Sir — APJ Abdul Kalam was a great scientist, an inspiring leader and, above all, an extraordinary human being. He rose from humble beginnings and earned the reputation of being a ‘people’s President’, who endeared himself to all sections of society, especially the young.
Acknowledged as the driving force behind India’s quest for cutting-edge space technologies, Kalam’s contributions to India’s satellite programmes, the guided and ballistic missiles project, nuclear weapons programme and the light Combat Aircraft project, made him a household name.
Mainly focussing on research in defence and space arena, he later involved himself in the India’s missile programme. He was quoted as saying that, like most of the technology he spearheaded, he himself was ‘Made in India’, not having been trained abroad or studied in any fancy educational institution anywhere.