Here was an Indian like you and me, who reached the country's highest office without compromising on his integrity or values. Here was a politician who was not a Muslim, or Tamil, or a boatman's son -- but an Indian president, who opened his office to all Indians, says Sriram Karri.
As protests rage in Kudankulam and reach a crescendo, V Ponraj, scientific advisor to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, speaks about the report he and the former Indian President prepared in this interview with rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
'His simple lifestyle, his optimism, his hard work and his genuine humility made him an authentic role model to millions of children, many of them growing up in challenging circumstances.'
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'The group having rice flour and wheat flour showed an increase in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and the group that took the jackfruit flour had a significant decrease in HbA1c.' 'Our results showed a decrease in fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial glucose (PPG) after the green jackfruit flour meal.'
Parliament on Tuesday hailed A P J Abdul Kalam as the "real gem" of India, saying the death of the former President has taken away its "true son" who became the driving force behind the country's space and missile programme.
'I still remember back in 1971, the night they both got the news that Dr Vikram Sarabhai had died at his hotel in Kovalam, and rushing off with tears in their eyes.'
Staff working at the Rashtrapati Bhavan recount how the 11th president lived a simple lifestyle and always cared for them.
'We started AgniKul to show that space transportation should be as simple as road transportation.'
Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for a national memorial dedicated to country's former President APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, marking the first death anniversary of the 'missile man'.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Former president of Atlas Cycles Salil Kapoor allegedly died by suicide at his home in Lutyens' Delhi on Tuesday. In a purported suicide note recovered from the spot, he mentioned "financial burden" on him and harassment by four people, the police said, adding said they were investigating the matter from all possible angles.
Dr Kalam, the scientist with the poet's heart, started the journey of his life from a small town in Tamil Nadu.
Considering the competition, engineering aspirants should ideally consider taking a minimum of five to seven entrance exams to maximise their chances of success and broaden their options when it comes to college, says rediffGURU Nayagam PP.
President A P J Abdul Kalam will deliver the first Dhirubhai Ambani Memorial Lecture, instituted in the memory of the late chairman of Reliance Group of Industries, in Mumbai on July 6.
The museum has the former President's belongings including clothes, books, souvenirs and citations presented to him by various institutions and organisations.
The NDA made it clear that this does not mean that Shekhawat had opted out of the race in favour of Kalam.
The memorial has been built at a cost of Rs 15 crore on land alloted by the Tamil Nadu government at Kalam's village Peikarambu.
People queued up to pay their final respects to former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
'It was my first day in office, so you cannot blame me for the missing photos.' 'I had to join the office and sit on the chair at a particular mahurat time.'
'It was the early days of my 5th standard school vacation, and my mother asked me, 'Robotics classes or swimming classes for the weekends?' I chose robotics classes because technology fascinated me.'
To share your Father's Day story (Father's Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 16), just mail us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: Father's Day) along with your name, the place where you live, your father's name and picture and your message about him.
The defence ministry said the test-flight was carried out on Wednesday evening and it met all the trial objectives, validating the reliable performance, as confirmed from the data captured by a number of range sensors deployed at different locations.
In 2005, when Rediff.com met Arvind Thiagarajan, he was 25-year-old young inventor with a couple of patents to his credit. Today, he has more than 40 patents to his credit.
'We were not protesting for a wage hike or provident fund. We were protesting for the safety of the larger population. There is no personal gain.'
Srijan Pal Singh, advisor to President A P J Abdul Kalam, recalls his final journey to IIM-Shillong.
'There is something in our desh ki mitti that has held us together.'
'So many conquerors, colonisers, cultures came and went, but we withstood them and rose up again.'
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
The meeting between Dr Singh and Kalam came ahead of the Congress Working Committee session, which discussed the situation in UP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists over the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile, capable of deploying multiple warheads.
On July 25, Pranab Mukherjee will leave Rashtrapati Bhavan and move into 10 Rajaji Marg in Lutyens' Delhi.
The two ministers were lodged in a police bus as officials asked protesters at the ITO intersection, which is near the AAP and BJP offices, to disperse in view of prohibitory orders under section 144 imposed in the area.
Former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, visiting Washington, DC, did what he does best and likes the most in recent years -- talking to and engaging with students. But, Kalam was also not averse to conveying the message to the powers that be in the US that their reluctance to utilize the core competence of India in science and technology was to their detriment and cited the example of the joint ventures between Indian and Russian scientists.
'It is important to understand that the disability is not in the person.' 'The problem lies in societal attitude and the discriminatory treatment given to disabled people in our country.'
Solutions to seven major problems -- relating to solar power, nuclear power, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, stem cell research, forecasting of earthquake and precision forecasting of rain content for particular cloud condition -- were challenging areas for the young researchers, Kalam said.
'Chinese are going bang, bang, bang building 30-35 reactors.' 'We should announce a programme of 50 new reactors and show that we mean business on the ground and not just announcements.'
According to his family friends, Narasimha was in the league of the Missile Man of India and former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances