A relook on the scientific contribution of Dr. A.P. J. Abdul Kalam

Pages: 310-312
M. Syed Ibrahim (Department of History, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamilnadu)

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam established a unique connection between science and spirituality. He believes that Science is the recent boon of God and science has bestowed upon mankind. Our duty is to invent the scientific concepts and use it for the benefits of all. It is how science is used by man that makes it a blessing or a curse. For instance nuclear energy can be used for generation of electricity and also for making bombs. Fertilizers can be used for agriculture to improve the yield while the same chemicals can also be used for chemical weapons. Science leads to technology and the leaders in the society decide how to use that technology. The convergence of science and technology with spirituality is touted to be the future for both science and technology, and spirituality. The science that we work with today must have the innovativeness, foresight and the vision for it to be the center of technology that we develop tomorrow. Efforts towards building the nuclear bomb, infrastructure, and research on related technologies have been undertaken by India since World War II. Origins of India’s nuclear program dates back to 1944. After Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966, the nuclear program was consolidated. In 1980, the return of Indira Gandhi to power and the nuclear program began to gain momentum. While Pakistan began exercising the brinkmanship, the nuclear program of India continued to the advance level. Initiation the launch of the missile programme began under Dr. Abdul Kalam, an aerospace engineer. Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in 1998. This Paper focuses on the Scientific contribution of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in a detailed manner.