Talk:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam/Archive 1

Untitled
Permission valid for this article under CC-BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. -- Alan Lorenzo (talk) 14:56, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Rumormonger
Some gentleman has edited the text on 22 March 2011 and inserted that Dr Kalam passed away on 22 March 2011. In his hurry to glory, he has forgotten to verify the authenticity of the information. Well, Dr Kalam is fine. Friends, please do not rush to edit the article without checking your facts two times. -Gopalan evr (talk) 11:06, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Where is his science work???
dr. Kalam was heavily involved in India's nuclear and space program. Where is his science work??? Kalam wasn't a political figure but widely known as a scientist.

agreed, this should be mentioned as he help pioneer india's nuclear program.

India's First Most Powerful President
A truly remarkable feat that Abdul Kalam is technically india's first Most Powerful President. Just a suggestion. :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.119.55.99 (talk) 23:47, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Kalam as Apologist
Can someone start a section discussing Kalam's political standpoint in taking the presidency in the aftermath of the Gujarat 2001 riots, with the support of BJP. It would seem like he was condoning the riots. --Parasakthi ( பராசக்தி ) 02:29, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Protecting page
This page is the target of many vandalisms and the last 20 or so edits were either vandalism or gross nonsensical errors. You can easily see in history page that multiple reverts were made by admins, but still the page is full of errors. Admins: please consider protecting this page. Akilan (talk) 17:59, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Shia??
Someone had written that his religion is Shia islam, which makes no sense. As there is no proof of such, I have removed that and replaced it with Islam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Swejlove (talk • contribs) 02:28, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

Is there any documentable proof of his sectarian affiliation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Phknrocket1k (talk • contribs) 09:26, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

I would lean toward him being Sunni since he mentions a dream in one of his books where he encountered Caliph Omar. - phknrocket1k —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.3.206.86 (talk) 06:56, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

According to his own book, He is an Atheist if that helps clear anything up :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.119.55.99 (talk) 23:33, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan
Is Bharat Ratna a title? Can it be added to the name? I think no. But can't the others be used as title? I think yes. Does the government tell how to use these?? asdofindia (talk) 17:52, 3 February 2009 (UTC) All of these can and are used as titles. For example Barat ratna Dr. Ambedkar etc. I dont know if this is officially allowed but that using these as title seems to be the general practice. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.1.181.126 (talk) 03:50, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Eleventh President, not Twelfth
Hi all, searches on the net reveal a lot of confusion over whether Kalam was the 12th president or 11th. The official govt web site www.presidentofindia.nic.in lists Pratibha Patil as the 12th president and Abdul Kalam as the 11th. Please comment, we need to fix this on the main page quickly. -- Varunbhalerao 06:45, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Featured Article
Hello all, How about collaborating on Dr. Abdul Kalam page for Featured article of the day on July 25, 2007. July 25, 2007 will be the last day of Dr. Abdul Kalam as the president of India. --Phoe6 14:56, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Lots of work needs to be done to make this article a higher quality one. I think we have already missed the July 25, 2007 date as some other article has come up in the queue. But let us work on it to expand the article and make it FA status. --Phoe6 08:11, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Proof that Kalam was a Newspaper Vendor
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2043527.stm

The article states  His father owned boats which he rented out to local fishermen, but he (Kalam) himself began his career as a newspaper vendor.

Any objection you guys have for me adding this.--138.88.117.66 17:53, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

I also feel we need to talk more about him accomplishments such as HAL Tejas (It's also known as LCA)--138.88.117.66 18:04, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

So no objections to me changing it then ?--71.163.69.149 22:58, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam claims that he is NOT a Muslim. His parents were Muslim, but he claims to read Hindu literature, to practice vegetarianism, and does not attend a mosque. Can anybody provide any more detail? -- Zoe


 * All I know is that every radio report and news article I've come across so far in the Western media mentioning him claims that he is A) a "moderate" Muslim and B) also well-versed in the Hindu sacred literature. (And therefore more acceptable to Hindus, and offensive to some Muslims who see him as a sign that a real Muslim would not be acceptable to the Indian public.) An NPR report I remember listening to a week or two ago claimed he "quotes the Mahabharata almost as often as he does the Koran". I'd definitely want more documentation before changing that characterization in the article... --Brion VIBBER


 * From the 07/19/2002 Los Angeles Times: "Although born to Muslim parents, Kalam, 71, does not describe himself as Muslim. He reads Hindu scriptures each day and is a vegetarian." -- Zoe


 * Dr Kalam, is a Muslim, as he writes in his books Ignited Minds, and Wings of Fire,

and I have personally read them. --Muthiah Annamalai 05:04, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

