Number of words: 116

The development of Indian rockets in the 20th century can be seen as a revival of the eighteenth century dream of Tipu Sultan. When Tipu Sultan was killed, the British captured more than 700 rockets and subsystems of 900 rockets in the battle of Turukhanahally in 1799. His army had 27 brigades, called Kushoons and each brigade had a company of rocket man, called jourks. These rockets had been taken to England by William Congreve and subjected by the British to what we call reverse engineering today. With the death of Tipu, Indian rocketry also met its demise – at least for 150 years.

Excerpted from pages 42-43 of ‘Wings of Fire’ by APJ Abdul Kalam