Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's speech 'My Vision for India' as it is | Read by Professor DC

I have three visions for

India in 3,000 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 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 50 years we have been a

developing Nation it is time we see

ourselves as a developed

Nation we are among the top five nations

of the world in terms of

GDP we have 10% 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

inand four milestones in my career one

12 years I spent in ISRO I was was given

the opportunity to be the Project

Director for India's first satellite

launch vehicle SLV

3 the one that launched

rohini these years played a very

important role in my life as a

scientist two after my isra years I

joined drdo and got a chance to be part

of India's guided missile program it was

my second Bliss when Agy met its Mission

requirements in

1994 three the depth of atomic energy

and drdo had a tremendous partnership in

the nuclear tests on May 11th and

13th this was the third

Bliss four an orthopedic surgeon visited

my lab and asked for help to make

lightweight calipers for

children in 3 weeks we made floor

reaction orthosis 300 G

calipers the joy of seeing children walk

freely was my fourth

Bliss reflection on India's

strengths 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 are 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 there are millions of such

achievements but our media is only

obsessed with bad news and disasters

a call for

introspection why are we as a nation so

obsessed with foreign

things do we not realize that

self-respect comes with

self-reliance let us ask

ourselves why do we respect and conform

to foreign systems in other countries

but failed to do so in our own why do we

expect the government to clean up after

us but refuse to take responsibility for

our

actions a message to all Indians let us

not mortgage our conscience to money let

us ask as JF Kennedy once said ask not

what your country can do for you ask

what you can do for your country let us

do what India needs from us thank you

Abdul cam