When he was inauguarated as President there was a lot of writing in the Indian papers about whether he was a real Muslim. Some of the more orthodox Indian Muslims felt that because he read the Kural and Gita he wasn't really a Muslim. Kalam himself identifies himself as a Muslim (and has done that on numerous occasions), I even remember an article about him visiting the shrine of Gharib Nawaz, a famous Indian Sufi, and that I think should be enough evidence to suggest that he is a Muslim. I'm Hindu but I've read the Bible and liked it, that doesn't make me a non-Hindu. It isn't for some cleric to decide who is or isn't a Muslim because Islam does not have that kind of organization (as opposed to say Catholicism or any other organised church where the Pope etc can excommunicate you). As long as he says he's a Muslim (which he explicitly does) that should be enough Cancel request to see Talk. &mdash; Toby 15:25 Jul 23, 2002 (PDT)

I called Islam his "family's" faith again, due to the LA Times quotation above by Zoe. But if Muslim scholars consider him Muslim (even if he does not call himself that), then I will put that in the article as well. -- Toby Bartels 23:56, 11 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Increasing intelligence through bio-implants
I've searched online but haven't been able to find any news site or other website that refers to Abdul Kalam's support for research to increase intelligence through bio-implants, mentioned on this page. It would be useful to have a reference for this on the page, as it sounds pretty radical. --RajeevA.

Newspaper seller?
I've been told that Kalam was broke used to sell newspapers as a kid. Since Wikipedia does not mention this, I'm guessing that it is an urban legend. Can anyone confirm the validity of this? If it does happen to be true, I guess that it should be added.

He does mention in his autobiography "Wings of Fire" that he did use to sell newspapers as a kid, so i guess it must be true !

Re : Newspaper seller?
It's not an Urban Legend. Like you said, it was in his Autobiography "Wings Of Fire". Yes it is True \note that only t.n/sheshan is the person who says

Present Political system
I doubt Abdul Kalam is anything like that. Besides Presidential elections in India have little to do with the public. The Autobiography came out after he was elected. Besides if Krishna Kanth didn't die (Yes the former VP had no intention of running) I doubt Kalam would even have been considered.

One must also take note that Presidents in India don't have much power. He by far has done more than every president in the past 30 years put together. He I think also won the election on his weight with the involvement of Operation Shakthi and his involvement with ISRO etc and his status as a National Hero. --138.88.81.141 00:22, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Dr Kalam as a poet
Dr Kalam happens to write poetry. there is no mention of that in this article sumal 13:39, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

External link
Hi, I would like to add an external link to the World of Biography entry to this article. Does anybody have any objections ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jameswatt (talk • contribs) 14 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Note: This user has added similar requests to link to biographies hosted on the same site to about 50 different articles. Although I believe that these requests were made in good faith, adding the links to all of the articles would be spamming. In addition, the biographies tend to be not very insightful and/or minimally informative, and the webpages contain Google AdSense links.
 * A fuller explanation of my own opinion on these links can be found here, if anyone wishes to read it.
 * Hbackman 23:16, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

I have removed the words "his family's faith" as it is misleading.Bharatveer 04:24, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Constitution of India, Part IV-A, Fundamental Duties

 * Constitution of India, Part IV-A, Fundamental Duties.


 * Article 51A : It shall be the duty of every citizens of India -
 * (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.


 * Comment : Present President APJ Abdul Kalam (I say muslim President) offers chaddar to Ajmer sharif Officially and in the article the President of India and profiles of APJ Abdul Kalam it is given that he is Scientist, Missile Technologist. The Wikipedia Encyclopedia gives some contradictory information.
 * vkvora 17:30, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
 * huh??! --h y dka t 20:12, 20 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Red Tape, Bureaucracy, Corruption, Political corruption, Bribery, Extortion, Graft, Money Laundering all are part and parcel of Religon.  vkvora 05:24, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Your blabbering :( This section is meant to discuss how to improve the article, plz create a blog page in livejournal or blogger.com if you want to promote your opinion, and people interested in it might read it there. Thank you! --h y dka t 20:31, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Not a tamil politician
Abdul Kalam was never a politician. I fail to see how he can be classified under Category:Tamil politicians ... removing it. --h y dka t 22:30, 11 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Abdul Kalam was and is a politician. He has taken more than 15 days to sign the bill where as in Constitution of India it is clearly given as soon as possible. Only the question is how deal is completed is not know to general public. He is also part and parcel of Corruption.  User:Vkvora2001|vkvora]] 11:54, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Your above comments is a blatant point of view supported by nonsensical statements--h y dka t 12:42, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Any appliction for New Ration Card is withhold and reason best known to concerned clerk, Inspector or rationing Officer. Corruption start.

