Col J P Singh, Retd
Sudden demise of former President took the nation by surprise. It was shocking because he was the most popular President of all, called People’s President. It was surprising because he was hale and hearty till the fateful moment of 27 July 2015 evening. He had started delivering his lecture at IIM Shillong when he collapsed leaving the nation orphaned.
On 10th June 2002, Prime Minister Vajpayee proposed his name for Presidentship. Dr. Kalam was elected 11th (non political) President of India in 2002, purely on merit, with the support of ruling, opposition and all national and regional parties except CPM. He won with 9,22,884 votes. His opponent Capt (INA) Lakshmi Sehgal of CPM got 1,07,366 votes. He was President from 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007.
After serving a term of five years, he returned to teaching, writing and social service. He received several prestigious awards, including India’s highest civilian honour, the BHARAT RATNA. His extraodrinary success is an amazing story of an ordinary Indian.
I am deeply pained, like others, because I too was one of the lucky ones who met him for a short while in Delhi. In February 2001, I was accompanying Lt Gen ARK Reddy, Chief of Staff, Northern Command to Army HQs when General met him. Asking me to wait in PA’s office, General went to his office. After sometime Gen Reddy called me and I saw him walking with Dr. Kalam in the corridor. I followed them stealthily. When they turned back I saluted. Dr. Kalam inquisitively looked at me as if I was looking for something. Gen Reddy told him that I was his Staff Officer and accompanying him. “Where were you, why didn’t you come in”. While I was short of words, General came to my rescue saying, “since it was a short courtesy call I left him with the PA”. Seeing BIHAR on my shoulders, he asked, which part of Bihar? I told him that I was from J&K. Gen Reddy told him that I was in BIHAR Regt from North like him from South. He softly said okay, okay, repeatedly. He asked me how the J&K was? I told him that it was getting better. While taking leave, he told me to come to his office next time when in Delhi. These few moments and words left a lasting impression in my mind. His humility and goodness impressed me immensely. Firstly, on seeing me, when he said something, I thought he felt that I was looking for someone and wanted to help and guide me. Later with little interaction, my self esteem and pride rose sky high. Fear of superiors vanished from my mind altogether. Having gone through great moments with a great man, I wish to advise my younger generation friends not to be scarred of any perceived big, powerful and mighty people. Rest assured, they are all like Dr. Kalam. Whenever you get an opportunity, must meet and talk to them. That will add to your confidence and give them happiness. Moreover when you go for an interview, don’t be worried about the status and superiority of examiners because they are all like Dr. Kalam and there to help you to realise your dreams by selecting and giving you a chance. Just give them an opportunity of interviewing you. When I asked Gen Reddy the purpose of meeting, he said, “I requested him for job for my ex boss to which he instantaneously agreed” Enquiring how he knew him so well, General told me that his brother, ‘Scientist F’ and Dr. Kalam had been together in ISRO and DRDO. Till then I only knew him as Pokhran hero, great scientist, a missile man and Bharat Ratna. I could not imagine he was so helpful, inspiring, humble, respectful and accessible. No wonder such a great man had to be the President of India as ‘People’s President’.
Dr. Kalam was born in Rameshwaram to a poor Tamil Family. His father’s name was Jainulabudeen, a boat repairer and his mother Ashiamma was a housewife. Since he came from a poor background, he started working at an early age to supplement his father’s income. After completing school, Kalam distributed newspapers. He remained an average student during school days but was hardworking. He was very inquisitive with a strong desire to learn and spend hours with books especially in mathematics. His class fellows say that while they would play, he would read and read. After completing High School, Kalam went to Saint Joseph’s College Tiruchirappalli from where he graduated in Physics in 1954 and joined aerospace engineering in 1955 at Madras. While Kalam was working on a project, the Dean was dissatisfied with lack of progress and threatened to revoke his scholarship unless the project was finished within three days. Kalam met the deadline. Impressed, the Dean told him that he was intentionally putting him under stress to see his potential.
Kalam wanted to be a ‘Fighter Pilot’ but narrowly missed achieving his dream. He took the failure seriously but motivated by teachers, he joined DRDO where he served as Scientist and Scientist Administrator. On one’s dreams, Dr. Kalam would tell the students, “Dream is not the one you see while sleeping. Dream is what does not let you sleep”. He later joined Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) where he was intimately involved in India’s civilian space program and ‘military missile development’. He thus came to be known as the ‘Missile Man of India’ for his work in the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.
Dr. Kalam served as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and Secretary of DRDO from July 1992 to December 1999. The Pokhran II Nuclear tests were conducted during this period in which he played an intensive political and technological role. Media coverage of Dr. Kalam during this period made him the country’s best known nuclear scientist. He regarded his work on India’s Nuclear Weapons Programme as a way to assert India’s place as a future superpower.
After leaving office, Dr. Kalam became a visiting professor at IIM Shillong, Ahmedabad & Indore, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvanthapuram and an adjunct at many other academic and research institutions across India. He taught information technology at IIT, Hyderabad, BHU and Anna University, Chennai.
In May 2012, Kalam launched a programme for the youth of India called ‘What Can I Give to the Movement’, with a central theme of defeating corruption. He firmly believed that only the children (daughters mainly) can force corrupt parents, with love as instrument’, to give it up and can act as catalysts for corruption free India. In 2011, a Hindi film was made on him, ‘I am Kalam’ showing how Dr. Kalam influences a poor but brilliant Rajasthani boy named Chhotu and becomes his idol. Chhotu renames himself ‘Kalam’ in honour of his idolatry hero.
In his book India 2020, Dr. Kalam strongly advocated a five point action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and developed nation which included agriculture, food processing, education, healthcare, information & communication technology, quality electric power, surface transport, infrastructure and self-reliance in critical technologies.
Kalam set a target of interacting with million students which he far exceeded as President. He felt comfortable in the company of young people, particularly high school students. “I intend to share with them my experiences, helping them to ignite their imagination and preparing them to work for a developed India”, he would say. Students would ask him questions like class teacher which he used to answer likewise. He would tell them, “If you want to shine like sun, burn like sun”. None else could be more inspiring for youths. Hence students’ loss is irreparable. Let us resolve to work tirelessly to make India a developed nation (his dream) by 2020. That would be the most befitting tribute to him. Since he had desired no holiday on his death and wanted us to work extra on that day instead, inspired me to write this tribute to the greatest son of the soil the same day. “we can shape our lives through will, persistence, ability and sheer courage, but not given the right to choose how and when we die”, says Prime Minister Modi. I think Dr. Kalam was given the choice and he chose to say goodbye on his feet, in a classroom, infront of his students. Amazing!
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