APJ Abdul Kalam Lives On

Abdul Ghani and APS Shreethan have made sure that the people's President Dr APJ Ahdul Kalam is remembered with the same dignity he led his life with even after his demise

- CSS Latha

Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, better known as APJ Abdul Kalam, one fo the most loved erstwhile Presidents of India, lived a life dedicated to the nation and its youth.

Dr Kalam stood tall, thanks to his simplicity and humane ways. The Indian scientist turned statesman, hailing from the small town of Rameshwaram, went on to become a scientist and science administrator at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). At the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), he was a part of India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts and came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work and his organisational, technical, and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests. His humility and achievements endeared him to the youth of the nation like never before. He even died doing what he loved most, addressing the students at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong in 2015, setting a landmark even in his demise.

The nation bid a formal and heartfelt adieu to this iconic personality with state honours, and Dr Kalam’s mortal remains were laid to rest in his home town, Rameshwaram. Almost everyone knows this part of the story. But the information that neither the citizens nor the people in power kept track of was how the memorial in honour of Dr Kalam that was to come up immediately after his demise was abandoned unceremoniously.

Two men from Chennai took up the responsibility to raise the memorial and it became a reality almost two years after the former president was laid to rest—Abdul Ghani, the man who mobilised public demand for the memorial, and AP Shreethar, who took charge to put together a state-of-the-art museum and memorial.