Trivia
in the trivia section, please make corrections.it say "he is the first president to fly ..."...he didnt fly a bomber.he took a sortie accompanied by the pilot who flew the craft.its a blunder to say kalam was the first president to fly a fighter.he was the first to fly IN a fighter.make that correction.....thanks.dinesh. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.251.19.29 (talk • contribs) 15:46, 20 August 2006.

about Article111, of the Indian Constitution
I read Article-111, its very ambiguous about when the president should pass the bill if he must. I've removed an edit saying the president should do so 'as soon as possible':

Article 111: Assent to Bills When a Bill has been passed by the Houses of Parliament,it shall be presented to the President, and the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds assent therefrom: Provided that the President may, as soon as possible after the presentation to him of  a Bill for assent, return the Bill if it is not a Money Bill to the Houses with a message requesting that they will reconsider the Bill or any specified provisions thereof and, in particular, will consider the desirability of introducing any such amendments as he may recommend in  his message, and when a Bill is so returned, the Houses shall reconsider the Bill accordingly, and if the Bill is  passed again by the Houses with or without amendment and presented to the President for assent, the President shall not withhold assent therefrom. --h y dka t 13:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


 * There is no ambigity in the Article. It is clearly written and why APJ Abdul Kalam the President of India has withhold the Bill is a main question.  Not only that it is self impeachment to APJ Abdul Kalam also. vkvora 15:32, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I think your main grudge is that he took an undue amount of time to pass some bill... that any delay in his part amounts to an impeachable offense. Understand that this is your POV. --h y dka t 10:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Profit Bill presented for assent was returned by APJ Abdul Kalam the President of India for reconsideration. Both the Houses have passed the same Bill without any single change or without amendment and assented by APJ Abdul Kalam.  This is self impeachment leads to Harakiri only except ???.   vkvora 11:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I fail to see how... --h y dka t 11:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The last line of Article 111 is ...the President shall not withhold assent.... vkvora 13:20, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * then why are you adding the word "immediately " then??Bharatveer 03:47, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I put back the part that says he comes from the Marakkar Community in South India. He is also not the only one from that community to achieve recognition, so I added is one the few --h y dka t 07:13, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Note: If you believe he is not from that particular community plz delete... --h y dka t 07:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Identity
Identity section especially 2nd Paragraph seems to be totally unsourced. (It talks totally irrelevant subjects like Congress views,Communist views,BJP views about India) which don't need to be mentioned in Biography article of Indian president. It does not have specific message. I feel that section needs to be removed or to be modified with citations or more specific message.

I have removed that paragraph which is original research.--Indianstar 11:49, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Criticism section
The entire article tends to veer into POV and probably needs a thorough check, but the "criticism" section was particularly egregious:


 * Kalam has been the subject of strong criticism from leftists in the Indian press, Praful Bidwai being among his staunchest critics . Bidwai was later criticised for his unsubstantiated claims.


 * When his name was proposed for the Presidency, a sustained campaign was carried out alleging he was not a devout enough Muslim and portraying him as a hardline nationalist. With characteristic humility he ignored these criticisms to subsequently emerge as one of the most popular Presidents - one who, for many, has raised the prestige of the Presidency to new heights.

"Unsubstantiated claims"? "Characteristic humility"? If there is not to be a neutral summary of the criticism that has been made, the article is better off without the section.--Eloquence* 18:53, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Criticism for scientists needs strong references
In the criticism part of the article, any criticism of a scientist has to be referred from an acclaimed journal or science forum where any fraud was applied but in this case all the references are news articles and one of them points to rediff which is not a registered news journalist agency.

"In spite of his leading role in the development of Indian nuclear programme, Kalam has received rogue criticism from many of his leading nuclear peers who claimed that Kalam had "no authority" over nuclear science.[35] Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer criticised Kalam when Sethna claimed that Kalam had no background in publishing articles in nuclear science, even in nuclear physics. Sethna maintained that Kalam received his doctorate in Aerospace engineering which is a completely different discipline from Nuclear engineering, and what various universities awarded him for his achievements had nothing to do with nuclear physics. Sethna, in his last interview, maintained that in 1950s Kalam had failed advanced physics courses during his college life, and quoted "What does he know (about [nuclear] physics)....?", on national television.[36] Others felt that Kalam had never worked in any of the Indian nuclear power plants and had no role in developing the nuclear weapon which was completed under Raja Ramanna.[37] "

Also quoting too much from a single article is not right standard. Homi Sethna's criticism is over emphasized. So many lines of criticism in wiki article need more authenticity and more citations. This paragraph needs changes. Sailpra (talk) 10:59, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

The name written in Hindi language has mistake: Pakir
The name in Hindhi has error for the part Pakir. With current name in hindhi it will look "Pikar" in English. How can we make sure its correct? help please. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.239.172.72 (talk) 14:09, 20 January 2007 (UTC).

