By Dileep Thekkethil
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BENGALURU: The former President of India, also known as the ‘Missile Man of India’, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, passed away today in a private hospital after he suffered a massive heart attack while delivering a lecture in Indian Institute of Management – Shillong.
Dr. Kalam, aged 84, was the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007 and was one of the most populist president, who envisioned India as the next super power.
Dr. Kalam, through scores of speeches that he delivered across the country and through the books that he penned focused on the power of the youth in taking the country forward.
Soon after he was moved to the ICU, the Director of Bethany Hospital told the press that “He is in the Intensive Care Unit. We are examining him. We suspect that it could be cardiac arrest,”. But the doctors couldn’t do much as the octogenarian failed to respond to the medicine.
Dr. Kalam was born in the temple city of Rameshwaram to a boatman. Through his hard work, dedication and perseverance he became the pivot in India’s mission to space and nuclear technology. He was the backbone behind the Pokhran-II nuclear test of 1998 and his contributions to the missile technology earned him the name ‘Missile Man of India’.
Dr. Kalam was awarded Padma Bhushan and Bharat Ratna before he took the office of the president in 2002. He has authored over 20 books and written an autobiography “Wings of Fire”.