Flowers blossom on the earth;
Fragrance engulfs good souls,
Who created beautiful silence.
India will always be grateful to the successful peacemakers.
"Movement" by young citizens
Which is the starting point, for the character evolution in the nation? Dear citizens, let me share with you an incident, which took place somewhere in Nagaland. I was talking to a group of 600 persons consisting of young children, their parents and teachers. The topic I selected was the knowledge society, foundation for a developed India. One boy who was studying in 10th class, asked me, "Mr. President, tell me is it possible for a nation to get transformed into a developed country, when there is corruption everywhere?" This question greatly upset the many faces of the experienced generation. I said that, "the question was beautiful and I must answer". Fortunately, the boy’s parents and teachers were sitting by his side. I asked both, "Do you have an answer?" They said, "Mr. President, he shouldn’t have asked such a question, which is beyond his age. Please ignore it, sir". How can I ignore such a valuable mind? I must answer. My answer was the following.
We can create any number of laws in the country. No law can remove
corruption fully. However there are only three members of the society, who can remove corruption. I call it as a "Three dimensional action" plan. Who are these three members? They are father, mother and elementary school teacher. In this connection, I would like to recall a famous statement from Vedic Guru, who said "You give me a child for seven years – after that, no God or devil can change the child". That is the power of the teacher.
My dear young friends, when you hear my national broadcast, please ask yourself a question, what can be the greatest contribution that the youth can give without disturbing their academic pursuit. You have to commence a silent revolution for removal of corruption by rightly reforming those who go against righteousness in your families. You all must endeavour to make the home you live, beautiful and righteous. You definitely have the power on your parents to do so, with love and affection.
TEN POINT OATH FOR THE YOUTH OF THE NATION:
1. I will pursue my education or the work with dedication and I will excel in it.
2. From now onwards, I will teach at least 10 persons to read and write those who cannot read and write.
3. I will plant at least 10 saplings and shall ensure their growth through constant care.
4. I will visit rural and urban areas and permanently wean away at least 5 persons from addiction and gambling.
5. I will constantly endeavor to remove the pain of my suffering brethren.
6. I will not support any religious, caste or language differentiation.
7. I will be honest and endeavour to make a corruption free society.
8. I will work for becoming an enlightened citizen and make my family righteous.
9. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and will work hard to make them feel normal, like the rest of us.
10. I will proudly celebrate the success of my country and my people.
India is very fortunate to have 540 million youth out of a billion people. We are doing well in agriculture, our industry is on the upswing and our performance in the services sector is also equally good. Time has now come for us to make our country, righteous. Righteousness comes out of good character. The evolution of good character leads to harmony in home. Harmony in home brings the people of the state to become enlightened citizens. Enlightened citizens lead the planet earth to be a peaceful world.
Let us rededicate ourselves to work towards making India a prosperous, happy and secure nation, with smile on billion faces.
The text compiled from the speech delivered by Indian President Dr Abdul Kalam on the eve of 55th Republic Day - 25th Jan 2003 courtesy : http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=810
In formulating our vision, a true vision i.e. Vision 2020 of the future India, it is important to see beyond the limits of the immediate past to rediscover the greatness that is India. Although the present Republic of India is a young developing nation, our people have a rich and illustrious history as one of the longest living civilizations in the world.In 1835, even the British historian and politician, Lord Macaulay,Admitted before the British Parliament: "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, and people of such caliber… the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage….." Thus, it would be wrong to state that in 1947 India started to construct a modern nation from scratch. Rather, it began the process of rediscovering its rich cultural and spiritual values that had formed the foundation of India in the past. It is on this foundation that We seek to formulate our vision of India 2020.It is indeed a challenge to formulate a cohesive vision for India in 2020. Therefore, we thought it appropriate to seek inspiration from one who had a clear vision and possessed the gift to articulate it in a manner that has inspired the hearts and minds of countless Indians. The vision articulated by Rabindranath Tagore is all encompassing in every sense. Here we identify eight components of the vision reflected in the following poem and attempt to translate them in operational terms for India Vision 2020. Rabindranath Tagore’s VisionWhere the mind is without fear and the head is held high.Where knowledge is free.Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.Where words come out from the depth of truth.Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action.Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
The last thing one should do to people who are favorably inclined towards India (from news reports and such like) is to bring them to India. The disillusionment cannot be but a total reversal of opinion.
If all we knew about India was from hyped-up news reports that claim that India is an IT superpower, from pictures of the Taj Mahal, pictures of regal Royal Bengal tigers, pictures of pretty village women dressed in colorful ghagras carrying shiny pots on their heads, and other such advertizing copy, it would be a total shock for me to arrive at any of the international airports and find that it is so dilapidated that it beggars imagination, and from then on, it would be a downhill run when we see the unimaginable crowds and abject poverty amidst the filthy rich of any city of India.
We think the best thing for friends of India is to stay as far away from India as possible and to use their time reading the articles by President Kalam and other visionaries. We have to march on till 2020 with firm honesty and dedication to fulfill India’s potentiality to maximum utilisation .
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