Whether his religion has to be mentioned
Why do we mention religion only for him? Religion is not mentioned for other presidents of India?--Indianstar 05:39, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, the Sikh religion has been mentioned for the Sikh President. As for the other presidents, they are all Hindu. But you are right. the Hindu religion should be mentionned for them


 * Not true. India has had several Muslim Presidents such as Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Hidayat Ullah and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. If you didn't know India has even had a Sikh President, Zail Singh. Vishnu  chakra  20:34, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Well technically, Abdul Kalam, according to his book, is an avowed Atheist. He can technnically be the first Atheist President if that helps. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.119.55.99 (talk) 23:37, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Image Use Policy
Please be aware that we have image use policy where we are not allowed to upload any image to Wikipedia if it is not created by yourself. Ayub407 (talk) 15:07, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2015
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was awarded with the Doctorate of Literature (D.Lit) (Honoris Causa) by Tezpur University in its Convocation before he become the President of India in 2002.

14.139.95.68 (talk) 17:03, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Cannolis (talk) 20:57, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Image
IMO, this image is better than current image in infobox. Should we change? --Nizil (talk) 21:31, 29 July 2015 (UTC)


 * So long as it's not under any copyrights, I'm fine with that. ―Nøkkenbuer (talk • contribs) 01:12, 31 July 2015 (UTC)


 * I agree. That is a much better image and replace the current infobox image as long as it is not under copyright.Sacredsea (talk) 00:13, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2015
Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam birth anniversary on 15 October will now be observed as World Students' Day as declared by United Nations

Sarvagya Garg (talk) 22:10, 29 July 2015 (UTC) United Nations Organization
 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done first sentence in A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Cannolis (talk) 22:24, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2015
Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam birth anniversary on 15 October will now be observed as World Students' Day

Sarvagya Garg (talk) 22:24, 29 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done See above, the UN made this announcement in 2010, on his 79th birthday. It's already in the article and is not new. Cannolis (talk) 22:26, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Incorrect fact
Towards the end of the course, he was not enthusiastic about the subject and would later regret the four years he studied it. -- This is not correct. He has never regretted studying that subject. Please remove this line from the article.

source: http://www.thehindu.com/archive/print/2006/09/24/stories/2006092404791000.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hackin9u (talk • contribs) 06:30, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Incorrect fact
Towards the end of the course, he was not enthusiastic about the subject and would later regret the four years he studied it. -- This is not correct. Please remove this line from the article.

source: http://www.thehindu.com/archive/print/2006/09/24/stories/2006092404791000.htm balakrish (talk) 06:37, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * ✅ Removed the unsourced bit. &mdash; Vensatry (ping) 08:01, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 July 2015
Over 350,000 people attended his funeral at rameswaram.Please correct accordingly

1.39.62.39 (talk) 09:31, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * ❌ Please provide a reliable source to support the claim. Thanks!  Jim Car  ter  10:52, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 July 2015
The name has been wrongly posted please correct, its'Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam not 'Avul Fakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

Saranya Rajagopalan (talk) 13:22, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 July 2015
Please change Avul Fakir Jainulabdeen "A. P. J." Abdul Kalam to Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen "A. P. J." Abdul Kalam

Saranya Rajagopalan (talk) 13:25, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

"World's Student Day" and "regretted four years later" claims, issues with "Early life and education" section
I noticed some dispute over these two claims:

And:

I tried looking into these claims to find any substantiation, but I didn't find much. Since these two are the ones who recently removed the two claims from the article, I'll notify both Drat70 and Vensatry.

Claim 1: "World Student Day"
Organization|UNO]]. This claim is also found in two articles on India.com, though they are simply mentions like the other. It is also mentioned in Business Standard here. This article by Focus News claims that the event occurred in 2010. An article on India TV reported that Padmanabha Acharya, governor of Assam and Nagaland, stated that "Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's 79th birthday was recognised as World Students' Day by the United Nations". Not much, but apparently this claim is well-known enough that even politicians are recounting it. A Merinews article also reports on the event, and an image caption on a Hindustan Times article mentioned it as well. Of course, it is also found in a number of smaller and lesser-known sites. Given the content of each article and their dates of publication, it's entirely possible that some of them may have gotten this information from Wikipedia (original source access date is March 1, 2012) or the other sources.

Interestingly enough, I found an entry over at StackExchange in the Skeptics section questioning this claim; an /r/AskReddit thread also questioned this claim with no results. A post in this forum thread claimed that it this event was celebrated in 2011 (cf. 2010 claim above), but apparently "not every year". Like the aforementioned threads pointed out, this sounds like an urban legend, albeit quite a popular one. I can't find any definitive sources, including none from the United Nations, so this claim can't really be verified. Although unverified claims like this are typically left out of Wikipedia articles (with good reason), it may be worth including this claim and mentioning that it is a rumor, or that it is not confirmed, given its popularity. Perhaps something like: "Multiple media outlets report that Kalam's 79th birthday was recognised as "World Student Day" by the United Nations; however, this claim has not been confirmed."

