Bharat Ratna
Award Information
Type	Civilian
Category	National
Instituted	1954
Last Awarded	2008
Total Awarded	41
Awarded by	Government of India
Description	An image of the Sun along with the words "Bharat Ratna", inscribed in Devanagari script, on a peepul leaf
First Awardee(s)	C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. V. Raman
Last Awardee(s)	Bhimsen Joshi
Award Rank
None ← Bharat Ratna → Padma Vibhushan

Bharat Ratna (Hindi: भारत रत्न, translates to Jewel of India^[1] or Gem of India^[2] in English) is the Republic of India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order."^[3] In 2011, the Minister for Home Affairs and Prime Minister of India agreed to change the eligibility criteria to allow sportspersons to receive the award.^[4]

The holders of the Bharat Ratna rank 7th in the Indian order of precedence; however, unlike knights they do not carry any special title nor any other honorifics.

History[link]

The order was established by Rajendra Prasad, President of India, on 2 January 1954.^[5] The original statutes of January 1954 did not make allowance for posthumous awards (and this perhaps explains why the decoration was never awarded to Mahatma Gandhi), though this provision was added in the January 1966 statute.^{[citation needed]} Subsequently, there have been twelve posthumous awards, including the award to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1992, which was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality, the only case of an award being withdrawn. The award was briefly suspended from 13 July 1977 to 26 January 1980.

While there was no formal provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be Indian citizens, this seems to have been the general assumption.^{[citation needed]} Of the 41 awards so far, there has been one award to a naturalised Indian citizen, Mother Teresa (1980), and to two non-Indians, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). The awarding of this honour has frequently been the subject of litigation questioning the constitutional basis of such.

Originally, the specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal carrying the state emblem and motto, among other things. It is uncertain if a design in accordance with the original specifications was ever made. The actual award is designed in the shape of a peepul leaf and carries with the words "Bharat Ratna", inscribed in Devanagari script. The reverse side of the medal carries the state emblem and motto. The award is attached to a 2-inch-wide (51 mm) ribbon, and was designed to be worn around the recipient's neck.

Specifications[link]

The original specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal, 35 mm in diameter, with the sun and the Hindi legend "Bharat Ratna" above and a floral wreath below. The reverse was to carry the state emblem and motto. It was to be worn around the neck from a white ribbon. There is no indication that any specimens of this design were ever produced and one year later the design was altered. The decoration is in the form of a peepal leaf, about 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick. It is of toned bronze. On its obverse is embossed a replica of the sun, 1.6 cm in diameter, below which the words Bharat Ratna" are embossed in Hindi. On the reverse are State emblem and the motto, also in Hindi. The emblem, the sun and the rim are of platinum. The inscriptions are in burnished bronze.

List of recipients[link]

