“Suffering is the essence of success," said The Missile Man of India Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam well known as A.P.J Abdul Kalam. He served as the 11th president of India(2002-2007) and was also an Indian aerospace scientist, a great teacher, an author and a public figure. He was raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Naidu. He studied physics and aeronautical engineering. In 1969 he was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) where he was the project head of India's first satellite launch vehicle. A.P.J Abdul Kalam achieved lots of respect, fame, honour and titles in a short time. Let's talk about some of his greatest achievements of all time.
India's First Satellite Launch Vehicle-3(SLV-3)
The first success of A.P.J was SLV-3. Before APJ stepped up, India lacked development in the world of space technology. While working in ISRO, A.P.J left a great impact on the space world. He supervised the development of SLV-3. Under his guidance, India was successful in making and launching India's first own SLV-3. The first experimental launch of SLV-3 was a failure but Kalam's 10 years of hard work paid off on 18 July 1980 when SLV-3 took a successful flight. This was a great achievement for APJ as well as India. It gave a boost to Indian space tech.
Made India a Nuclear Power
A.P.J once said that the country needs nuclear energy as it is clean energy unlike energy generated by burning fossil fuels.
In 1998 the prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with A.P.J decided that it was time for India to step ahead in nuclear development. A.P.J Kalam was the chief project coordinator along with Rajagopala Chidambaram. Pokhran-II was a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions in which the first was a fusion bomb and the rest were fission bombs. This test took place in Pokhran situated in Rajasthan.
On May 11 A.P.J said, "Today, I remember the hot day of 1998 at Pokhran:53C. When most of the world was sleeping; India's nuclear era emerged." This was one of the greatest successes in Kalam's carrier. He was considered the best-known nuclear scientist in India. With A.P.J's and his companion's hard work India took a huge step in the nuclear era.
Became the Missile Man of India
Under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMPD) launched in 1982-83, there are four main projects; Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Nag, and Trishul.
Dr Kalam was allowed to lead the IGMDP. After years of hard work, India developed its missiles: Prithvi(Short range surface-to-surface missile), Agni(Medium to intercontinental surface-to-surface missile), Aakash(Medium range surface-to-air missile), Nag(Third generation anti-tank missile), Trishul(Short range surface-to-air missile). Out of these, the 2 missiles named Prithvi and Agni were launched successfully. This particular achievement made Dr Kalam famous as the Missile Man of India. It also made the military more powerful.
Kalam-Raju Stent
Dr Kalam was concerned about the health care requirements in India. The healthcare sector was lagging. Kalam's vision was to integrate IT with the healthcare sector to meet the demands of people.
In the 1990s India's first coronary stent also known as Kalam-Raju stent was developed under Kalam's collaboration with cardiologist B. Soma Raju(the founder of the Hyderabad-based care group of hospitals.)This invention was a step taken to make India medically independent.
Kalam-Raju stent is a low-cost coronary stent for heart diseases. This particular development gave immense satisfaction to Kalam as it was saving numerous lives. It was launched in the market in 1994 which helped the rural area the most in health care requirements.
Development of India's First Indigenous Hovercraft
After graduating from the Madras Institute of technology in 1960, Kalam joined the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the Defense Research and Development Organization(DRDO).
He was assigned to develop hovercraft for a defence organisation. Hovercraft is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, mud, water, ice and other surfaces. After intense hard work, Kalam and his team were successful in making hovercraft and named it NANDI. The source of the name is a white bull that is a vehicle of Lord Shiva. A.P.J. was appreciated by the Defense Minister for his work.
First Principal Scientific Advisor Of the Indian Government
Principal Scientific Advisor(PSA) is the chief advisor of the government who takes lead in all scientific matters. This position was created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The opportunity to be the first PSA was given to A.P.J Abdul Kalam. He supervised and made plans for the healthcare, IT, defence and agriculture sectors.
Received Notable Awards
Dr Kalam's deeds were appreciated pretty well by giving notable awards by the government. He received not one but seven awards.
1981:Padma Bhushan
1990:Padma Vibhushan
1997:Bharat Ratna
1997:Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration
1998:Veer Savarkar Award
2000:SASTRA Ramanujan Prize
2013:Von Braun Award
A great writer
Dr Kalam in total wrote 25 books. Some of the most inspiring ones are mentioned below.
a)India 2020:A Vision for the New Millennium
b)Wings of Fire: An Autobiography
c)Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power within India
d)The Luminous Sparks: A Biography in Verse and Colours
e)Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life
From selling newspapers to achieving so much was the journey of our Missile Man. Dr Kalam was not limited to the achievements mentioned above. He has done much more for our country as a leader and a scientist. His confidence and decision-making skills were remarkable which also made him a good leader.
His devotion towards serving the nation will always be remembered by all of us. He is a great inspiration for the youth. Let us all honour him by following the four mantras shared by him to succeed in life: "I will have a great aim; I will continuously acquire knowledge; I will do hard work; and I will persevere and succeed."
Written by- Radhika Agrawal
Edited by - Kritika Sharma
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1 Comments
He was truly a great man!
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