Claim 2: "regretting the four years he studied it "
The second claim, regarding Kalam regretting the four years he studied "it" (whatever that is, since the sentence is unclear), was removed as "unsourced POV". When I searched for a source, I came across this article on Yahoo News India. The claim is also found in an article by Business Standard, and this article by New Kerala.

Issues with "Early life and education" section
All the sources above contain nearly the exact same text, and this text is also found in the "Early life and education" section.

Some of the text can also be found elsewhere, such as this article on Tribune.com, though the information is conflicting. The latter source claims that Kalam attended Rameshwaram Elementary School, which is echoed by the Business Standard article linked above. Both of these articles conflict with the claim in the Yahoo News and New Kerala articles, both of which state that Kalam attended Ramanathapuram Schwartz Matriculation School. The "Early life and education" section concurs with the Yahoo and New Kerala articles, but not with the Tribune or Business Standard articles, by also stating that he attended Ramanathapuram Schwartz Matriculation School. When I searched for a source, I found only one mention of Rameshwaram Elementary School in Kamal's autobiography on page 9. There was no mention of Ramanathapuram Schwartz Matriculation School. There is also one mention of the same school in this biography on page 3, likewise nothing about any "Matriculation" school.

On the topic of sources, it appears that other text from this section was copied and pasted from their sources. The claim that "His father owned a ferry that took Hindu pilgrims back and forth between Rameswaram and the now-extinct Dhanushkodi" is found verbatim in the first cited source. (The second cited source affirms the claim, but is not the same text.) This source does not seem to mention the number of siblings Kalam has (or their respective sexes). This source states that Kalam "was so self-dependent that he preferred to earn money by selling newspapers than to accept any monetary help from anybody during his adolescence", which does not support the claims being cited—namely, that Kalam "started working at an early age to supplement his family's income" or that "Kalam distributed newspapers to contribute to his father's income". The biography states that Kalam did indeed began selling newspapers as work during his adolescence, but there is no indication that it was to supplement his family's, or contribute to his father's, income. This source seems misplaced entirely since pages 1–10 did not mention anything which it was cited to support in the section. It contained some interesting information and anecdotes, but nothing about the claims it is cited to support.

This source seems to support the claim that "Kalam went on to attend Saint Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli, ... from where he graduated in physics in 1954", but not the previous clause of "completing his education at the Ramanathapuram Schwartz Matriculation School" (the name of the school may be incorrect, as pointed out above). This source has some useful information which affirms some of the other claims, but doesn't confirm the claim being cited—that Kalam "moved to Madras in 1955 to study aerospace engineering in Madras Institute of Technology". This source has nothing to do with the anecdote about the Dean and the deadline, neither of which are mentioned in the article. This anecdote is mentioned in the articles I cited above, but only because it appears to be a part of the same copypasted block of text found in each one. The same is true for the fighter pilot anecdote, though the source cited for that does appear verify it.

I'm not sure what to make of this mess. Is the text fair use? Or is it being copypasted (which is a potential copyright violation)? Did at least some of them copy it from Wikipedia, like many sources sometimes do? (I found a couple instances of sources posting text found in this Wikipedia article in their respective articles, but since those articles are from the past few days, I suspect they're copying from Wikipedia.) I'm not familiar with these issues, nor am I familiar with Kalam (I didn't even know who he was before I saw this article in the Main Page "In the news" section yesterday). I recommend the "Early life and education" section of the article should be rewritten, though, since it appears to contain copypasted text from other sources. I can do so if needed, but I'm not sure where to start, or what to replace the text with.

Any experienced Wikipedians know what to do here? Any advice? Or is my newness showing and I'm overlooking something obvious? Any opinions on these matters are welcomed. ―Nøkkenbuer (talk • contribs) 01:10, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Claim 3: "Switzerland declared a Science Day of APJ Abdul kalam"
Allow me to add one more claim to your list of questionable claims.

Thank you for adding the first good source I've seen on this claim, coming from the | autobiography. However, I think there has to be some sort of another official source from the Swiss government or the like confirming that this happens. For instance the official |press release to the visit doesn't mention any such thing and also I couldn't find any mention of this in the Swiss media. There's also a | skeptic.se thread on this, which elaborates this a bit.

Are there any other opinions on whether to include this claim based solely on the autobiography?

