New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) Paying rich tributes to former President Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that he always wanted to build a strong and self-reliant India.
Taking to twitter, he said, “Remembering Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his jayanti. A visionary leader and architect of India’s space and missile programmes, who always wanted to build a strong and self-reliant India.
His immortal legacy in the field of science and education is an epitome of inspiration, Mr Shah added in his tweet message.
Born on October 15, 1931 in Rameshwaram, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007.
Popularly known as ‘Missile Man of India’, Dr Kalam was the key architect of India’s missile and aerospace programmes and was credited with pioneering work in the development and operationalization of ‘Indigenous Guided Missiles’ – AGNI and PRITHVI, led the project to develop India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and headed the development of the indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle at ISRO.
In July 1980, under the guidance of Dr Kalam, India’s SLV-III successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in the near-Earth orbit, making India a member of the exclusive space club.
He also headed multiple nuclear tests at Pokhran and as the Chief Scientific Advisor to then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government from 1999 to 2002.
