'Ethics in public life': IAS officer shares inspiring story on how APJ Abdul Kalam paid for a gift

Social media users applauded APJ Abdul Kalam's gesture in the comments section.

APJ Abdul Kalam was a visionary and the nation regards him as the “Missile Man” of India for his pioneering efforts for the country as an aerospace scientist. He was known for being a man of ethics and his humility was renowned.

He passed away 8 years ago on July 27. However, people are still inspired by him. Something similar was the case with IAS officer MV Rao. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a short story about Kalam and his great ethics. And the post has gone viral online.

Rao mentioned about how a company gifted Kalam a grinder but he “respectfully declined to accept”. “In 2014, a company called 'Saubhagya Wet Grinder' was a sponsor in some event where Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was the chief guest. The sponsor presented a gift to him which he respectfully declined to accept. The sponsor explained that it was just a grinder and requested him to accept. He took the gift without any further argument.”

“Next day, APJ sent his person to the market to find out price of grinder. He later made out a cheque from his personal account of market price and sent it across to company. As expected company decided not to deposit cheque,” Rao wrote.

When Kalam noticed that no money was deducted from his account, “he informed company to deposit cheque or else he would be constrained to send grinder back.”

The company then deposited the cheque and made a photocopy of the same and framed it to keep on display.

Rao also attached the picture of the cheque for Rs 4,850.

Ethics in public life!!

In 2014, a company called
'Saubhagya Wet Grinder' was a sponsor in some event where
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was the chief guest.

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The sponsor presented a gift to him which he respectfully declined to accept. The sponsor… pic.twitter.com/qyqVa5dmfs

— M V Rao @ Public Service (@mvraoforindia) August 12, 2023

The post went viral and social media users were quick to applaud Kalam’s gesture in the comments section.

“It was a lifelong lesson that APJ learnt from his father in his childhood: ‘Behind every gift, there’s some selfish reason, an expectation of a return of favour. Before you accept any gift, think hard about it,’” a user wrote.

Another user commented, “Man of impeccable integrity.”

“People cannot forget him, he is the most loved human and president of India,” a third user remarked.

A fourth user quipped, “What a great man.”