Former President of India and one of India’s bestselling authors, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, died on Monday evening at a hospital in Meghalaya, where he had gone to deliver a lecture. He was 83.

Known for his visionary ideas grounded in practical experience, Dr Kalam published numerous books including the path-breaking works India 2020, Ignited Minds, Target 3 Billion, Life Tree: Poems, Mission 2020 and Beyond 2020.  Written in straight-forward, accessible language each book shared his passion to help India and Indians dream big, and offered an action plan to help realise these goals. 

Most recently he worked to inspire a new generation of Indians in careers in science through his book with Puffin, Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Better Future.

“Dr Kalam was a true visionary,” said Udayan Mitra, Associate Publisher at Penguin Random House, who worked as Dr Kalam’s editor for more than 10 years. “He dreamt of a better India, and believed from the bottom of his heart in that dream. His energy, his enthusiasm, his commitment to work, his childlike joy in every fresh discovery, were infectious. He managed to inspire the millions of people who met him, listened to his speeches, and read his books – and he ignited their minds. Having had the privilege to know Dr Kalam personally and to have published his books for over a decade, I will miss him dearly, as I know the entire nation will. But his dream and his extraordinary personality will live on in his books, and it is in their pages that we will be able to find Dr Kalam in our midst again, and celebrate his vision anew.”