Rohit Sawant, studied at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
Why I feel that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is slightly overrated ?
I will list some of the incidents for which I feel Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is slightly overrated.
Once Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam rejected the suggestion of putting broken glass on the walls of DRDO( Defence Reserch and Development Organisation) building that needed protection. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam rejected it stating “If we do that, birds won't be able to perch on the wall”.
Now what’s there in this incident, everyone knows that birds can't perch on the wall with glasses.
When a few kids requested to meet President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the president not only obliged and gave his precious time, he also listened to the ideas which the kids shared and also would follow up on the status of their ideas discussed.
Now what's there in this incident, everyone does that.
Soon after it was declared that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam would be the next president, he visited a modest school with minimal security. Later when the electricity was out , Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam walked into the middle and asked all the 400 students to surround him, and delivered his speech.
Now what's there in this incident, every politician does it.
After becoming President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam called Dr. Verghese Kurien (Founder of Amul) and asked “Now that I have become the President of India, the government is going to look after me till I live, so what can I do with the savings and my salary ?”. Then he donated everything to a trust named PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas).
Now what's there in this incident, everyone does that.
The picture below is of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr. Varghese Kurien.
President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was known to write his own Thank You cards. One such instance was when Quora user Naman Narain drew a sketch of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and it was sent to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, in return he received a Thank you card from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Now what's there in this incident, everyone does that.
Supposed to attend a college event as the chief guest, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam visited the college previous night in his Jeep to check the students preparation for the event next day. When asked about his surprise visit Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam said “I wanted to meet the real hard-working people”.
Now what's there in this incident, everyone does that.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the chief guest at an event. After the event ended students wanted to take a photo with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Citing the delay the organizers tried to hush off the students, then Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam told the organizers “He won't leave the hall till the last student gets a picture with him”.
Now what's there in this, film actors like Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif too do that.
Once during an event, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam refused to sit on a chair that was designated for him, because the chair was larger in size than the other chairs which were designated to other guests.
Now what's there in this incident, every celebrity does that.
A DRDO subordinate of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam planned to take his children to an exhibition, due to work pressure he forgot the time. Later when he returned home. He was surprised when his wife told him “Your manager (Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam) was here at 5:15 PM, he took the children to the exhibition”.
Now what's there in this incident every manager does that.
When Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the president, he took to “Yahoo answers” to know “What should we do to free our planet from terrorism ?”. And people like Kiran Bedi, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Leander Paes and other who's who of India and the world turned to Yahoo to answer.
Now what's there in this incident, every responsible citizen does that.
Who did President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam invite to Raj Bhavan as the Presidential guests ?
- A roadside cobbler.
- The owner of a small hotel.
Yes they were his old friends.
Now what's there in this incident, every president does that.
Finally Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's contribution to India's space and defense programs:
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was one of the oldest employee of ISRO. Church was the place of work and the near-by beach was the launchpad for ISRO rockets.
- Cycles and bullock carts were used for transportation of rockets and satellites.
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the director of the project that indigenously developed SLV-III and PSLV which were used in the present Chandrayan and Mangalyan projects.
- SLV-III successfully injected Rohini satellite into the orbit, and made India an exclusive member of space club.
- After ISRO, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam moved to DRDO where he was involved in development of indigenous guided missiles AGNI, PRITHVI.
- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam also led The Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests which made India a nuclear country.
Sarcasm apart,
If you still feel he is overrated, please take a gun and have a shot at me, I don't want to live in the world where you live.