	Name	Image	Birth / death	Awarded	Notes
1.	Chakravarti Rajagopalachari		1878–1972	1954	Independence activist, last Governor-General
2.	C. V. Raman		1888–1970	1954	Physicist
3.	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan		1888–1975	1954	Philosopher, second President
4.	Bhagwan Das		1869–1958	1955	Independence activist, author
5.	Visvesvaraya		1860–1962	1955	Civil engineer, Diwan of Mysore
6.	Jawaharlal Nehru		1889–1964	1955	Independence activist, author, first Prime Minister
7.	Govind Ballabh Pant		1887–1961	1957	Independence activist, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Home Minister
8.	Dhondo Keshav Karve		1858–1962	1958	Educator, social reformer
9.	Bidhan Chandra Roy		1882–1962	1961	Physician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
10.	Purushottam Das Tandon		1882–1962	1961	Independence activist, educator
11.	Rajendra Prasad		1884–1963	1962	Independence activist, jurist, first President
12.	Zakir Hussain		1897–1969	1963	Scholar, third President
13.	Pandurang Vaman Kane		1880–1972	1963	Indologist and Sanskrit scholar
14.	Lal Bahadur Shastri		1904–1966	1966	Posthumous, independence activist, second Prime Minister
15.	Indira Gandhi		1917–1984	1971	Third Prime Minister
16.	V. V. Giri		1894–1980	1975	Trade unionist and fourth President
17.	K. Kamaraj		1903–1975	1976	Posthumous, independence activist, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State
18.	Mother Teresa		1910–1997	1980	Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity
19.	Vinoba Bhave		1895–1982	1983	Posthumous, social reformer, independence activist
20.	Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan		1890–1988	1987	First non-citizen, independence activist
21.	M. G. Ramachandran		1917–1987	1988	Posthumous, film actor, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
22.	B. R. Ambedkar		1891–1956	1990	Posthumous, chief architect of the Indian Constitution, politician, economist, and scholar
23.	Nelson Mandela		b. 1918	1990	Second non-citizen and first non-Indian recipient, Leader of the Anti-Apartheid movement
24.	Rajiv Gandhi		1944–1991	1991	Posthumous, Sixth Prime Minister
25.	Vallabhbhai Patel		1875–1950	1991	Posthumous, independence activist, first Home Minister
26.	Morarji Desai		1896–1995	1991	Independence activist, fourth Prime Minister
27.	Abul Kalam Azad		1888–1958	1992	Posthumous, independence activist, first Minister of Education
28.	J. R. D. Tata		1904–1993	1992	Industrialist and philanthropist
29.	Satyajit Ray		1922–1992	1992	Bengali filmmaker
30.	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam		b. 1931	1997	Aeronautical Engineer,11th President of India
31.	Gulzarilal Nanda		1898–1998	1997	Independence activist, interim Prime Minister
32.	Aruna Asaf Ali		1908–1996	1997	Posthumous, independence activist
33.	M. S. Subbulakshmi		1916–2004	1998	Carnatic classical singer
34.	Chidambaram Subramaniam		1910–2000	1998	Independence activist, Minister of Agriculture
35.	Jayaprakash Narayan		1902–1979	1999	Posthumous, independence activist and politician
36.	Ravi Shankar		b. 1920	1999	Sitar player
37.	Amartya Sen		b. 1933	1999	Economist
38.	Gopinath Bordoloi		1890–1950	1999	Posthumous, independence activist, Chief Minister of Assam
39.	Lata Mangeshkar		b. 1929	2001	Playback singer
40.	Bismillah Khan		1916–2006	2001	Hindustani classical shehnai player
41.	Bhimsen Joshi		1922–2011	2008	Hindustani classical singer

Living recipients[link]

Controversies[link]

Award to Subhas Chandra Bose[link]

Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1992. The award was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality. This is the only case of an award being withdrawn. It was withdrawn in response to a Supreme Court of India directive following a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Court against the posthumous nature of the award. The Award Committee could not give conclusive evidence of Bose’s death and thus it invalidated the posthumous award.

Award to Abul Kalam Azad[link]

When the award was offered to freedom fighter and India's first Minister of Education, Abul Kalam Azad, he promptly declined it saying that it should not be given to those who have been on the selection committee. Later he was awarded posthumously in 1992.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Bharat Ratna Award". Government of India. http://india.gov.in/myindia/bharatratna_awards.php. 
• "Bharat Ratna Award". Ministry of Home Affairs. http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/Recipients-BR.pdf. 

v t e Bharat Ratna laureates Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954) C. Rajagopalachari (1954) C. V. Raman (1954) Bhagwan Das (1955) Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (1955) Jawaharlal Nehru (1955) Govind Ballabh Pant (1957) Dhondo Keshav Karve (1958) Bidhan Chandra Roy (1961) Purushottam Das Tandon (1961) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1962) Dr. Zakir Hussain (1963) Pandurang Vaman Kane (1963) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) Indira Gandhi (1971) V. V. Giri (1975) K. Kamaraj (1976) Mother Teresa (1980) Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1983) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) M. G. Ramachandran (1988) B. R. Ambedkar (1990) Nelson Mandela (1990) Rajiv Gandhi (1991) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1991) Morarji Desai (1991) Abul Kalam Azad (1992) J. R. D. Tata (1992) Satyajit Ray (1992) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1997) Gulzarilal Nanda (1997) Aruna Asaf Ali (1997) M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998) Chidambaram Subramaniam (1998) Jayaprakash Narayan (1998) Ravi Shankar (1999) Amartya Sen (1999) Gopinath Bordoloi (1999) Lata Mangeshkar (2001) Bismillah Khan (2001) Bhimsen Joshi (2008)

