Poll | Has Abdul Kalam set the standard for presidentship?

Poll: Has APJ Abdul Kalam set the gold standard for how a president should be?

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam passed away in Shillong on Monday evening.

Kalam, who reached Shillong via Guwahati in the morning, collapsed during a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management-Shillong (IIM-S) at around 6:30pm and was rushed to the Bethany Hospital there.

Former-president-and-Bharat-Ratna-APJ-Abdul-Kalam-died-on-Monday-after-collapsing-during-a-lecture-in-Shillong-Sanjeev-Verma-HT-File-Photo

Kalam served as president for five years from 2002, enjoying the support of both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

Kalam was closely involved in the country's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts, earning him the sobriquet 'India's Missile Man'. He worked as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) before he became president.

Also known as the 'People's President', he was a role model for students and young people and was always happy to be among them and educational institutions.

Read | 'Missile Man': Ex-president APJ Abdul Kalam passes away