Speech APJ Abdul Kalam

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, ourachievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing successstories 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.L

ook at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into aself-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievementsbut our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I wasin Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was theday after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. TheHamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of aJewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid anda granary.It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details ofkillings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried amongother news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we soNEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed withforeign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreigntechnology.Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respectcomes 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 developednation.

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 Internationalbest. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in thestores.
YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are.

Youpay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of MahimCauseway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.
YOU come back to theparking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurantor a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... InSingapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?

YOU wouldn't dare to eat in publicduring Ramadan, in Dubai.
YOU would not dare to go out without yourhead covered in Jeddah.
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephoneexchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to itthat my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare tospeed 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 shellanywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia andNew Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ?
Why don't YOU use examinationjockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston???
We are stilltalking of the same YOU.
YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system inother countries but cannot in your own.

You who will throw papersand cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be aninvolved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot yoube 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 thestreets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'Andthen the same people turn around to criticize and blame theauthorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect theofficers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels thepressure in his bowels?In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Samein 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 doeverything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect thegovernment to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbageall over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paperand throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide cleanbathrooms 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 toiletriesbut 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 thepublic. 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 thewhole 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 ourneighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and thegovernment. But definitely not me and YOU.

When it comes to us actually making apositive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along withour families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far awayand wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with amajestic 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 gloryand praise their system.

When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out tothe Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued andbrought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape thecountry. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience ismortgaged to money.Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal ofintrospection 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 INDIAAND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIAWHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'Lets do what India needs from us.


Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA)