On what would have been his 95th birthday, India pauses to remember Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — rocket scientist, teacher, and the 11th President of India — and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was among the first to offer his respects on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

Posting in Odia on X, CM Majhi offered what he called a devotional tribute — 'bhaktiputa pranama' [a reverent, heartfelt salutation] — describing Kalam as a 'great scientist, distinguished educationist, and former President of India.' The post was accompanied by an image, keeping in step with the annual national outpouring of remembrance that marks this date every year.

The man who made October 15 a national moment

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, born on October 15, 1931 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, rose from modest origins to architect India's missile development programme and steer its civilian space ambitions. His work as Project Director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) and his central role in the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGDMP) earned him the popular title 'Missile Man of India.'

He served as the 11th President from 2002 to 2007, a tenure marked by an unusual closeness to students and young people — he regularly invited schoolchildren to Rashtrapati Bhavan and spoke of science as the ultimate equaliser. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1997, India's highest civilian honour. He passed away on July 27, 2015, while delivering a lecture at IIM Shillong — fittingly, mid-sentence, in a classroom.

Why Kalam remains above the political fray

Few figures in independent India attract tributes as genuinely cross-partisan as Kalam. Nominated to the presidency by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and elected with overwhelming support from across the political spectrum, he governed without faction. His identity — scientist, Muslim, son of a fisherman's family, President — collapsed category after category, and that legacy has made his birth anniversary a rare moment of shared national sentiment.

Across India on October 15, schools, universities, and scientific institutions hold readings, essay competitions, and remembrance assemblies. CM Majhi's tribute, offered in his native Odia, signals that this year's observance in Odisha is no different — a state with its own proud tradition of honouring scientific and educational icons.

Kalam once said the best tribute to a teacher is a student who surpasses the teacher. Today, a nation of students — and the leaders they elected — are still trying to live up to that standard.