It has nothing to do with religion IMO. Education is given a lot of importance in southern India, that could have helped a tiny bit, but apart from that I don't

It has nothing to do with religion IMO. Education is given a lot of importance in southern India, that could have helped a tiny bit, but apart from that I don't see how it is relevant. Dr Abdul Kalam is widely revered in India for his contributions to rocket propulsion, pretty sure he was good at math & physics as well.