With this in mind, I am going to take out the claim until a better source is provided or until there is a consensus here on whether to include it or not. Drat70 (talk) 02:33, 31 July 2015 (UTC)


 * I was considering adding that as a third claim, but I had a credible source from the autobiography affirming the event. Not a definite source like one from a Swiss outlet (or the Swiss government), of course, but I thought it strong enough to substantiate the claim—something I couldn't really find for the other two. In any case, thanks for adding the third disputed claim. If I come across any sources or leads, either during my searches or from any Swiss acquaintances, I'll be sure to post it here. If the claim cannot be substantiated any further, I'm fine with keeping it omitted, if only until a stronger source could be found. Alternatively, the claim could be qualified, such as: "In his Turning Points autobiography, Kalem states that in 2005, Switzerland declared 26 May as "Science Day" to commemorate Kalam's visit to the country." For everyone else reading, this is the claim in question (removed here):




 * This source was cited in the original claim. ―Nøkkenbuer (talk • contribs) 04:37, 31 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, I saw that. Compare that with this | Swiss news article, and | this one and then also | this one. (I chose this particular news outlet, because it has articles in English). As you can see, even in-depth articles about this particular visit fail to mention about any 'Science Day', which I find is really quite odd. That's why I feel there is more validation needed before this information be included in the article. However, I agree that your suggestion to include it as a quote from his autobiography would be a good alternative solution. --Drat70 (talk) 06:40, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Peoples President

 * Dr. Abdul Kalam is called Peoples President, so please add his name as Peoples president Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam. This is the good honor to him. This is widely known by everybody. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kumar kishore s (talk • contribs) 07:22, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

'Death' and 'reactions' sections unnecessarily long
Please work on improving the 'Career as a scientist' and 'Presidency' parts of the article. Describing 'Death' and 'reactions' at such lengths (lengthier than the former two) makes no sense. It would have been valid had he died early. He died a natural death. --Mayurai~enwiki (talk) 16:16, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Mention University of Madras in Alma Mater
Please mention University of Madras in Alma Mater along with the college name. He received the engineering degree from University of Madras. University degrees issued by Madras university do not mention college's name. Name of the degree granting university is more important than the college name or at least as important. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 167.127.104.11 (talk) 16:53, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 August 2015
Give a wiki link to Srijan Pal Singh

Current Content His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"

Expected Content His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: "Funny guy! Are you doing well?"

Prathviraj080 (talk) 06:31, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

✅ Thanks for the suggestion - Arjayay (talk) 07:37, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 August 2015
-- Please Change "Schwartz Matriculation School" to "Schwartz Higher Secondary School, Ramanathapuram"

117.248.3.129 (talk) 13:05, 8 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done  True CRaysball  | #RaysUp 22:46, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Sikhism
Should there be a separate section regarding his commentary and participation on Sikhism or should be included under another section. Having another religion section might be too much. Open to ideas.Swamiblue (talk) 02:27, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 November 2015
61.0.11.64 (talk) 11:49, 3 November 2015 (UTC)
 * ❌ No request made. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {Talk / Edits} 11:58, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Edit request
Section 5 Death, please add 14.139.242.195 (talk) 09:28, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Kharkiv07  ( T ) 09:51, 4 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Thank you. 14.139.242.195 (talk) 09:58, 4 January 2016 (UTC)

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How did you cremate APJ Kalam's body? By Hindu or Islam rituals?
How did you cremate APJ Kalam's body? By Hindu or Islam rituals? Explain details ASAP in the text. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dnyaneshtipre (talk • contribs) 03:40, 2 May 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 May 2016
Please add "Kerala Technological University, headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram where Kalam lived for years, was renamed as APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University after his death." to the list of institutions named after APJ Abdul Kalam

Eternallotus (talk) 11:35, 10 May 2016

his last book was not Transcendence but Advantage India.


 * Yes check.svg Done — Andy W.  ( talk  · ctb) 07:20, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

I hate you

Semi-protected edit request on 12 August 2016
This is request to add title for Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Aadhini (talk) 20:33, 12 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: per WP:TITLESINTITLES. Titles and prefixes are typically not added to article titles or ledes. — Andy W.  ( talk  · ctb) 20:39, 12 August 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 June 2017
Nationality:Indian to Nationality:Tamizhan or Tamilan or Tamilian. 117.199.137.8 (talk) 21:03, 15 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: That is his ethnic group, but his nationality is Indian. &mdash; KuyaBriBri Talk 02:45, 16 June 2017 (UTC)

