Skip to main content

Independence In India | स्वाधीन - पराधीन

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 aself-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 gorydetails 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-respectcomes with self-reliance?
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 yearold 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 MahimCauseway 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 inLondon at 10pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls arebilled tosomeone else.YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washingtonand 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 pailon 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 butcannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road themoment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciativecitizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done thejob. Samein Japan ..Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choosea government and after that forfeit all responsibility.We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everythingfor us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government toclean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place norare 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 tolearn 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 the public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women,dowry, girlchild! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to dothe reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has tochange, 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, othercommunities 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 alongwith our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries faraway and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majesticsweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask intheir 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 theIndian 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 INDIAWHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

 Thank you,
Dr.Abdul Kalam


(Found it and felt the same way, sharing with all due respect to Late Dr Kalam's Vision about India, which most of us failed to understand)


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

30 Years in 30 Days

I started a series of 30 posts to celebrate my 30th birthday or 30 years in 30 days with title - " 30 things i experienced before i turned 30 " . Its an story of average middle class Indian boy, hope you all will find it relevant. Thanks for all the love and support. Check the story below via Google slides : 

Seed Rakhi - Nurture Your Bond

Have you ever wondered where the Rakhi you tie on your brother’s wrist ends up?  They eventually end up in the dump and contributes to waste as it is not recyclable. The expensive fancy rakhi threads developed out of plastic beads, toxic metal threads and artificial fragrances are non-sustainable and have no utility. indibni has come up with a unique concept,  Organic Seed Rakhi to “nurture your bond’’ . Rakhi which eventually will turn into a vegetable plant/flower plant/herb. Made up of naturally dyed, super soft indigenous organic cotton yarn and seeds. The feel is soft, gentle on skin, non-toxic, biodegradable, sustainable, handcrafted with love by women self-help groups. Raksha Bandhan a thin thread of tradition that binds every brother and sister in a trustworthy bond of love and joy forever. This Rakshabandhan let us  make a promise to our dear earth that we will not contaminate it further . indibni 's focus has always been on developin

आज का युवा सरकार से शिकायत नहीं, साझेदारी चाहता है ! | Rajasthan Election

50 years ago, रोटी, कपड़ा और मकान were the top issues amongst the society. The ecosystem has evolved, so as needs. Today Zomato, Flipkart and Housing are things people look for. India is the fastest growing economy in the world, we are evolving, innovating and indeed making a dent on the universe. Youth aka कर्णधार are major stakeholders for this change. Issues like Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Social Work, Vocational Education, Sharing economy are what the young India talks and cares about. We believe in access more than ownership, collaboration than complaints. Political parties bring their manifesto during elections and do make efforts to implement it during their tenure, however, if ruling party changes, agenda changes, but people and issues are same. We need to work more on systems where governance is not like royalty but more like democracy. Expressed my opinion & expectations on behalf of young entrepreneurs of India, along with an eminent panel of educ