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Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India

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When A.P.J. Abdul Kalam wrote India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium with Y.S. Rajan in 1998, little did they expect the magnitude of the response they would get. The idea that India could actually be a developed nation in a short time rather than remain condemned to a subsistence diet of marginal improvements and promises struck a chord among readers. The book continues to be a bestseller.

Ignited Unleashing the Power Within India goes the logical next step and examines why, given all our skills, resources and talents, we, so obviously capable of being the best, settle so often for the worst. What is it that we as a nation are missing? For at the heart of Ignited Minds is an irresistible the people of a nation have the power, by dint of hard work, to realize their dream of a truly good life.

Kalam offers no formulaic prescription in Ignited Minds. Instead, he takes up different issues and themes that struck him on his pilgrimage around the country as he met thousands of school children, teachers, scientists and saints and seers in the course of two the necessity for a patriotism that transcends religion and politics; for role models who point out the path to take; and for confidence in ourselves and in our strengths.

Who was he to write on so large a theme, he wondered as he started writing this book. But at the end, Kalam's humility notwithstanding, this may well prove to be the book that motivates us to get back on the winning track and unleash the energy within a nation that hasn't allowed itself full rein.

222 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

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About the author

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

127books1,824followers
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: அவுல் பகீர் ஜைனுலாப்தீன் அப்துல் கலாம்) usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was one of India's most distinguished scientists. He was an Aerospace engineer, professor, and chancellor of theIndian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST),who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.

Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer withDRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation)andISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).He was responsible for the development of India's first satellite launch vehicle,the SLV-3He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology. Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

He has the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from thirty universities and the country's three highest civilian honours - Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997).

Former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who became popular as ‘People’s President’, passed away on July 27th, 2015 at the age of 83 in Shillong, India.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 538 reviews
Profile Image for Anish.
43 reviews15 followers
March 17, 2013
Once upon a time long ago, when I was young, idealistic and believed in achievement through hard work, dedication and all that jazz- I read this inspirational, well-crafted gem from a great man. Dr. Kalam recalls various incidents from his formative years, his career, his family life and the lessons he took from them. From this book, we get a picture of a self-made man, honest, hard-working, humble, a genius and finally- a great human being. Ignited Minds is a must read for all young children, whose minds are yet to to be corrupted by this rotten world and it's shallow consumerist culture, the idealists in whom are yet to die.
Profile Image for Khyati Gautam.
808 reviews204 followers
August 9, 2019
Ignited Minds is my first read by Kalam Sir and I am so glad to have read it. His profound wisdom reflects as we traverse through the pages and find it inspiring, motivating, uplifting - all at the same time. The book has been divided into chapters which are neat and comprehensible. These chapters contain the amazing experiences of Kalam Ji as he recounts his days from the past. Through his experiences and observations, he goes on to explain the importance of participation of youth in building the nation.

He was a visionary who saw a vast potential in the youth to bring out the best for the country. He believed in investing in the young to reap fruits for our Mother India. His ideas show how we could kindle the fire in them and then exploit their ignited minds to carry on with the nation's development. He had a mission to see India as a developed nation and hence, he urges throughout the book that we must look at the bigger picture to realize our dreams. It is a book which should be read by the people of India especially children because they'd found his electrifying thoughts highly inspiring! Only a united vision launched with renewed vigor will bring the young force into action.
Profile Image for Ashima.
15 reviews
January 6, 2008
From this book, APJ Abdul Kalam gives an optimistic view on how children can achieve their dreams, have rolemodels etc. He has made laurels on different themes of life, how we can overcome them, and I feel that his type of recognition of each opportunity, will show our way to success.

A must read for all the 'ignited' minds.
4 reviews
February 8, 2008
Maybe I expected too much from the book, but I do not find it very motivational or inspirational. The book does not really give a detailed solution to how to ignite the minds of young people, instead I see the book as a semi-autobiographical account of Kalam's professional life. But I do see his general principles on life and society, the way he lives his life, and his genuine want of a better India as admirable.
Profile Image for Srini.
23 reviews7 followers
August 8, 2018
Reading this book in 2018, I found it hopelessly sad to imagine how Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam envisioned a developed India by the year 2020.

The problems mentioned in the book still prevails today, and we are doing very little about it. Dr. Kalam emphasizes on several issues - like value addition in raw materials (which we have in abundance), combining spiritualism and education, religious tolerance and many other relevent issues.

