Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s Speech in Hyd

An heart warming speach by Ex Prez Abdul Kalam 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 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 aface – 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 orPedder 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 towomen, 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 greatdeal 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.

Thank you,

Dr. Abdul Kalam

5 Responses to “Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s Speech in Hyd”

  1. I can only say that there is not a single word in this entire speech with which I can disagree. Hats off to Kalamji.

  2. I have my deepest regard for Dr APJ ABDUL KALAM EX. President of india.In this context how would you guide to a sweet mart who honestly sells his sweets.One day a local politicion goes to sweet shop and ask for 1 kg jalebi which costs Rs 50/-,As soon as halwai weights 1 kg jalebi,politicion says please give me Rasgolla in lieu of jalebi because your jalebi are not hot.So he weights 1/2 kg rasgoolla in lieu of 1 kg jalebi, Soon politicion recalls that oh my son dont like rasgolla,please give me kalakand in lieu of Rasgoola.When he weights 1/4 kg of kalakand in lieu of rasgolla, politicion snaps him says kalakand seems old ,may not be of good taste.So you please give me laddoo in lieu of kalkand.Hearing this he weighted 1 kg laddoo in lieu of kalakand. Halwai packed the material and handed over to the politicion,he took it and proceeded.Halwai calls him sir please make the payment of ladoo you purchased.At this he replies him that I have taken ladoo in lieu of kalakand,so why do you ask payment for ladoo.On hearing this halwaii asks ok you make the payment for kalakand.Politicion replies that I had purchased kalakand in lieu of rasgoolla. Halwaii says ok you make payment for rasgulla.On this politicion replies that you are of short of memorey that you had given rasgulla to me in lieu of jalebi.Ok you make the payment for jalebi.On this politicion scolded him that you are asking a payment of a thing which I have not purchased. Halwaii is symbolic our common man who are national builders.politicion are respected law makers.how will under stand the plight of common man who expects fair Justice and transparency in the system. Example reveals the mechanism of Justice delivered in system.How will you guide the common man confronting similar situations in day to day life.
    With warm regards.

  3. Dr. Kalam, with due respect and reverence to you and your pioneering work I want to share an experience.
    Recently, I was driving on the highway (NH1) and a motorcade with some vvvvvvv……ip came from behind with blaring sirens. The road was in so pathetic condition (NH1) that I had to drive at a snail’s pace or risk my car falling apart.
    The driver of the escort car was so furious at me that I got very hysterical seeing the automatic rifles they were wielding !
    The vvvvvv….ip in the motorcade was some CM’s son in a big, fuel guzzling SUV.

    Will his car ever feel the potholes his corrupt department has created ????

    I pay my taxes, toll taxes, road taxes and all of them, then also i get roads full of potholes ??

    If your are reading this, Sir, We are ready to change and many of us have in fact changed, but, our leaders who are so unwilling to change how can we expect the change to percolate deep to grass root levels ??

  4. Very True, whenever I watch english movies I jast cant stop imagining how clean the streets are, how sufficient the people are, their lives are so valuable, they are always sure that nothing can happen to them because someone someday will definetely find their whereabouts on the other hand look at us…..our lives have got no value u can get hit anytime and noone would ever bother to stop and have a look at you, If you die alone noone would ever try to find out wat happened to you, what has happened to us…wat hav we made of ourselves…..countries like japan, korea cant even stand in front of our vastness but they are way ahead…..We dont face calamities like tsunami every other month….we do not live under the terror of earthquake every day…..we dont have a remote idea of wat happens when tornado comes…..we do not get up with spades in our hands to clear the ice on our doorways every morning….but a single days rain is enough to ruin our lives……we produce the best engineers of the world but when it comes to our infrastructure we are nowhere, we produce maximum doctors but wat we have in our hospitals is foul smell, no equipments and all type of corruption…guys lets do something its only us who can take steps towards change……

  5. In India everybody talks of corruption,put blame on others at point of time we are talking corruptions, we forget to tell which side of the table we were standing.The side of the table matters most in every body’s life.Learned readers have rightly explained the out come of corruptions in general domain witnessed by them from their point of view.In good old days the person who used to keep money of the kingdom used to be known as khajanchi meant to keep lekha jokha only.Khajanchi had no jurisdiction to examine the proposals viability or utility,simply the account of expenditure booked by him as MUNIMJI.The seed of corruption started when the rule based on maxim” show me the face I will show you the rule” was got implemented throgh Diwanji /MUNIMJI in accounts against praja perheps which were not loyal to king with a view to punish them financially or physically by king in ancient time in India.Infact no corruption in any discipline viz ADMINISTRATIVE(EXECUTIVE), FINANCIAL, TECHNICAL or LEGAL can persist without connivance of Executive /finance in the modern system.The maxim “show me the face I will show you the rule” is followed openly in all walks of life.So in the system per heps there are only two most powerful and respected portfolio in the ministerial cabinet, one is post of PM/Home and other is FM no body is interested in technical/ or legal ministry. So unless the applicability of the “maxim” is rule out from the system,the virus of corruption is not going to be eliminated from the govt plate form.The attempt of PPP (public private partnership)being introduced to eliminate the corruption may hardly be helpful in back ground of “maxim” .Therefore, so long as the maxim application remain in force without fear,the corruption will continue irrespective of the fact to which side of the table you are there in the system.Nations progress is much dependent on the technical/scientific force. So technical/scientific force ought to be freed from the clutches of Executives and finance force in implementing in their line of action for rapid progress of the Nation.An independent vertical system on National level should be raised in discipline viz Administration(Education,Executives, law and order); Finance( Trade,commerce/accounts);Legal ;Technical/scientific for rapid development and progress of the country.MEDIA admin should be made like horizontal admin in judiciary, independently. Maxim can not be eliminated completely but it can be minimised.Readers can come out with their idea for consideration of hobble Dr. A.P.J. Kalam.