Prof.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam on our media : A must read

This is quoted from one of the speeches given by Dr.Abdul Kalam.Its about the attitude of
"the Indian" in India and abroad.Its time that we start taking note of this sincerely instead of just reading it and forgeting it the next minute.You might have come across this article in the tabloids or in the newspapers.But i guess giving it one more read is a better option instead of looking at the pics of "Ash-Abhishek engagment" ..

"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 )