PRESIDENT OF INDIA DR. KALAAM ASKS why, why, why

Subject: dr abdul kalam message
>
>Subject: Extremely inspiring (speech of Dr 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, 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 some
Jokes
>or non-sense
>junk mails.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Dr. Abdul Kalaam
>(PRESIDENT OF INDIA )