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Tuesday 28 Jul 2015 - 11:18 Makkah mean time-12-10-1436
Guwahati (IINA) - Former President of India and renowned scientist APJ Abdul Kalam died after he was hospitalized in a very critical condition at a private hospital in the east Indian state of Meghalaya's capital Shillong on Monday.
The government has declared a 7-day national mourning as a mark of respect for the departed former president. Kalam, 84, arrived at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, at 6pm to deliver lecture to post graduate students of the institute. He reached Shillong by road from Guwahati. He was supposed to address the students till 10.40pm on the same day. After he reached IIM-Shillong, he collapsed around 7pm while delivering lecture to students and was rushed to a nearest private hospital.
The former President was also supposed to address the students from 10am to 12.30pm on Tuesday. An IIM-Shillong faculty said that Kalam has been visiting the institute for last three years to address the students. This year it was Kalam's third visit to IIM-Shillong on Monday. Kalam was the 11th President of India and held the post from July 25, 2002 to July 25, 2007. He was a renowned scientist and is considered to be the main brain behind India's space launch vehicle (SLV) and missile program.
Assam and Nagaland Governor PB Acharya said that the nation has suffered a great loss in the demise of Kalam. Acharya said that Kalam is not only a former president but also a highly respected scientist internationally. In 2012 Kalam was in Guwahati where he attended the 14th convocation function of IIT-Guwahati. Speaking at the convocation function, Kalam told students that wanted to see a "silent" Brahmaputra emerging into a "smart" waterway in the country. Kalam told the students that it is his dream to make Brahmaputra the most vibrant waterway in the country. "Brahmaputra is very close to me. Yesterday and even today I visited the river. It is a silent river with limited activities now. My dream is to see Brahmaputra become a smart waterway in the country," Kalam had said then.
Born on October 15, 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr Kalam made significant contribution as project director to develop India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club.
He was responsible for the evolution of Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) launch vehicle program, particularly the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr Kalam took up the responsibility of developing indigenous guided missiles at Defense Research and Development Organization as the chief executive of integrated guided missile development program (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and operationalization of Agni and Prithvi missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions.
He was the scientific adviser to defense minister and secretary, department of Defense Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the weaponization of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with department of atomic energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defense systems by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as light combat aircraft.
As chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation. Dr Kalam has served as the principal scientific advisor to the government of India, in the rank of Cabinet minister, from November 1999 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many development applications. Dr Kalam was also the chairman, ex-officio, of the scientific advisory committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020.
Dr Kalam took up academic pursuit as professor, technology & societal transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and research tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by meeting high school students across the country. In his literary pursuit four of Dr Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages.
Dr Kalam was one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honor of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He was awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He was a recipient of several other awards and fellow of many professional institutions. Dr Kalam became the 11th President of India on July 25, 2002. His focus was on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.
HA/IINA
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