Overall, Ignited Minds was a quick but a powerful read which contains patriotic philosophies that every Indian should be conscious about.
Profile Image for Tejas Ghetia.
25 reviews23 followers
May 18, 2012
Not much info...
Too bad narrative style...
nothing new... just another man trying to make false identities....
Profile Image for Suriya Gayathri.
101 reviews8 followers
April 16, 2014
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam sets down the future of India on the young generation. The book is all about liberating our qualities. He explains how important it is for a child to have a role model and how they must have a dream. It is through dreams that actions happen. The main focus of the book is his interaction with children of our nation. He states that the young children are the first scientists. Science exists from questions. Children ask inquisitive questions. It is from their spanking new minds that India’s progress will transpire. One of the chapters is dedicated to the famous Mathematicians of our country remembering their priceless contributions to the world of science. He shares his experiences conversing with religious leaders on how spirituality can add value to a country’s development and its people. He writes about his successes and failures he has faced during the various projects during his work in making rockets, missiles and launch systems. He explains how our resources in the areas of science and technology are being under-utilised and how such potential can be tapped. Dr. Kalam’s vision is for a knowledge-power and transparent India. He is a true patriot beyond religion and politics. Dream, dream, dream!
Profile Image for Kusu.
214 reviews19 followers
April 12, 2023
"What better project can I undertake than to tell my people that what they dream of can become possible, that they can have anything that comprises a good life: health, education, the freedom to pursue their goals, and above all, peace."

"I think that when a nation doesn't have a vision, small minds take over it's affairs."

"For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool."

"I want all of us—institutions, political parties, industries, communities, families, individuals—at every level to take full responsibility for what is good or bad in our situation, for what we possess and that which we do not. That would mean that we stop blaming others for the circumstances we find ourselves in. Taking responsibility also means a willingness to exercise our abilities to the fullest."

"No ideology is above the security and prosperity of our country. No agenda is more important than harmony among the people"

"Students should get ready to transform India into a developed nation. Ignite your minds and think big."


I wouldn't call this book a literary masterpiece, but Dr. Kalam's vision and his contributions in the field of science, innovation, education and politics will never cease to be of value.
Profile Image for Sharmila.
4 reviews
April 12, 2013
Song of Youth
As a young citizen of india,armed wit technology,knowledge and love for my nation,
I realize, small aim is a crim.

I wil work and sweat for a great vision,
the vision of transforming India to a developed nation
powered by economic strength wit value system

I am one of the citizens of a billion,
only the vision will ignite the billion souls.
It has entered into me,
the ignite soul compared to any resource,
is the most powerful resource
on the earth, above the earth and under the earth.

I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning
to achieve the vision -Dr APJ
Profile Image for bipasha.
288 reviews187 followers
September 28, 2013


what the hell just happened. this was like career counselling in our icse schools. mind boggling, it was like my mom lecturing me on the great goal of my life and giving the occasional examples of great personalities.
exhausting read, i was like banging my head after the first few pages...so you get iti DNF.

CHOCOLATE, HERE I COME...
Profile Image for Sri.
141 reviews34 followers
August 13, 2016
'Ignited Minds' was a terrific book. Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam has inspired us so much. He may not be with us today, but his book surely does with all its ideas and marvellous thought provoking questions to rekindle the spark in the youth of India. Also, every page in itself is a quote. I had a very hard time picking quotes as each and every line is a gem.
59 reviews33 followers
July 26, 2013
Some of the lines from the book have touched my heart. I have notd it down. They inspire me very much which i am sharing it here:
- Our civilization is rich, which leads to forward thinking, harmony and better understanding.
- With such a great nation and people, why are there communal clashes? I think that when a nation doesn't have a vision, small minds take over its affairs.
- Quoting Sureh Kafirun from Holy Quran.
- Visionaries don't age!
- The question is not who would allow us but rather, who can stop us?
- An elder brother remains elder all your life!
- I realized then that if something is at stake, the human mind gets ignited and working capacity gets enhanced manifold.
- We need to realize that missions are always bigger than organizations, just as organizations are always bigger than the individuals who run them.
-I dream of an India governed by noble leaders.
- I would like to see in twenty years a literate and poverty-free India.
- A teacher once said, 'Give me a five year old child. After seven years, no God or Devil will be able to change the child.' Will all teachers be such Gurus..??
Profile Image for Pradeep Thakur.
Author168 books39 followers
Read
January 24, 2011
Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India goes the logical next step and examines why, given all our skills, resources and talents, we, so obviously capable of being the best, settle so often for the worst. What is it that we as a nation are missing? For at the heart of Ignited Minds is an irresistible premise: the people of a nation have the power, by dint of hard work, to realize their dream of a truly good life. Kalam offers no formulaic prescription in Ignited Minds. Instead, he takes up different issues and themes that struck him on his pilgrimage around the country as he met thousands of school children, teachers, scientists and saints and seers in the course of two years: the necessity for a patriotism that transcends religion and politics; for role models who point out the path to take; and for confidence in ourselves and in our strengths.
Profile Image for Nayaz Riyazulla.
383 reviews66 followers
September 1, 2021
Dr. Kalam had a beautiful vision of aiming India to be a well developed nation by 2020 in 1998. This book is his roadmap or pathway to achieve that goal.

