Condolence meet for former Indian president

Members of the public are invited to leave tributes to the late former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, at a meeting to be held on August 9.

Mr Kalam, considered the father of the country's missile programme, died in hospital on July 27 at the age of 83.

Born to a poor family of boatman in Rameswaram, a coastal town in southern Tamil Nadu state on October 15, 1931, Mr Kalam sold newspapers as a child to help his family financially.

He rose through the ranks to become a top scientist at India's defence research organisation, where he led the scientific team that developed missiles able to carry India's nuclear warheads.

Mr Kalam became a national folk hero after helping oversee nuclear tests in 1998 that solidified India's status as a nuclear weapons state. 

A funeral with military honours took place in India on July 30 in his native city, Rameswaram.

In Luxembourg, people can pay their respects at the condolence meeting at the Centre Culturel on route d'Arlon, in Capellen.

An assembly will begin at 10.30am, the meeting at 11am and continues until 12 noon.

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