About this stamp
The Missile Man
India Post issued this ₹5 stamp on 15 October 2015, his birthday, in memory of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015), scientist and eleventh President of India. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram, the son of a boat owner who was imam of a local mosque; his mother gave him his own kerosene lamp so that he could study late. He graduated in physics from St Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli in 1954 and studied aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology.
Rockets, Missiles and the Presidency
At ISRO he was project director of SLV-III, India’s first satellite launch vehicle, which put the Rohini satellite into orbit in July 1980, and he shaped the launch vehicle programme that led to the PSLV. At DRDO he led the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which built the Agni and Prithvi missiles, and as Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister he led the Pokhran-II tests. He wrote Wings of Fire, India 2020 and Ignited Minds, received the Bharat Ratna in 1997, and was President from 2002 to 2007, elected with the support of both government and opposition. He died on 27 July 2015 while lecturing to students at IIM Shillong.
The stamp was designed by Kamleshwar Singh; Security Printing Press, Hyderabad printed 0.6 million.
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