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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070309080244/http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/Abdulkalam/Abdulkalam.htm to http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/abdulkalam/abdulkalam.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20141016060850/http://presidentofindia.nic.in/former-presidents.htm to http://presidentofindia.nic.in/former-presidents.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130203061751/http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/Recipients-BR.pdf to http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/Recipients-BR.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150912085138/http://www.president.gov.pk/gop/index.php?q=aHR0cDovLzE5Mi4xNjguNzAuMTMwOjkwODAvcG9wL05ld3NEZXRhaWwuYXNweD9pZD0xODc%3D to http://www.president.gov.pk/gop/index.php?q=aHR0cDovLzE5Mi4xNjguNzAuMTMwOjkwODAvcG9wL05ld3NEZXRhaWwuYXNweD9pZD0xODc%3D
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Semi-protected edit request on 25 August 2017
the spelling of kalam is written kamal in awards and honours section and in other parts too please correct them. 14.99.91.5 (talk) 16:26, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done jd22292 (Jalen D. Folf) (talk) 16:36, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Ethnicity and Religion
Some editors are keen to add ethnicity and religion to the infobox section. Wiki says its an unknown parameter so I have removed it. - μ  Talk  06:19, 10 September 2017 (UTC)

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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090511001515/http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=354077 to http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=354077

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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110203180132/http://frontlineonnet.com/fl2619/stories/20090925261902000.htm to http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2619/stories/20090925261902000.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150907005520/http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/626-apj-abdul-kalam-contemplative-science-complements-modern-science to http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/626-apj-abdul-kalam-contemplative-science-complements-modern-science
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140314182225/http://nujslawreview.org/pdf/articles/2011_3/dr-a-p-j-abdul-kalam.pdf to http://www.nujslawreview.org/pdf/articles/2011_3/dr-a-p-j-abdul-kalam.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20151014012454/http://49.50.126.244/web_material/Circulars/2015/exseries/66_APJ_Abdul_Kalam.pdf to http://49.50.126.244/web_material/Circulars/2015/exseries/66_APJ_Abdul_Kalam.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140528022039/http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/informatics/news-events/recentnews/abdul-kalam-visit to http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/informatics/news-events/recentnews/abdul-kalam-visit
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121001024222/http://www.flipkart.com/turning-points-9350293471/p/itmda654mcrqdgfh to http://www.flipkart.com/turning-points-9350293471/p/itmda654mcrqdgfh

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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150729043804/http://www.abplive.in/incoming/2015/07/28/article664629.ece/APJ-Abdul-Kalam-the-unconventional-President-who-learnt-the-art-of-the-political to http://www.abplive.in/incoming/2015/07/28/article664629.ece/APJ-Abdul-Kalam-the-unconventional-President-who-learnt-the-art-of-the-political
 * Added tag to http://www.abdulkalam.com/kalam/jsp/display_content.jsp?menuid=22&menuname=Dr.Kalam%F6s%20Page&linkid=130&linkname=Profile&content=457&columnno=0&starts=0&menu_image=-
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120528081946/http://www.techmotivator.iitm.ac.in/TGTech%20APJ.htm to http://www.techmotivator.iitm.ac.in/TGTech%20APJ.htm

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Semi-protected edit request on 10 December 2017
117.195.228.207 (talk) 09:35, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 August 2018
2001:8003:53B8:DD00:ECA5:631B:D68F:3CBB (talk) 21:33, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Just write born in India not British India. APJ was a nationalist and you are insulting him and India by putting BRITISH INDIA.
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. From my viewpoint, when he was born in 1931, it was British India. Dolotta (talk) 16:33, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 August 2018
There needed to be A.P.J Abdul Kalam's Quotes in the external links too for the young readers to learn or read Some quotes of the great president of Indian History. Give me The Permission so that i can edit it. It will provide value to this article. Divyamjha (talk) 15:11, 16 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: this is not the right page to request additional user rights. You may reopen this request with the specific changes to be made and someone will add them for you, or if you have an account, you can wait until you are autoconfirmed and edit the page yourself. Dolotta (talk) 16:35, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 September 2018
BABULAL777 (talk) 04:30, 14 September 2018 (UTC) APJ Abdul Kalam Statement
 * ❌ You haven't said what change you wish to be made to the article. Fish +Karate 13:50, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 October 2018
Please change "Kalam at Bijnor a week before his death" to "Kalam at R V Institute of Technology, Bijnor a week before his death" because he visited and addressed a large gathering of intellectuals on July 21, 2015 at this Institute. Drnkitbhu (talk) 09:42, 14 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. DRAGON BOOSTER   ★  15:09, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 February 2019
please accept the edit request for there are personalities whose bio is not given well or attached a link with their name. Swapnilpawar972 (talk) 10:16, 17 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. DannyS712 (talk) 02:27, 19 February 2019 (UTC)

"Apjak" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Apjak. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 18:07, 20 September 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 December 2019
after apj abdul kalam death a library which is asia biggest digital library is named after him at NIT SILCHAR Aakash reddy435 (talk) 07:27, 20 December 2019 (UTC) https://newsmen.in/news/assam-cm-throws-open-rs-44-crore-new-library-building-at-nit-silchar/
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 05:31, 21 December 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 October 2020
I request to add a link to the Wikipedia page of Ahmed Adeeb, the former Vice President of Maldives. 81.97.58.211 (talk) 15:04, 26 October 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅ - Fylindfotberserk (talk) 17:12, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 April 2021
Hi I'm requesting the President section be updated to show that Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is no longer the president. Currently it says that he's the Incumbent, but he hasn't been president since July 25, 2007 and he was succeeded by Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Styroler (talk • contribs) 04:11, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 October 2021
103.120.208.29 (talk) 07:39, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

DR A.P.J ABDUL KALAM 4 MANTRAS

“We should know how to handle — not only how to handle success, how to handle the failures,” the great, late Indian politician and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam begins this speech.

