– Dipta Joshi

The ‘Kalam Library Project’ (KLP) initiated by the Kalam Centre (estd. 2015), a not-for-profit organisation set up in memory of India’s ex-president, the late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1931-2015) set up a ‘Kalam Library’ in Rohtas, Bihar on the occasion of the 2020 edition of the International Literacy Day (September 8).

The library project which envisages setting up free libraries across in every village has already set up 450 free libraries across several states in the country. It also set up the first of its kind library for COVID-19 patients at a centre in Surat, Gujarat last month (August).

“One of Dr Kalam’s unfulfilled wishes was to ensure that every youth of India has access to good books and quality knowledge. He aspired that there should be a free library in every village and even the remotest corner of the country and that the youth of the nation should have access to books as a matter of right,” says Srijan Pal Singh, founder, Kalam Centre.

An electrical engineer from the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow and an Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad graduate, Singh was Dr. Kalam’s close advisor and engaged in promoting various social assignments led by Dr Kalam. He also co-authored books like ‘Target 3 billion’, Reignited: Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future’ and ‘Advantage India: From Challenge to Opportunity’ with Dr Kalam.  

The Kalam centre provides supplementary classes for government school children from economically backward families. With 800 teachers on board, the centre reaches out to 30,000 students annually providing 100 hours of free training in Nano technology, biology, astronomy etc. to each child across 400 schools.  The centre also runs libraries in juvenile correction centres and works towards mentoring children to ensure their assimilation into mainstream society.

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