World Students Day: World Students Day is celebrated on 15th October every year on the birth anniversary of the late aerospace scientist, teacher, and former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. This occasion is celebrated nationally in India every year to acknowledge the efforts of Kalam towards students and education. Kalam is fondly remembered as “People’s President,” and his birthday is commemorated as Students Day.
World Students Day 2023
World Students Day is an annual event observed in India on 15th October every year. The day marks the birthday of the former Indian President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Kalam was an Indian Aerospace scientist who also served as the 11th President of India. He was known for his love and dedication toward students and his focus on promoting education. Hence, in his honour, India announced his birth date, 15th October, to be observed as World Students Day.
World Students Day
In India, World Students Day is celebrated on 15 October, the birthday of the 11th President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Although named “World Students Day”, the day does not have any recognition outside India. It is a common misconception in India that the day has been designated by the United Nations
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Biography
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007.
Before being the 11th President of India, he had served for four decades as a scientist and science administrator at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India’s civilian space programme and military missile development efforts.
Later he came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.
He was widely referred to as the “People’s President”
| APJ Abdul Kalam Biography | |
| Birth Name | Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam |
| Date of Birth | 15-Oct-31 |
| Birth Place | Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the Madras Presidency and now in the State of Tamil Nadu |
| Father’s Name | Jainulabdeen Marakayar |
| Father’s Occupation | boat owner and imam of a local mosque |
| Mother’s Name | Ashiamma |
| Mother’s Occupation | Housewife |
| Brother and Sisters | 4 brothers. 1 sister |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| High School | Schwartz Higher Secondary School, Ramanathapuram, Tamilnadu |
| Graduate ( Physics ) 1954 | Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, then affiliated with the University of Madras |
| Post Graduate ( Aerospace Engineering ) 1960 | Madras Institute of Technology |
| Scientist (Aeronautical Development Establishment ) | Defence Research and Development Organisation (by Press Information Bureau, Government of India) |
| 1969 (project director of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in near-earth orbit in July 1980) | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) |
| 1963 to 1964 | he visited NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Wallops Flight Facility. |
| 1970s and 1990s | Kalam made an effort to develop the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and SLV-III projects, both of which proved to be successful. |
| July 1992 to December 1999 | Kalam served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Secretary of the Defence Research and Development Organisation |
| Presidential Elections 2002 | He won the 2002 presidential election with an electoral vote of 922,884, surpassing the 107,366 votes won by Lakshmi Sahgal. His term lasted from 25 July 2002, to 25 July 2007 |
| Facts | Kalam was the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, before becoming the President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954) and Zakir Husain (1963) were the earlier recipients of Bharat Ratna who later became the President of India.[50] He was also the first scientist and the first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan |
| After leaving president’s office in 2007 | Kalam became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute of Management Indore; an honorary fellow of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram; professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University; and an adjunct at many other academic and research institutions across India. He taught information technology at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and technology at Banaras Hindu University and Anna University. |
| Death | On 27 July 2015, Kalam travelled to Shillong to deliver a lecture on “Creating a Livable Planet Earth” at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. While climbing a flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest. At around 6:35 p.m. IST, only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed. He was rushed to the nearby Bethany Hospital in a critical condition; upon arrival, he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life. Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m. IST |
| Kalam’s last words | His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: “Funny guy! Are you doing well?” |
| Resting Place | On 30 July 2015, the former president was laid to rest at Rameswaram’s Pei Karumbu Ground with full state honours. Over 350,000 people attended the last rites, including the Prime Minister, the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chief ministers of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh |
| Memorial | The Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam National Memorial was built in memory of Kalam by the DRDO in Pei Karumbu, in the island town of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2017 |
| Religious practice | Daily namaz and fasting during Ramadan were integral to the life of Kalam, a practising Sunni Muslim |
| Awards | 7 honorary doctorates from 40 universities |
| Padma Bhushan in 1981 by Govt Of India | |
| Padma Vibhushan in 1990 | |
| India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology in India in 1997 | |
| In 2008 Kalam was the recipient of Hoover Medal ( American Engineering Prize ) | |
| In 2012, Kalam was ranked number 2 in Outlook India’s poll of the Greatest Indian | |
| The Tamil Nadu state government announced that his birthday, 15 October, would be observed across the state as “Youth Renaissance Day;” | |
| Tamil Nadu-“Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Award”, constituting an 8-gram gold medal, a certificate and ₹500,000 (US$6,300). The award will be awarded annually on Independence Day, beginning in 2015, to residents of the state with achievements in promoting scientific growth, the humanities or the welfare of students | |
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