A Letter to Every Indian .. By APJ Abdul Kalaam
Published by uttishthata July 6th, 2007 in APJ Abdul Kalam
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The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad .
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 into an orchard 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 T.Vs, 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.
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
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 come back 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 km/h) 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?
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 will it matter if I alone forego my
sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of
our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and
the government. 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. Nobody thinks of feeding the system.
Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The 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 instead of sending Jokes
or junk mails.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalam
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Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam needs no introduction to anybody, especially to any Indian. Still for those who do not know, he is one of the great scientist and Ex president* of India. He is a visionary personality, who changed India to be more able, respected and self sufficient.
Salute to this great man of India.
* The only person in Indian politics whom I loved .........
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