He emphasis on holistic approach, for meeting this dream by integrated development of certain vital sectors like "Agriculture", "Education", "IT", "Industry" and "Science & Technology".

This book has been written in easiest language, which helped to reach large unsophisticated population of our country.

But, Irony is that, Our country is far far behind from this dream, due to various reasons. Hope this book and Dr. Kalam's teachings ignite lot of young minds to work towards achieving this ambitious goal atleast in another 10 years.
Profile Image for Neil.
86 reviews19 followers
July 31, 2015
Disgusting, dis grease, non-sense, irrelevant, waste of time or worst than you think.This is the book written by a person who has a knowledge of English that is it. Any one who knows good English, can be a good writer here in India. This is what the book says. The author certainly has knowledge of science and technology but he is not a philosopher or visionary kind. This book along with his Revolution 2020 shows that he has very very little knowledge of other sectors of the society. And he certainly is not an authority for the field like economics, healthcare, education or new ideas at all. What he really posses are great stature in the field of science and technology and good English. He posses no new ideas or any good plan to solve any problem in reality. His ideas are absurd, irrelevant, irrational, hyper patriotic etc. The author don't posses any new think beyond what west counties and politicians of this country says. He is totally biased towards growth and development of this country which is nothing but the exaggeration by politicians and chauvinist etc. The only positive thing about the book is his work in the field of science and technology and yes English. There is nothing in this book which is readable. This book can be used as a start by a person who just started reading in English and want to read about India only. Or the one who has no interest in reading anything. My rating is 1 star i.e. for the don't read, worst, disgusting, dis-grease, unreadable. So according to me there is nothing in this book which ignite your mind. Thank you.
Profile Image for Syed Morshed.
52 reviews17 followers
July 2, 2016
Ignited Minds সবার পড়া উচিত। আমরা ধর্ম ধর্ম করে যে মুখ দিয়ে ফেনা তুলে ফেলছি, ধর্ম কি তা কালাম সাহেব খুব সুন্দর করেই বলেছেন এই বইতে। তিনি বলেছেন ধর্ম হবে ঐক্যের হাতিয়ার, বিভাজনের হাতিয়ার নয়। তিনি বলেছেন তিনি একই সাথে ছাত্রদের কোরআন ও বেদ পড়তে দেখেছেন। তিনি আমাদের জীবনে টেকনিকাল জ্ঞানের পাশাপাশি আধ্যাত্মিক জ্ঞানের সমন্বয়ের করার কথা বলেছেন। সারফুদ্দিন আহমেদের অনুবাদে বইটি পড়েছি। বলতে হবে অনুবাদ খুবই প্রাঞ্জল!

