Chhattisgarh to include Late Kalam’s biography in school curriculum: Raman

Defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said the body will be flown to Rameswaram in an air force helicopter from Madurai on Wednesday afternoon.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said the government had allotted land for burying Kalam’s mortal remains at the request of his family.

The former president will be given a state funeral with full military honours.

Hundreds of people, ranging from VIPs to commoners and school children who carried roses, queued up at his residence here till Tuesday evening to pay tribute to Kalam. Venkaiah Naidu and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar accompanied the casket.

The dignitaries placed wreaths on the body that was wrapped in a Tricolour and placed on a deck on the tarmac at the Palam technical area after it was brought down from a special IAF aircraft that ferried it from Guwahati. Abdul Kalam’s wish that no holiday should be declared on his death, political leaders of different hues – as also the common people – worked through the day and paid their tributes by even working extra hours.

Born in Rameswaram on October 15, 1931, Kalam, as a boy, hawked newspapers to supplement his family income. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in the last rites to be performed tomorrow.

“In Russia, Abdul Kalam will be remembered as a consistent exponent of closer friendly relations between our nations who has done a lot for cementing mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation”, he said in a message.

The last rites of former president A.P.J.

The members stood in silence for two minutes to pay their respects.

The union cabinet, which met yesterday to pay its condolences to Kalam, said the country lost a visionary scientist, a true nationalist and a great son.

JVM-Shyamali, the alma mater of Team India skipper M.S. Dhoni, may have never had the opportunity to host Kalam, but has decided to dedicate the week to the man with a lovely mind and the biggest heart.

Prof. Jiang Jingkui, who heads the Centre for South Asian Studies in Peking University and attended both the lectures, said: “Dr. Kalam is not simply a scientist of India but also for the entire world”.

After serving a term of 5 years in Rashtrapati Bhavan and making the palatial building accessible to common Indian, Dr Kalam returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service.