KABUL (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani paid his respect and homage to former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam who died on Monday evening due to cardiac arrest.
The former President, who was in office from 2002 to 2007, had collapsed during the lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, around 6.30 pm. He was taken to the Bethany hospital. Doctors said he had suffered a massive cardiac arrest.
President Ghani expressed his homage to Dr. Kalam in a message. “Saddened by the death of Dr. Kalam”, Ghani remarked. “He was an inspirational figure to millions of people including me. We have a lot to learn from his life”, Ghani added.
According to the Hindustan Times, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among a host of dignitaries who paid tribute to former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s body after it was carried in a special flight from Guwahati to Delhi on Tuesday.
Born and raised in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Kalam spent four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He was instrumental India's civilian space program and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology.
In this moment of great grief, I am with the people of India, the President Ghani said in his message of condolence.
Courtesy NDTV: Following are touching 10 quotes by Kalam:
- You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
- Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.
- Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.
- Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
- We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilization heritage.
- Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.
- Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.
- Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.
- If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
- My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people
ENDS