উইলসন জন এই বইটি সম্বন্ধে বলেছেন, “দেশের প্রত্যেক সংসদ সদস্য, আমলা ও শিল্পপতির ডেস্কে আর প্রত্যেকটি স্কুল ব্যাগে থাকা উচিৎ এ বই”
Profile Image for Roshni.
24 reviews5 followers
Read
August 4, 2015
The book had lot of things taken from the previous one wings of fire. There is hardly any new stuff written. And found it pretty vague as well. The very start and the end was worth reading!
Profile Image for ilyas mirza.
7 reviews21 followers
October 3, 2014
Ignited minds
when there were no friends, no family,solitude and when strangers laugh at you for who you are and world is pulling you in the darkest deep, you should read ignited minds. World is full of evil people always trying to pull each others legs and Social life constitutes of staring travellers, society should understand that sex is just a part of life, Life is not a part of sex. live your educated life as if you are going to die tomorrow and learn as if you are going to live forever.
This book refers to all indian dreams.
why people fight with one another in the name of different gods and i wonder why they waste their precious time in such awful activities? Ask yourself question of science, science and progress? Dont they go to jobs or for the work or dont they have any passion in their life? Such different Deity are formed by the different civilizations believing that their gods will protect their soul after death. So the answer that i got from this book is that poverty is the root cause of violence.
Perfection is the disease of a nation. people for the high paid jobs flee to foreign countries and when recession starts at US they travell to gulf countries and when gulf war starts they expect from indian ministries of foriegn affairs for bringing their indian citizens back to homeland. we should do what we can do a bit for our nation but we should not think what our nation has given us in return.
Recently our Former president Abdul kalam hold discussions with scientists of institute of microbial technology, there he was asked which thing today also inspires you? He answered that the quest of getting continously Knowlege inspires me.
After the Kalinga war and the destruction caused of mankind emperor asoka realized the meaning of Ahimsa Dharma to propagate love for human beings ( creation). Gandhiji had taught us how to live a happy and virtuous life.
The author compares his life with the Dr Wayne Dyer book Manifest your Destiny beautifully where change is crucial.
There is a need to integrate spirituality with education in order to generate leaders with utmost ethical values. We are a link of great past to a grand future. if one is not respecting their past then the future is endangered.
The work of 3 mathematicians (aryabhata, brahmagupta and bhaskaraharya) of india provides the context of albert einstein's remark that 'we owe a lot to the indians who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientifc discovery could have been made'. visionary teachers and scientists chapter of the book are having visioneries who has benefited our society and we need mor such visioneries.
the warm lines ever written on any other books are "i would like to see in twenty years a literate and poverty-free india".
Students should compete, innovate, eliminate intruders and get ready to transform india into clean green developed nation where childrens can live in peace and harmony.
A teacher once said,' give me a 5 year child. after 7 years no god or devil will be able to change the child'.
"i can do" approach is very strong basis of our life.
Profile Image for Neeta Sirvi.
109 reviews
January 4, 2020
I started 2020 with my first book from A. P.J Abdul Kalam is blissful.
I feel proud that I read this out.
He is the real role model of many students even mine.
In this book of "IGNITED MINDS", he described his past experiences with the different people he met in his life during his struggle time as a scientist.
He met thousands of students in each seminar held in a different part of India and he feels amazed by the non-answerable questions arisen by Ignited Minds of the youth of our nation.
He said that he never thought that there are these powerful minds reside in our country.
This is the book which is split beautifully and comprehensively into different chapters with a different motive to encourage the youth and make them realized that they can do anything if they dream to do it.
This book has the power to open up the speakers of India and they get the motivation to speak for their nation.
Through his experiences and observations while attending the seminars he believed to invest in the youth for carrying out the nation's development.
His mission is to see India as a developed nation from the developing nation.
This is possible only by unitedly.
This book truly unleashing the power within India.
His electrifying words force us to contributes our Ignited Minds towards our nation.
He believed that if "something is at stake, the human's minds get ignited and working capacity gets enhanced manifold. Challenges throw up opportunities. Once one selects a task, one should get immersed in it. Either you will succeed or fail; that risk will always be there. This should not deter you. When you fail, you still have the experience grained to draw upon in the future". Start by risking your position for a mission. Either I deliver or I go. Prepare yourself for the endeavour. With the effort and perseverance, you will succeed. There is always a risk involved when we venture into something new. After all, the process of birth itself is a risky affair. But then the infants start breathing...and life follows, with all its hopes and aspirations. Breathe in thoughts of success and you will be a success. This para personally encouraged me a lot.
He further believed that the young should be guided properly so that their lives find a proper direction and their creativity is allowed to flower.
This can be achieved by improving the educational reforms in different fields.
Highly inspiring thoughts and lessons by the Kalam sir for the youth generation who are the essential part of building the developed nation.
Highly Recommended to the Students.
We miss you Kalam Sir.
Profile Image for Rhidi Joyee .
54 reviews12 followers
September 23, 2015
"Ignited mind are the most powerful resource on earth"
"Wisdom is a weapon to ward of destruction, it is an inner fortress which enemies cannot destroy"
"visionaries don't age
"Breath in thought of success and u will be a success"
"Mission are always bigger than organisations,just as organisations are always bigger than the individuals who run them"
"o almighty create thoughts and actions in the minds of people of my nation so that they live united"
"Nation is bigger than the individual"
"Thinking is the capital, enterprise is the way, hard work is the solution"
"There is no victory in causing suffering. Triumph is a peaceful kingdom"
"You will succeed as a project leader as long as you remember the project is bigger than you"
Profile Image for Ariin Palsule.
46 reviews17 followers
May 16, 2021
4 ⭐

