>Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 23:44:36 -0400 >From: assam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Finally, a leader India can count on.... >Sender: assam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-Mailer: InterChange (Hydra) SMTP v3.62 >X-WebMail-UserID: assam >X-EXP32-SerialNo: 50000136 > >Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech in Hyderabad. > > Compulsory Reading for every Indian. > > Quote: > > I have three visions for India. In 3000 years of our history people >from all over the world have come and > invaded > us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards. >The Greeks, the Turks, the > Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of >them came and looted us, took over what > was ours. Yet > we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered >anyone. > We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and > tried >to enforce our way of life on them. > Why? Because we respect the freedom of others. > That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India >got its first vision of this in 1857, when > we started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must >protect and nurture and build on. If we > are not free, no one will respect us. > > My second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have >been a developing nation. It is > time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 >nations of the world in terms of GDP. > We have 10 > percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are > falling. Our >achievements are being globally > recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see > ourselves as >a developed nation, self-reliant and > self-assured. Isn't > this incorrect? > > > > I have a THIRD vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I >believe that unless India stands up to > the > world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We >must be strong not only as a military > power but also as an economic power. Both hand-in-hand. My good >fortune was to have worked with > three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept. of space, >Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded > him and Dr. Brahm Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was > lucky to >have worked with all three of them > closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life. I see > four >milestones in my career: > > > > ONE: Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be >the project director for India's first > satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The one that launched Rohini. These >years played a very important role in > my life of Scientist. > > TWO: After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the >part of India's missile program. > It was my second bliss when Agni met its mission requirements in > 1994. > > THREE: The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous >partnership in the recent nuclear > tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss. The joy of >participating with my team in these nuclear > tests and proving to the world that India can make it, that we > are no >longer a developing nation but one of > them. It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have >now developed for Agni a re-entry > structure, for which we have developed this new material. A Very > light >material called carbon-carbon. > > FOUR: One day an orthopaedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical >Sciences visited my laboratory. > He lifted the material and found it so light that he took me to his >hospital and showed me his patients. There > were these little girls and boys with heavy metallic callipers >weighing over three Kg. each, dragging their feet > around. He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients. In > three > weeks, we made these Floor > reaction Orthosis 300 gram callipers and took them to the > orthopaedic >centre. The children didn't believe > their eyes. From dragging around a three kg. load on their legs, >they could now move around! Their > parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss! > > Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so > embarrassed >to recognize our own strengths, > our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many > amazing >success stories but we refuse to > acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production. We are >number one in Remote sensing > satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the >second largest producer of rice. Look > at Dr.Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a >self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are > millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the >bad news and failures and disasters. > > > I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. > It was >the day after a lot of attacks and > bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. > But the >front page of the newspaper > had the > picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his >desert land into an orchid and a > granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. > The >gory details of killings, bombardments, > deaths, were inside in > the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about >death, sickness, terrorism, crime. > Why are we so NEGATIVE? > > > > Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign >things? We want foreign TVs, we > want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession >with everything imported. Do we not > realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in > Hyderabad >giving this lecture, when a 14 year > old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in > life >is: She replied: I want to live in a > developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this > developed >India. You must proclaim. India is not > an under-developed nation; it is > a highly developed nation. Allow me to come back with vengeance. Got >10 minutes for your country? > > YOU say that our government is inefficient. > > YOU say that our laws are too old. > > YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. > > YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the >airline is the worst in the world, mails > never reach their destination. > > YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the > absolute >pits. > > YOU say, say and say. > > What do YOU do about it? > > > > Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. > > Give him a face - YOURS. > > YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. >In Singapore you don't throw cigarette > butts on the roads or eat in the stores. > > YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. > YOU pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard > Road(equivalent of >Mahim Causeway or Pedder > Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. > > YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you >have over stayed in a restaurant or a > shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. > > In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? > > YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. > > YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. > > YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in >London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a > month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone >else." > > YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 kmph) in Washington > and >then tell the traffic cop, > "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's >son. Take your two bucks and get > lost." > > YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the >garbage pail on the > beaches in Australia and New Zealand. > > Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? > > Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in >Boston? We are still talking of the > same YOU. > > > > YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other > countries >but cannot in your own. You > who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you > touch >Indian ground. If you can be an > involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country why cannot you >be the same here in India. Once in an > interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay > Mr.Tinaikar >had a point to make. "Rich > people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent >droppings all over the place," he said. "And > then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the >authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. > What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every >time their dog feels the pressure in > his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet >has done the job. Same in Japan. > Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right. > > > > We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all >responsibility. We sit back wanting to > be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst >our contribution is totally negative. > We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop >chucking garbage all over the place nor > are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and > throw it >in the bin. We expect the railways to > provide clean bathrooms, but we are not going to learn the proper > use >of bathrooms. We want Indian > Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries > but >we are not going to stop pilfering at the > least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known > not to >pass on the service to the public. When > it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, > dowry, >girl child and others, we make loud > drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at > home. Our >excuse? "It's the whole system > which has to change, how wil > > But definitely not me and YOU. > > When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the >system we lock ourselves along with our > families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries >far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to > come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his > hand. >Or we leave the country and run > away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to > bask >in their glory and praise their > system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When >England experiences > unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf >is war struck, we demand to be > rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out >to abuse and rape the country. > > > > > Dear Indians, This article is highly thought-inductive, calls for a >great deal of introspection and pricks one's > conscience too....I am echoing J.F.Kennedy's words to his fellow >Americans to relate to Indians..... > > "ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO > MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY" > > > > Lets do what India needs from us. Forward this mail to each > Indian for >a change > Thank you. > > > > Rashtrapati. >