He explains that one has to face numerous challenges in every aspect of life. And so, instead of making the problem their captain, one must become the captain themselves to defeat all odds and be successful.

“Those who dare to imagine the impossible are the ones who break all the human limitations… By breaking the limits of their imagination, they change the world,” says the Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhusan (1990), and Bharat Ratna (1997) recipient in this old video.

He says “in every field of human endeavour, whether science, medicine, sports, art and technology, the names of the people who imagined the impossible are engraved in our history”. He beautifully elaborates by citing examples of luminaries like CV Raman, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Chandrasekar.

To become an inventor, one must have a creative mind that is constantly working and imagining the outcome.

The former President of India, professor, aerospace engineer shares the four mantras to succeed in life: “I will have great aim; I will continuously acquire knowledge; I will do hard work; and I will persevere and succeed”.
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. &#8209;&#8209; El Hef  ( Meep? ) 13:33, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

Death and reaction sections
Recently article has been considerably expanded with separate sections on Kalam's Death and various leaders' (pro-forma) Reactions to it. IMO both these sections are unencyclopedic and undue, and should be reduced to a 2-3 sentence summary. For comparison, see how the death of Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, or Giani Zail Singh is handled in their article on wikipedia or, essentially any encyclopedia eg EB on Rajendra Prasad.He is a great man! to summarize the section, but it did not "stick", so trying to gauge consensus here. Abecedare (talk) 17:08, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Well, I almost agree with you, that the death section is undue. And I support, trimming it to a paragraph containing the most important informations, however,, it's not totally unencyclopedic. I suggest, we move most of the overly detailed information to a new page, perhaps something like Death of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (It's a redirect right now). As far I remember, we had similar problems during Nelson Mendela's death, after consensus at the article's talk page they moved most of the content to Death of Nelson Mandela. Best,   Jim  Car  ter  19:08, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
 * The death and in reactions sections are definitely WP:UNDUE at this point. Also, this isn't something to be split off to a separate article, it's not something that's out of the ordinary here. Mandela's case was different, as an icon of the era. In fact Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri which is one that has received overage both in terms of conspiracy and otherwise is a redirect.&mdash; Spaceman  Spiff 
 * In term of size, death and reaction account large amount of space than other sections. I suggest it to trim further or create separate article if necessary. -Nizil (talk) 21:26, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
 * So far it seems like everyone here agree that the death and reaction section should be trimmed. I will ping who added most of the contents, to state there opinion here before I go ahead and start trimming. Cheers,   Jim  Car  ter  05:12, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Also agree the section can be trimmed, now that his funeral has taken place.Aumnamahashiva (talk) 13:52, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Negative politics even here
The below copied para is enough to understand the anti right mindset and political angle. Shame to the author. It doesn't find it worth to mention the name of the then PM but for sure the former pm and part president.

"The flight landed at Palam Air Base that afternoon and was received by the President, the Vice-president, the Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, and the three service chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, who laid wreaths on Kalam's body.[90] His body was then placed on a gun carriage draped with the Indian flag and taken to his Delhi residence at 10 Rajaji Marg; there, the public and numerous dignitaries paid homage, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.[" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2405:201:F008:6E57:C173:FB3E:823D:1767 (talk) 15:46, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Even though 'President' is true, it might confuse.
What I am saying is that is says that he was president, even though it is factually correct please add that In the Indian constitution, president is not the head of the country, instead, the prime minister is the head of the of the country. I know this because I am a Indian. Proof is, search on google or look at Indian media or the constitution instead. Please make the change if you are active.

Semi-protected edit request on 7 February 2022
Dr.A.P.J Abdul kalam was the Chairman, Board of Governors of National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Chennai (NITTTR) during 1988 - 1992. An academic Complex in NITTTR is name after him. Ksgiri77 (talk) 02:45, 7 February 2022 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Please supplement your request with citations to reliable, secondary sources. The cited Wikimedia project websites are not sufficient, and they do not properly support the claims you have asserted. 〜 ‍ ‍ ‍ elias. 🧣 ‍  ‍ 💬reach out to me!・📝see my work! 15:39, 7 February 2022 (UTC)