I am not a fan of non-fiction.
I received this book as a gift from one of my friends, on my birthday. She knew that I don't prefer reading non-fiction. Neither did she prefer it over fiction. Yet she gave the book to me and asked me to read it despite of all the premonitions I had.
I respect Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam a lot. I loved the ideas that he shared through the book. This book definitely inculcated more respect for him in my mind. His vision for India to become a self-reliant, self-dependent nation is prodigious and surprising alike.
I cut off a star due to my lack of interest in the genre, but it's a good book.
Profile Image for Dheeraj Mekala.
25 reviews
February 13, 2022
Out of the books I read, this is the most inspiring book of my life. This should be a must-read book for all children when their minds are pure and before they get to see the "real world". Mr. Kalam explains his vision for a developed India by 2020 and the steps that need to be taken to achieve it. To briefly summarize the book, I want to share my favorite snippet:

Student: "Do you think in politics, purity is possible?"
Mr. Kalam: "Entire generation of people representing excellence in all fields - politics, science, industry, arts emerged in the years leading to independence. For example, Gandhi, CV Raman, JRD Tata, Tagore. Suddenly there was excellence in every sphere of society and the circumstance making such flowering possible was the vision that the nation had set for itself. I believe if nation forms a second vision today, leaders of stature to suit our ambition will appear once again, in all walks of life."

Mr. Kalam explains this vision, how the new generation can lead this and carry forward this vision, and how parents, teachers can nurture and support them through this process.

I feel extremely unfortunate for not being able to meet this visionary.
66 reviews8 followers
October 14, 2015
The book is meant for self help and to ignite a sense of ownership to achieve the unknown. While the book provides you with a delectable experience, it does not in true sense tells you what exactly to do. However, if you put in some thinking to the writing, you will realize that what Dr. Kalam wants to do is give you a direction. He has given you a blank canvas and it is an individual, who should take the onus of painting the bets picture of his life. Some of the thoughts are very provoking and the phenomenon mentioned is widely prevalent even in organisations. In MNCs, each team works individually. People reinvent the wheel time and again. What the book tells you in the context of a nation fits well for gigantic organizations as well. One should not waste his/her time for what is already present in the world. Set up your vision and strive to achieve it. As Dr. Kalam says - "When a nation doesn't have a vision, small minds take over its affairs." Do not limit your thoughts. A man is bounded by only his thoughts whereas thoughts have the power to travel across borders. Bounded thoughts is an oxymoron, but that is how we have set our lives. We should start unraveling our thoughts.

This is my first reading of Dr. Kalam's work and now I realize why was he such a great personality. I have never seen a person as rational as him. He is the epitome of secularism. What he says is very apt - For great men, religion is a way of making friends, small people make religion a fighting tool. When a person quotes from Vedas and Holy Quran and the Bible, you know how erudite and bohemian the person is.
15 reviews12 followers
April 14, 2013
Although my first APJ Abdul Kalam book was ‘wings of fire’ but I could not finish it simply because his writing tends to be a bit overly descriptive even for an autobiography. This is my first APJ Abdul Kalam book that I could finish though I must say that some of the description about the missile launches could have been done away with.
In this book he talks about the issues that are still haunting India and are holding it back.He talks about how a defeatist attitude is prevalent among most of the Indians and in order to move forward in the future we need to take inspiration from our golden past.He also says that the biggest asset of a country is its youth and they must be moulded in such a way that they work in a ‘mission mode’ to make our country a developed one.
I liked the argument between ‘ego’ and ‘spirit’ in the epilogue section of the book.
He is a dreamer as well as a thinker and I respect him a lot for his constant endeavour towards making India a better country but I will not be looking forward towards reading any of his other books with eagerness.
Profile Image for Nirav.
96 reviews21 followers
May 6, 2016
The book was written in 2002 so some of the things Kalam Sir said in the book might not be relevant in the current scenario. The book speaks at length about his work in DRDO and ISRO. He wants to ignite young minds of the 21st century and make India a developed country by the year 2020. A lot of references have been made to his previous books and his famous autobiograhy "Wings of Fire". It's a good and light read if you wish to know what thoughts and expectations Kalam Sir had for the country who has almost 65% of population under the age of 35.
11 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2009
An inspiring read by Dr Kalam, the village boy who went on to lead India's space research organization and later become her president. Some of the anecdotes are duplicated from his autobiography, Wings of Fire (which older readers may prefer to read first), the stories in general made me humbled and optimistic.
Profile Image for Somdutta.
146 reviews
August 11, 2013
This is a book for every Indian of all ages. I recommend this book should be included in the school curriculum. The message which Dr Kalam conveys here is the power and importance of having dreams.His visit across the Nation made him acquainted with the potential which India possess which is untapped.
1 review1 follower
June 1, 2013
This book "ignited minds" really taps some new innovative thoughts which was not being done for yrs.Book carries lot of new ideas and insights which ignites our mind.Kalam had done a big research for writing this book even fieldwork which helped me to learn new virtual experiences.particularly recommanded for young minds.Good read.
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