Former President A P J Abdul Kalam passes away

Shillong, Jul 27 (IANS): Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, who won popular acclaim as India's president from 2002 to 2007, died here on Monday evening after collapsing during a lecture at the IIM-Shillong. "Kalam is no more," Meghalaya Chief Secretary P.B.O. Warjri told IANS, shortly after the 83-year-old president breathed his last at the Bethany Hospital where he was taken to from the management school. "The former president was delivering a lecture on 'liveable planet' when he suddenly collapsed," IIM-Shillong official Merlvin Mukhim told IANS. John Sailo Ryntathiang, director of the Bethany Hospital, said Kalam was brought "almost dead". "He is in a critical condition," he said earlier. "We are trying to revive the patient." But Kalam could not be saved. One of India's most accomplished scientists, Kalam was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in 1997. Born on October 15, 1931 at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, Kalam went on to become one of the country's most celebrated aerospace and defence scientists. He played a key role in India's nuclear test in 1998 when Atal Bihar Vajpayee was the prime minister. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the death of the former president, terming it "an irreparable loss". "The death of Dr. Kalam is an irreparable loss to this nation. He has left a big void hard to fill. I deeply mourn his death. RIP Kalam Sahab," he tweeted. "Very sad to hear that Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is no more. Nation has lost a real Bharat Ratna," tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The sudden demise of Abdul Kalam was a tremendous loss to the country, said Indian space agency chief A.S. Krishna Kumar. Krishna Kumar said the former president was a great personality and gentleman. "It is extremely sad to know that Kalam is no more. He was such a great personality and gentleman. No words to express," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman said. Terming Kalam's contribution to the country and humanity as great and immense, Krishna Kumar said that even at the age of 84 years, the missile man was thinking about finding better solutions for the country's energy requirements. Recalling his last meeting with Kalam at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru a month ago, Krishna Kumar said he met Kalam on many occasions when he was president. "Though I was in Ahmedabad as director of the space applications centre, I had many opportunities to meet and interact with Kalam sir at official functions and public events," he said.