v t e Indian honours and decorations Civilian International Gandhi Peace Prize National Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan Padma Bhushan Padma Shri National Bravery Award Central Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award Ganga Sharan Award Ganesh Hindi Vidyarthi Award Aatma Ram Award Subramanya Bharathi Award George Grierson Award Moturi Satyanarayan Award By field Literature Jnanpith Award Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Sahitya Akademi Award Cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award National Film Awards Other arts Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship Sports Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Arjuna Award Dronacharya Award (coaching) Dhyan Chand Award (lifetime achievement) Science and Technology Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology Military Wartime Param Vir Chakra Maha Vir Chakra Vir Chakra Peacetime Ashoka Chakra Kirti Chakra Shaurya Chakra Wartime / Peacetime Service & Gallantry Sena Medal (Army) Nao Sena Medal (Navy) Vayusena Medal (Air Force) Wartime Distinguished Service Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Yudh Seva Medal Peacetime Distinguished Service Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal

Atul Wassan

Personal information
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm fast-medium
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODIs
Matches	4	9
Runs scored	94	33
Batting average	23.50	8.25
100s/50s	-/1	-/-
Top score	53	16
Balls bowled	712	426
Wickets	10	11
Bowling average	50.39	25.72
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	4/108	3/28
Catches/stumpings	1/-	2/-
Source: [1], 4 February 2006

Atul Satish Wassan  pronunciation (help·info) (born 23 March 1968 in Delhi, India) is a former Indian cricketer. After retirement, he has become a cricket commentator.

External links[link]

• CricketArchive page on Atul Wassan
• Cricinfo page on Atul Wassan

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam at the 12th Wharton India Economic Forum, 2008
President of India
In office 26 July 2002 – 24 July 2007
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee Manmohan Singh
Vice President	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by	Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Succeeded by	Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Personal details
Born	(1931-10-15) 15 October 1931 (age 80) Rameswaram, British India (present day Tamil Nadu, India)
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli Madras Institute of Technology
Profession	Professor, Author, scientist Aerospace engineer
Religion	Islam
Website	abdulkalam.com

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( pronunciation (help·info); born 15 October 1931) usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is an Indian politician and scientist who served as the 11th President of India. Apart from being a professor of aerospace engineering, he is also famous for his contribution to missile technology for India, pertaining to which he has been honoured Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian honour.

He was born and brought up at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, being born in a poor family he had to work his way through average grades and financial hard ships, completing his studies in aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai). He joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India and is known for his many contributions to Aeronautical and Missile technology of India.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was elected president of India in 2002, defeating Lakshmi Sahgal, and was supported by both National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and BJP, then major political party of India. After serving office as a president till 2007 he is now a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management, Indore; Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University (Chennai), JSS University (Mysore), and an adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India and is involved in philanthropic work as on 2012 .

Early life and education[link]

Kalam was born on 15 October 1931, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, the son of Jainulabdeen, a boat owner and Ashiamma, a housewife.^[1][2][3][4] He came from a poor background and started working at an early age to supplement his family's income.^[5] He was brought up in a multi-religious environment but did follow a religious routine. As a child, he had a discipline of starting the day at 4:00 am following the footsteps of his father^[3] to do homework before going to school to attend mathematics classes.^[6] After completing school, Kalam distributed newspapers in order to financially contribute to his father's income.^[5] In his school years, he had average grades, but was described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn and who spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics.^[6]

"I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my father; from my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness as did my three brothers and sisters."

