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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 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 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 ? 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
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 Kalaam |
