A speech for every Indian

I think the following speech by APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India is a must read for every Indian. It is worth your time.

This speech was delivered at Hyderabad in 2008. (If anyone has details about the location and the exact date, please post it in the comments)

I have three visions for India. In 3000 years of our history people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards, the Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation.

We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, and their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others, that is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.

My Second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements are being globally recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?

I have a THIRD vision, India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Department of space, Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr. Brahm Prakash father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life.

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? 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 this 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 and into an orchid and a granary. It was the 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?

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. Allow me to come back with vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? YOU say that out 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, and 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.225/-) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU comeback 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.900/-) 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 kmph) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta Hai sala 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 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 son's 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 experience 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. 

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"

Where's My Nobel Prize?

By Chetan Bhagath, Times of India, Oct 24, 2009

The recent news of a person of Indian origin winning the Nobel prize while based abroad sparked off a series of discussions at home. "Why don't we win Nobel prizes here?" became the question of the week. The standard points were raised: we don't have the facilities, too much government interference, the selection process is rigged, the prize committee is racist and, finally, who cares about the Nobel anyway (of course we do, that's why we discuss it).

Like all media stories, this one too will die soon. However, maybe it is time to look at the core issue: why India doesn't excel on the world stage on a fairly consistent basis. We don't win a significant number of Olympic medals, we don't create global brands, our IT industry is essentially a job transfer model but we haven't created even one Google, Facebook or Twitter. (Of course, there is plenty for Indians to be proud of otherwise, so please don't jump on me because of my observations.)

The real issue comes down to the treatment of talent in our country. So, what is talent? Talent refers to a special ability and aptitude that give people an edge in a particular field. In sport, science, films, business or the arts, people who dominate the world stage all have a gift that makes it easier for them to excel. Of course, along with talent there is preparation, hard work and a certain amount of luck required to achieve success. However, talent is usually a necessary ingredient. Talent is rare, and randomly distributed across the human population, irrespective of pedigree, connections or wealth. Some may call talent an unfair gift. However, it is talent that allows ordinary people to come up in life. Otherwise, rich people would stay rich and poor people poor. Thus, this unfair talent actually makes the world fairer.

However, we don't put talent on the highest pedestal in our country. Talent's stature is below that of someone with connections, hereditary entitlement, pedigree or even experience. If i were to tell you that an unknown boy from Agra will become the next superstar, versus a star's son becoming the next star, the latter story is much easier to digest. Even in an IIT, a truly gifted young faculty cannot jump ranks and scales set by the system. And the people designing the system never took talent into account. Even when talent is identified, we are unable to train it, and find it difficult to reward it.

It is difficult to say why we have this attitude, but there are many possible reasons. One, talent conflicts with the traditional Indian caste system. Two, Indian cultural values revere the older generation and its experience, and talent zooms past it. Finally, the 'tall poppies syndrome', an already existing term used in Australia and UK to "describe a societal phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are criticised or resented because their talents or achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from their peers". Ask yourself, have you seen some of this in India? Maybe because so many dreams have been crushed in India, someone else's success reminds us of our own pain. The US (only as a contrasting example, not recommending we become like them) has an opposite value system. Talent is respected, seen as something to be emulated. That is why they have teenage boy bands and college dropouts who open dotcoms as national icons. We don't.

There are grave negative repercussions for a community that doesn't respect talent. It leads to a society where connected people do better than people with ability. It leads to a lot of talent being unused, a tremendous waste of a national resource. It causes frustration in the entire new generation as they see people with less capability doing better than them. It also reinforces the old Indian values of fatalism and the helpless-common-man theory. And it means India's excellent people may not excel worldwide to the extent possible.

So what can be done? Well, we definitely can do something both at the macro organisational level and a micro individual level.

At the organisational level, we have to let go of corporate hierarchies and the lifelong promotion ladders of government, particularly in talent-dependent organisations like R&D, companies requiring high innovation or sport. We have to make incentives in line with what attracts talent, as there is a global battle for it. Exceptional talent demands exceptional reward. We have to take away the moral judgement associated with rewarding talent. Just as it is morally okay for a rich man's son to be rich, a person with talent also deserves to do really well.

Change needs to happen amongst us, at the individual level as well. We have to acknowledge that talent exists, and we need to respect it. Frankly, isn't it better a talented person gets rewarded than a minister's son? Talent shouldn't cause resentment, it should become an inspiration. I think the young generation is already on board with that. It needs the older generation's support to make this change in values. It may be difficult, but it is worth it.

Because if we do become a talent-driven country, we will become a more progressive nation, utilise the new generation's skills properly, become a fairer society and, along the way, win a few Nobel prizes too.

Jaago re - I

India’s 20 greatest films

1. Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960, Bengali), directed by Ritwik Ghatak

Story of a self-sacrificing woman who puts her wedding on hold because she is the sole breadwinner of a refugee family that barely ekes out a living in Calcutta.

2. Charulata (1964, Bengali), directed by Satyajit Ray

Charulata is a loose adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's Noshto Neer, set against the backdrop of the reform movement in 19th century Bengal. Among all his films, Charulatha was Ray’s favorite.