—A quote from Kalam's autobiography^[3]

After completing his school education at the Rameshwaram Elementary School, Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli where he graduated in physics^[5] in 1954. Towards the end, he was not enthusiastic the subject, and would later regret the four years he studied it.^[6] He then moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering.^[4][6] While Kalam was working on a senior class project, the Dean was dissatisfied with the lack of progress and threatened the revoking of his scholarship unless the project was finished within the next two days.^[6] He worked tirelessly on his project, and met the deadline, impressing the Dean who later said, "It was a test, and under extreme stress, Kalam met a difficult deadline to complete the project".^[6]

Career as scientist[link]

After graduating from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT – Chennai) in 1960, Kalam joined Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defense Research and Development Organization as a chief scientist. There, Kalam started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian Army, but remained unconvinced with the choice of his job.^[6] Kalam was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Vikram Sarabhai.^[4] In 1969, Kalam was transferred to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near earth orbit in July 1980. Joining ISRO was one of Kalam's biggest achievements in life and he is said to have found himself when he started to work on the SLV project. Kalam first started work on an expandable rocket project independently at DRDO in 1965.^[8] In 1969, Kalam received the government's approval and expanded the program to include more engineers.^[7]

In 1963–64, he visited Nasa's Langley Research Center in Poquoson, Virginia, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility situated at Eastern Shore of Virginia.^[9][2]

From the 1970s and 1990s, Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar SLV and SLV-III project which proved to be a success. In 1974, Kalam was shifted to the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a subsidiary of DRDO.

Dr. Kalam addresses young engineers at IIT Guwahati

Kalam was invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the country's first nuclear test, Smiling Buddha as the representative of TBRL, even though he had not participated in developing or even taken part in the test site preparations or weapon designing. In the 1970s, a landmark was passed when ISRO first launched into space the locally built Rohini-1, using the SLV rocket.^[10] In the 1970s, Kalam also directed Project Devil and Project Valiant – which sought to develop ballistic missiles from the technology of Kalam's successful SLV programme.^[10] Despite the disapproval of Union Cabinet, Premier Indira Gandhi allotted secret funds for these aerospace projects through her discretionary powers under Kalam's directorship.^[10] Kalam played an integral role convincing the Union Cabinet to conceal the true nature of these classified aerospace projects.^[10]

His research and educational leadership brought him great laurels and prestige in 1980s, which prompted the government to initiate an advanced missile program under his directorship.^[10] As Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P), he played a major part in developing many missiles in India including Agni and Prithvi, although the projects have been criticised for mismanagement and cost and time overruns.^[11] He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999. The Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period where he played an intensive political and technological role. Kalam served as the Chief Project Coordinator, along with R. Chidambaram during the testing phase.^[2][12] Photos and snapshots of him taken by the media elevated Kalam as the country's top nuclear scientist although Kalam was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.^{[citation needed]}

In the year 1998, with cardiologist Dr.SomaRaju, Kalam developed a low cost Coronary stent. It was named as "Kalam-Raju Stent" honouring them.^[13][14] In 2012, the duo, designed a rugged tablet PC for health care in rural areas. It is named as "Kalam-Raju Tablet".^[15]

Presidency[link]

Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India, succeeding K. R. Narayanan. He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. He served from 25 July 2002 to 24 July 2007.

On 10 June 2002, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which was in power at the time expressed to the leader of opposition, Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi that they would propose Kalam for the post of President.^[17] The Samajwadi Party and the Nationalist Congress Party backed the his candidacy.^[18][19] After the Samajwadi Party announced its support for him, the then president K. R. Narayanan chose not to seek a second term in office and hence left the field clear for Kalam to become the 11th President of the country.^[20]

I am really overwhelmed. Everywhere both in Internet and in other media, I have been asked for a message. I was thinking what message I can give to the people of the country at this juncture.

