Kalam had no property
Former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, who died in Shillong on July 27, had no property in his name, his scientific advisor V Ponraj said.
Talking to reporters on Saturday, he said Kalam's only properties were his books and 64 crore youths in the country.
The former president had a property in Bengaluru, but he disposed it off for a cause, said Ponraj, who had been with Kalam for about two decades. He was not aware whether Kalam had bequeathed anything to anyone in his will, he said answering a question.
Kalam was receiving royalty for his books and getting pension from the government. It was not clear as whom he had nominated. All these issues would be sorted out after discussing them with family members, Ponraj said.
The day he visited Shillong to address students of Indian Institute of Management, he had some discomfort while climbing the stairs, but he went ahead after taking a brief rest, Ponraj said. While delivering the lecture, Kalam collapsed and died.
Recipient of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam rose from humble origins of selling newspapers at Rameshwaram Railway Station in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, his home state, to become the president in the most unexpected manner during the BJP-led NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee after an all party consensus minus the left parties that saw him through in an election which he won handsomely.
An aeronautics engineer from Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam was considered the brain of missile programme in India. As chief scientific adviser to Vajpayee, he was also instrumental in the Pokhran nuclear test in 1998.
As president, Kalam utilised every opportunity that came to him to address students, especially schoolchildren, to dream big so that they became achievers in life.
A bachelor, the former president was a veena player and was deeply interested in Carnatic music. He was vegetarian all his life.
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