book, he actually gives a great explanation as to the relation between science and God.

He was a man who respected all religions and had immense respect and gratitude for mankind in general. He also gives a lot of credit to his mentors – Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Prof. Satish Dhawan and Dr Brahm Prakash.

The great man breathed his last while doing what he loved the most. He was delivering a lecture in Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong. The topic of the lecture was “Creating a Livable Planet Earth”. The perfect topic for the perfect man who lived his life like an example and left the mortal world as an example.

The Missile Man & People’s President

We all know how he got this nickname. His efforts made India into a nuclear power and a space power as well. His contributions to the society at large is unbelievable. He played an instrumental role in the Pkhran – II nuclear tests. He was also called the People’s President. Such was his dedication to work, that he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. Along with the Bharat Ratna, he also won several other prestigious awards and the list of awards are also very long.

Awards and Honours of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Year of award or honourName of award or honourAwarding organisation
2014Honorary professorBeijing University, China
2014Doctor of ScienceEdinburgh University, UK
2013Von Braun AwardNational Space Society
2012Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa)Simon Fraser University
2011IEEE Honorary MembershipIEEE
2010Doctor of EngineeringUniversity of Waterloo
2009Honorary DoctorateOakland University
2009Hoover MedalASME Foundation, USA
2009International von KĂ¡rmĂ¡n Wings AwardCalifornia Institute of Technology, USA
2008Doctor of Engineering (Honoris Causa)Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2008Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa)Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
2007Honorary Doctorate of Science and TechnologyCarnegie Mellon University
2007King Charles II MedalRoyal Society, UK
2007Honorary Doctorate of ScienceUniversity of Wolverhampton, UK
2000Ramanujan AwardAlwars Research Centre, Chennai
1998Veer Savarkar AwardGovernment of India
1997Indira Gandhi Award for National IntegrationIndian National Congress
1997Bharat RatnaPresident of India
1995Honorary FellowNational Academy of Medical Sciences
1994Distinguished FellowInstitute of Directors (India)
1990Padma VibhushanGovernment of India
1981Padma BhushanGovernment of India

Wings of Fire

If a list of must read books was ever made, this one will definitely be there right among the very best. This book has been compiled by Mr. Arun Tiwari who worked under Dr. Kalam for a decade in the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad. He was the main catalyst for this book. So, we can thank him for this work of his. I would urge every one to read the book. If you are not in a habit of book reading, this could be the ideal book to start cultivating the habit. The links to the paperback and the kindle editions are given below.

If you have any further questions, please leave a comment below and I will be happy to answer them. Also, please feel free to check out the other reviews in various categories.

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