Former President APJ Abdul Kalam Passes Away - Missile Man of India, People's President

Collapsed during a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management-Shillong (IIM-S) - July 27th 2015

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the 'missile man' who came to be known as 'People's President' died on Monday after he collapsed during a lecture at the IIM in Shillong on Monday evening. He was 83.

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

Doctors at the hospital said he was brought dead around 7pm. “He had no pulse when he was admitted to the hospital. We can attribute his death to cardiac arrest,” a doctor said.

The hospital authorities, however, refrained from confirming the death until Meghalaya governor V Shanmughanathan and chief secretary PBO Warjri visited the hospital around 8pm.

“The body of the former president will be flown to New Delhi via Guwahati Tuesday morning,” Warjri said.

IIM-S officials said Kalam, who had tweeted in the morning about the function, showed no signs of illness after he reached the Meghalaya capital. “We had a packed house for the lecture on Liveable Planet Earth,” an official said.

From 'Missile Man' to 'People's President'
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.

He also played a pivotal technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, shortly after the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government came to power.

After his term, he returned to a life of education, writing, and public service. He received several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.

The government is set to announce a national mourning of seven days.
"As president of India, Dr. Kalam was immensely popular and greatly admired. His warmth, humility and simple ways endeared him to one and all. He had a special love for children and sought to constantly inspire the youth of our country through motivational speeches and personal interaction," President Pranab Mukherjee said.

Read Kalam's Biography:

Biography of A P J Abdul Kalam - Life Style of Abdul Kalam - Lead India 2020 Program - Abdul Kalam Wallpapers

 

We miss you - People's President

Role model for students

A vegetarian bachelor, Kalam was quoted as saying that like most of the technology he spearheaded, he himself was "Made in India", having never been trained abroad.
   
Kalam succeeded K R Narayanan and served a full five-year term from 2002 until 2007 after he won the presidential elections which was a highly one-sided contest with Lakshmi Sahgal, a revolutionary of the Indian Independence movement, as his rival. He secured the backing of all political parties.

A role model for students and young people Kalam was always happy to be among them and educational institutions. He breathed his last in the premises of an educational institution.

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B-Town's Costliest Divorce Settlements in Bollywood - 7 Most Expensive Divorces in Bollywood

Many superstars frequently tilted that it's tough to have a stable private life when you work in the movie professional, and when your life is continually being talked about in the media. Particularly, when you are a Bollywood superstar and you are at a wedding, life becomes a little bit more problematic. That is why superstar divorces have become common these days. But having your personal life and divorce become a people's breakfast table chat isn't the only price these celebs have to pay. They accurately have to pay a huge amount as far as celebrity divorces go. Check out these 7 most expensive divorces of B-Town which will shock you!

1. Hrithik Roshan and Sussane Khan

People were really left shocked when the duo announced their separation last year, after 14 years of being married. There were lots of speculation, with accusations on both of them cheating on each other. But till date, the exact reason of separation isn't clear. Nevertheless, theirs has got to be one of the most expensive divorces in Bollywood. Sussane had demanded a whopping Rs 400 crore in alimony and Hrithik ended up paying Rs. 380 to her in a settlement!

2. Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur

Theirs has been one jinxed marriage since the very beginning. They have always been on an on-off mode constantly as far as their relationship is concerned, and the couple finally filed for a divorce last year. If reports are to be believed, their divorce is about to get finalised by June this year, and Karisma has apparently demanded Rs. 7 crore as alimony.
3. Sanjay Dutt and Rhea Pillai

Even though Rhea was Sanjay's second, the two were much in love before Rhea went ahead and left him for tennis player Leander Paes. Reportedly, Sanjay was footing in her shopping and mobile phone bills till the time the official divorce was finalised, even though during that time she had a baby with Leander Paes! Not only that, Sanjay also ended up paying Rs 8 crore as alimony and an expensive car to Rhea.

4. Rhea Pillai and Leander Paes

Well, yeah! They also ended up getting divorced, funny right! In fact, the two of them had a much ugly divorce, with both of them making accusations at each other in front of the media. Paes even accused Pillai of cheating on him with a younger cricketer. Yet, Pillai demanded Rs. 4 lakh from him as monthly maintenance, Rs 3 lakh for herself and Rs. 90,000 for their daughter who studies in one of the most expensive schools in Mumbai.
5. Aditya Chopra and Payal Khanna

While most us know that Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra are happily married now, not many know of his first wife Payal Khanna. Thrate were actually childhood sweethearts, but as fate would have it, they are separated now. It was reported that it took a lot of time for the couple to get the official divorce because Payal apparently demanded a huge sum of alimony from Aditya. And even though there were much speculations, their divorce details were kept under wraps. Yet, the alimony amount is believed to be so huge that it's considered to be one of the most expensive divorces in the history of Bollywood.

6. Prabhudeva and Ramlath

Not many know, but the multitalented actor-dancer-director, Prabhudeva is also a divorcee. He divorced his wife Ramlath in 2011, but not without paying a hefty amount as alimony. She not only received property worth of Rs. 20-25 crores, which included villas, but also got Rs. 10 lakh as one time alimony and two expensive cars!
7. Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh

Here's yet another of the most expensive Bollywood celeb divorces- Saif and Amrita. The two had a fairytale wedding, when Saif decided to marry a much elder Amrita despite his family's opposition, and everyone else's shock. Sadly, the couple parted ways after 13 years of being married. And even though the exact amount of Amrita's alimony has never been disclosed, it's said that apparently Saif had to pay half his fortune to Amrita as alimony and also paid for child support.

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