Dr.Avul Pakir Jainul Abdeen Abdul Kalam, for short Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the 11th president of India, for the term 2002-2007, who was a brilliant aerospace scientist, needs no introduction. Dr. Kalam is well known for his simplicity and humble nature not only in India but internationally too.
He is a man that was a true patriot and had a rock-solid dedication towards his work, he always wanted to do great things for his country and very much succeeded in doing so as we all know it. He is the only man for which one can say who had no haters but only admirers.
Dr. Kalam is still an inspiration to many and will continue to be a motivation for many generations to come by. Here are a few interesting facts about his life that will amaze you and probably inspire you too –
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born into a low-income family, on October 15th, 1931, his father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and his mother and Ashiamma his mother was a simple housewife, and he was born in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
- The family was financially unstable, and so at a young age, Dr. Kalam started a local job disturbing newspaper to meet family needs.
- Dr. Kalam was a humble and nobleman and had been bestowed with many titles such as “People’s President” for being just and right and for his contributions to the balletic missile’s technology “Missile Man of India.”
- He was sworn in as the 11th President of India in 2002, after the term of K.R. Narayan and he was the only bachelor or unmarried President of India till date.
- After being sworn in as the President of India, he started a trust named PURA – Providing Urban Amenities to Rural areas and used to donate his savings and salary he used to earn.
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a pure vegetarian from starting to end, and not many people know it, but he was also a talented Veena player and was very fond of it.
- Before being sworn in as the president, Dr. Kalam had been honored with Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and after that, in 1997 he was honored with Bharat Ratna.
- Dr. Kalam is the only person that has received an honorary degree from not one or two but 40 universities.
- The autobiography of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam “Wings of Fire” was originally published in English but by far it has been translated in more than 13 languages.
- After his death, to honorDr. Kalam on his birthday, October 15th was declared “Youth Renaissance Day” in Tamil Nadu.
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a great visionary, who believed in hard work and dedication and despite all his success he still chose to remain down to earth, for many years to come he will always be counted as one of the greatest Indians who inspired many youngsters.
“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam