(No subject)

[Guest guest]

21.07.03

 

Mr.Krishnan

 

 

I was very impressed by a speech delivered by our President,

Honourable

Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Please read, ensure your siblings do too

and pass it on, in the interest of an India we can all be proud

of.

 

Sundara rajan.J

138-D,Shipra Suncity

Indirapuram,

Ghaziabad - 201010

phone: 120-2911308

 

_____________________

> >

> > "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 must go 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:

> > 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.

> >

> > After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the

>part of

> > India's guided missile program. It was my second bliss when

>Agni met its

> > mission requirements in 1994.

> > 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. One

>day an

> > orthopedic 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 calipers 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

>Calipers and

> > took them to the orthopedic center. 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.

> >

> > 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 - OURS. 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 km/h) in Washington and then tell the

>traffic cop,

> > "Jaanta hai sala 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 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

> > neighbors, 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

> > Abdul Kalaam

 

 

 

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