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 inefficient. YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the musicality does not pick up the garbage YOU say the phone do not work, the railways are joke, then airlines is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is in 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 road or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $ 5 to drive through ORCHARD 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 would not dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai You would not dare to go our without your head covered in Jeddah You would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph in Washington and then tell the traffic cop “ jantaa hair main kaun hoon ( do you know who am I ? ) I am so and so’s son . Take your two bucks and get lost” You would not chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage on the beeches in Australia and new Zealand. Why don’t you spit pan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don’t you use examination jockeys or but fake certificate 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 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 Malikar had a point to make. Rich people’s dogs walk 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 dogs feels the pressure in his bowels? In US every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here ? We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility . We sit back wanting to the pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to do everything for us. 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 those staffs who is known not 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 is the whole system which has to change, how will it mater 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 consist of our neighbour, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely no 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 our of 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 HAD TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY. Let us do what India needs from us. Thank You. -Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam. (Speech delivered at Hyderabad when he was the President of India)
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:00:13 +0000
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