Former President APJ Abdul Kalam laid to rest

'People's President' Kalam given full military honours

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam was on Thursday laid to rest with full state honours in his hometown of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet ministers, foreign dignitaries and thousands of people.

Fondly called the “People’s President”, his body, draped in the tricolour, was brought to the burial site at Peikarumbu in a flower-decked gun carriage.

After the prime minister, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, state ministers, including O Panneerselvam, and others paid their tributes. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa did not attend the funeral due to health reasons.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shahnawaz Hussain, Congress Vice- President Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were among those who paid their last respects. Political leaders from the state and other parts of the country joined.

The three chiefs of the Indian defence forces then saluted their former chief commander, followed by defence personnel.

Kalam’s former colleagues and scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation, Defence Research and Development Organisation  and other agencies and family members also took part in the funeral. A gun salute was paid to Kalam, while the military band played the ‘Last Post’ tune.

On Wednesday, Kalam’s body was kept at a ground near the Rameswaram bus stand, so that the people could pay their last respects. The body was then taken to Kalam’s ancestral house, where his 99-year old brother and other family members live.

The funeral procession started at 10 am after prayers at a mosque close to his ancestral house.

As defence personnel carried out the body, hundreds of people shouted Bharat Mata ki jai.

Thousands of people participated in the funeral procession today to pay their respect and have a final glimpse of the man, who they say was truly a "People’s President".