1965 - One of Kalam's payloads being carried to the launch pad
1980 - Kalam's Satellite Launch Vehicle
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| India-Pakistan |
| India's 'missile man' president bids farewell |
| 2007-07-24 |
| India's outgoing President, Abdul Kalam, has urged Indians to help transform the country into a developed nation by the year 2020. He said that he wanted the country to be one of the best places in the world to live and work in. The president was speaking in a televised address to the nation, his last before leaving office. On Wednesday, Pratibha Patil will be sworn in as the new president. She is the first woman to hold the position. Speaking on state television, President Kalam delivered a simple message to Indians. "Accelerate development, the aspirations of youth... and mobilise rural competence for competitiveness. Defeat problems and succeed," he said. When he was picked as the country's president five years ago, the maverick scientist with stylised silver locks was a surprise choice. A Muslim and a vegetarian teetotaller, he was the architect of India's missile programme and became a national hero when he oversaw the country's nuclear tests in 1998. But he was not a politician - one reason perhaps why he became one of the country's best loved presidents. During his term, he left his stamp on the largely ceremonial presidency in his own unique way. He opened the doors of the majestic 340-room presidential palace to ordinary Indians, particularly children. He was the first president to fly in a supersonic fighter jet and also dive into the sea in a nuclear submarine. But above all, many Indians identified him as one of their own - a man with simple tastes who had dedicated his life to his country. There is little doubt that he will be missed. |
| Posted by:John Frum |
| #3 "Defeat Problems and Succeed." Now *there's* a legacy...and a pretty good campaign slogan. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-07-24 18:35 |
| #2 Kalam in 1964 1965 - One of Kalam's payloads being carried to the launch pad 1980 - Kalam's Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-24 17:55 |
#1  Kalam (foreground) with Chidabaram, the head of the hydrogen bomb team |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-07-24 17:44 |