—Kalam post the announcement of his candidature by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee^[21]

On 18 June, Kalam filed his nomination papers in Parliament of India, accompanied by Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues.^[22]

Kalam along with Vladimir Putin and Manmohan Singh during his presidency

The polling for the presidential election began on 15 July 2002 in the Parliament and state assemblies with media claiming that the election was a one-sided affair and Kalam's victory a foregone conclusion. The counting was held on 18 July.^[23] Kalam won the presidential election in a highly one-sided contest. He became the 11th president of the Republic of India.^[24] He moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan after he was sworn in on 25 July.^[25] Kalam was the first President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. He was also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.^[26]

At the end of his term, on 20 June 2007, Kalam's expressed his willingness to consider a second term in office provided there was certainty about his victory in the 2007 presidential election.^[27] However, two days later, he decided not to contest the Presidential election again stating that he didn't want Rashtrapati Bhavan to become involved in any political process.^[28] He did not have the support of the Left parties, BJP ally Shiv Sena and UPA constituents to receive a renewed mandate.^[29][30] During his term as President, he was affectionately known as the People's President.^[31][32][33] On his words, signing the Office of Profit Bill was the toughest decision he had taken during his tenure.^[34]

Nearing the term expiry of the 12th President Pratibha Patil, who's tenure ends on 24 July 2012, media reports in April claimed that Kalam was likely to be nominated for his second term.^[36][37][38] After the reports, social networking sites were in buzz with users extended their support with activity to mobilise support for him.^[39][40] BJP potentially backed his nomination, saying that the party will lend their support if Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress proposes his name for the 2012 presidential election.^[41][42]

Criticisms and controversies[link]

The controversy that surrounds Kalam's role as a nuclear scientist, is the lack of reliable and factual reporting of the yield of Pokhran-II tests. The director of the site test, K. Santhanam, publicly admitted that the thermonuclear bomb was a "fizzle" test, criticising Kalam for issuing the wrong report. However, Kalam dismissed the claims, and R. Chidambaram, a key associated with Pokhran-II, had also described these claims as incorrect.^[43] In spite of his leading role in the development of Indian nuclear programme, Kalam has received criticism from many of his peers who claimed that Kalam had "no authority" over nuclear science.^[44] Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer criticised Kalam claiming that Kalam had no background in publishing articles in nuclear science, even in nuclear physics. Sethna maintained that Kalam received his doctorate in aerospace engineering which is a completely different discipline from nuclear engineering, and what various universities awarded him for his achievements had nothing to do with nuclear physics. Sethna, in his last interview, maintained that in the 1950s, Kalam had failed advanced physics courses during his college life, and quoted "What does he know (about [nuclear] physics)....?", on national television.^[45] Others felt that Kalam had never worked in any of the Indian nuclear power plants and had no role in developing the nuclear weapon which was completed under Raja Ramanna.^[46] Kalam worked as an aerospace engineer in a SLV project in the 1970s and from the 1980s onwards as a project director before he was shifted to Defence Research and Development Organisation, Sethna concluded.^[45]

In 2008, Indian media questioned his claims about his personal contributions to missile inventions while working in a classified missile programme.^[45] Kalam had taken credit of inventing the Agni, Prithvi, and Aakash missile system.^[45] All of these were developed, researched and designed by other scientists whereas Kalam was involved in getting the funds and other logistic tasks.^[45] As a director of DRDO, a lot of credit had gone to Kalam. R. N. Agarwal, former director, Advanced System Laboratory and former Program Director of Agni missile was considered to be the real architect behind the successful design of Agni Missile.^[45] In his own biography, Kalam credited the development of "Agni" to Dr Ram Narayan Agarwal, an alumnus of MIT. For the Prithvi missile project, he named Col VJ Sundaram as the brain behind this project and for the Trishul missile, he gave credit to Cmdr SR Mohan.^[47] In 2006, senior media correspondent Praful Bidwai, in the The Daily Star, wrote that two aerospace projects, Project Valiant and Project Devil, which were authorised by former Premier Indira Gandhi under the directorship of Abdul Kalam, resulted in "total failure". In the 1980s, these projects were ultimately cancelled by the government under pressure by the Indian Army.^[48]

Kalam was also criticised by civil groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, where he supported setting up of the nuclear power plant and never spoke with the local people.^[49]

