83-year-old Kalam was rushed to Bethany hospital in Nongrim hills after he collapsed during the lecture in the Indian Institute of Management at around 6.30 PM. He played a key organizational and technical role in India’s nuclear program.
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Kalam died from cardiac arrest in Bethany Hospital in the northeastern city of Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state, according to hospital chief executive officer John L. Sailo.
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in a poor Tamil Muslim family in Rameswaram.
Kalam was the President of India from 2002-2007 and was there at IIM to attend a course on Liveable Planet Earth.
He was also known as India’s missile man for ensuring the success of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Kalam, 84, was declared brought dead at the hospital.
“He was an inspiration to an entire generation”, Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted. Cause of his untimely death, which occured while he was addressing a function in Shillong.
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One of India’s most accomplished scientists, Kalam was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in 1997.