3. Pather Panchali (1955, Bengali), directed by Satyajit Ray

The film focussed on a poverty-stricken family in rural Bengal, it underscored the invincibility of the human spirit and the magical beauty of the landscape juxtaposed against the misery of the characters that populate it.

4. Sholay (1975, Hindi), directed by Ramesh Sippy

A hugely successful adventure flick that drew upon conventions of the Western to deliver a pure Bollywood movie experience that remains unmatched to this day.

5. Do Bigha Zameen (1953, Hindi), directed by Bimal Roy

This is a tragic drama about a small farmer who is compelled by indebtedness to relocate to the big city and become a rickshaw-puller. Do Bigha Zameen, which exposes the vice-like grip that ruthless zamindars/moneylenders have on agriculture in this country, is generally regarded as one of the earliest and finest examples of "neo-realism" in Indian cinema.

6. Pyaasa (1957, Hindi), directed by Guru Dutt

Inspired by Saratchandra's novel, Srikanta, Guru Dutt's Pyaasa is the story of poet who has no takers in a nation overrun by philistinism. The cinematic mastery on display in Pyaasa has rarely been replicated in mainstream Hindi cinema.

7. Bhuvan Shome (1969, Hindi), directed by Mrinal Sen

This small Film Finance Corporation-funded satire was Mrinal Sen's big national-level break. Many also regard it as the film that marked the beginning of the New Indian Cinema movement.

8. Garam Hawa (1973, Urdu), directed by MS Sathyu

Set in Agra, the story is about an elderly shoe manufacturer and his family who are faced with a crucial question: should they continue to live in India or migrate to the newly-formed state of Pakistan? The prospects are daunting and there is little hope of a future in a climate of distrust and hate.

9. Mother India (1957, Hindi), directed by Mehboob Khan

One of the greatest films ever made in this country, Mother India rightly enjoys the status of a timeless epic. In its grand narrative, it captures aspects of Nehruvian India that are both positive and negative.

10. Ghatashraddha (1973, Kannada), directed by Girish Kasaravalli

Based on a story by UR Ananthamurthy, the film is set in an orthodox 1920s Brahmin village in Karnataka. It chronicles the travails of a child widow as seen through the eyes of a boy.

11. Elippathayam (1973, Malayalam), directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Adoor Gopalakrishnan's most accomplished film, traces the last legs of a decaying feudal order In Kerala. It revolves around Unni, a middle-aged man who cannot pace with the changing world around him.

12. Mughal-e-Azam (1960, Urdu), directed by K Asif

a blockbuster to beat all blockbusters, blending style, panache and substance. This historical romance tells the apocryphal love story of Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) and commoner Anarkali (Madhubala). They face opposition from all quarters, including Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor), and Anarkali dies to save the prince.

13. Nayakan (1987, Tamil), directed by Mani Ratnam

Nayakan, by far the greatest underworld dramas ever made in India, catapulted Mani Ratnam to the big league. The film was a riveting, if controversial, fictionalisation of the life and times of real-life Bombay mafia don Varadarajan Mudaliar.

14. Kaagaz Ke Phool (1962, Hindi), directed by Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt's most melancholic film ever, takes his deepening disillusionment with the world and its guardians to a new level of despair.

15. Apur Sansar (1959, Bengali), directed by Satyajit Ray

A superbly crafted, expertly modulated human drama, the film tracks the voyage of a boy turning into a man in a tough environment and it does so with unmatched empathy and perspicuity.

Taken together, Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar constitute one of the greatest cinematic achievements the world has ever seen.

16. Sant Tukaram (1936, Marathi), directed by Damle & Fatehlal

A film that has outlived all others made in the 1930s, Sant Tukaram was an outstanding recreation of the life and times of the 17th century poet-saint.

17. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1980, Hindi), directed by Kundan Shah

This dark, cocky satire about amoral politicians and avaricious businessmen is the greatest advertisement for FTII that there has ever been.

18. Guide (1965, Hindi), directed by Vijay Anand

This is a sweeping drama about a tourist guide who rescues a wannabe dancer from a loveless marriage to an archaeologist and helps her achieve stardom. He makes money in the bargain but is convicted for forgery. When he returns from jail, he wanders about the countryside and is mistaken for a holy man. His messianic halo is strengthened when he starves himself to death in order to end a dry spell in a drought-hit area.

19. Madhumati (1958, Hindi), directed by Bimal Roy

This classic reincarnation story scripted by Ritwik Ghatak was the biggest commercial success of Bimal Roy's varied directorial career. The stars, Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala, play multiple roles alternating between the present and a past life.

20. Anand (1970, Hindi), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee

A terminally ill hero is determined to make the most of the remaining months of his life. In one of his early starring roles, Amitabh Bachchan played a Bengali doctor who develops a deep emotional connect with the dying man.

This list emerged from the 'T20 of Indian Cinema' poll of NDTV in which 20 experts from around the country - 10 young filmmakers and 10 seasoned critics and scholars – participated.

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