Frisking by American security authorities

Abdul Kalam was frisked at New York's JFK Airport, while boarding a plane in New York on 29 September 2011 as a part of "private screening" as he does not come under the category of dignitaries exempt from security screening procedures under stringent American guidelines. However, he was frisked again after boarding the Air India aircraft with US security officials came and asked for his jacket and shoes, claiming that these items were not checked according to prescribed procedure during the "private screening".^[50] The incident was not reported until 13 November that year.^[51] India threatened retaliatory action as there was a "general sense of outrage" around the country.^[52] The Indian Ministry of External Affairs protested over this incident, and a statement by the ministry said that the US Government had written a letter to Kalam, expressing its deep regret for the inconvenience.^[50]

Kalam was previously frisked by the ground staff of the Continental Airlines at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi in July 2009 and was treated like an ordinary passenger, despite the fact that he is on the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security's list of people exempted from security screening in India.^[53]

Rumor about Kalam death

In 2011, Kalam was a victim of a false rumor that he had died. The rumor spread across many social networking sites with Kalam trending on Twitter and was also the top most searched keyword on Google India.^[54] However, it was Kalam's educational advisor,^[55] Hafiz Saleh Muhammad Alladin, who had lost his life.^[54]

Future India: 2020[link]

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam delivering speech

In his book India 2020, Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.

It has been reported that there is a considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him.^[56]

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research program for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open Source over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of free software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people.^[57]

Popular culture[link]

In May 2011, Kalam launched his mission for the youth of the nation called the What Can I Give Movement with a central theme to defeat corruption.^[58][59] He also has interests in writing Tamil poetry and in playing the veenai.^[60]

He was nominated for the MTV Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003^[61][62] and in 2006.^[63] In the 2011 Hindi film I Am Kalam, Kalam is portrayed as an extremely positive influence to a poor but bright Rajasthani boy named Chhotu, who renames himself Kalam in honour of his idol.^[64]

Awards and honours[link]

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's 79th birthday was recognized as World Students' Day by United Nations.^[65] He also has received honorary doctorates from 40 universities.^[66][67] The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government.^[68] In 1997, Kalam received India's highest civilian honour, the prestigious Bharat Ratna for his immense and valuable contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology. He was the second scientist after the late Homi Bhabha to receive this award.^[69]

Books and documentaries[link]

Kalam's writings

• Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by A. P. J Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari; by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A. P. J. Pub. Corp, 2002.
• Scientist to President by Abdul A. P. J. Kalam; Gyan Publishing House, 2003.
• Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Penguin Books, 2003.
• India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Y.S. Rajan; Penguin Books India, 2003.^[4]
• India-my-dream by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Excel Books, 2004.
• Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal Transformation by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; TATA McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004.
• Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Arun K Tiwari; Ocean Books, 2005.
• The Life Tree : Poems by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Paintings by Manav Gupta; Penguin Books India, 2005.
• Children Ask Kalam by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Pearson Education, ISBN 81-7758-245-3
• Indomitable Spirit by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 2006
• The Scientific Indian: A Twenty-first Century Guide to the World around Us by APJ Abdul Kalam and YS Rajan
• My Journey by APJ Abdul Kalam, Published By: V Suryanarayana Murthy^[4]
• Target 3 Billion PURA: Innovative Solutions towards Sustainable Development by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh ISBN 978-0-14-341730-9
• Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Roddam Narasimha; Indian Academy of Sciences 1988^[81]
• The Luminous Sparks by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam; Punya Publishing Pvt Ltd.^[82]
• Mission India by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Paintings by Manav Gupta; Penguin Books 2005 ^[83]
• Inspiring Thoughts by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam^[84]

Biographies

• Eternal Quest: Life and Times of Dr. Kalam by S. Chandra; Pentagon Publishers, 2002.
• President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam by R. K. Pruthi; Anmol Publications, 2002.
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The Visionary of India by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2002.
• A Little Dream (documentary film) by P. Dhanapal; Minveli Media Works Private Limited, 2008.^[85]
• The Kalam Effect: My Years with the President by P.M. Nair; Harper Collins, 2008.
• My Days With Mahatma Abdul Kalam by Fr.A.K. George; ISBN No:978-8190452953; Publisher: Novel Corporation, 2009.^[86]

References[link]