APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, dies at 83

Former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, known as the father of the country's military missile program, died Monday after collapsing while delivering a lecture, a top state official said. He was 83.

The president of India from 2002 until 2007, he was a scientist and science administrator for four decades before that, mainly at the state-run Defense Research and Development Organization and the Indian Space Research Organization. He played a key organizational and technical role in India's nuclear program.

He also served as a scientific adviser to the prime minister and was known as Missile Man for leading the scientific team that developed missiles capable of carrying India’s nuclear warheads.

Kalam fell sick Monday while addressing students at the Indian Institute of Management in the Meghalaya state capital, Shillong, said P.B. Warjri, the chief secretary of the state. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead after doctors could not revive him, Warjri said.

The federal government would declare national mourning for seven days for him, said federal Home Secretary L.C. Goyal. Kalam's body will be flown to New Delhi on Tuesday for burial.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "his death is a great loss to the scientific community. He took India to great heights. He showed the way."

Sonia Gandhi, the president of opposition Congress Party, described Kalam as "one of the greatest scientific minds, a scholar statesman and a true patriot who inspired millions of young and old alike by his works and deeds."

Kalam, who wrote a book called "Ignited Minds," became best known as a tireless campaigner for unleashing India’s technological muscle and discouraging expensive imports from the West.

After his presidency ended, he traveled to remote schools and colleges, speaking to students and inspiring them to follow their dreams. He received hundreds of emails each day from high-school students and other young people seeking his advice. He replied to most of the children who wrote to him.

Born on Oct. 15, 1931, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Kalam graduated from the prestigious Madras Institute of Technology, where he studied aeronautical engineering.

Kalam used to describe himself as "made in India," as he never trained abroad.

Al Jazeera with wire services