Chinmaya Yuva Kendra

Dr. Abdul Kalam addresses the CHYKs on

Role of Youth in Nation Building

31 st May 2004, New Delhi.

It was a proud moment for us when we met the First citizen of our country: Honorable President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The group, led by Swami Mitranandaji along with Br. Sattvika Chaitanyaji, comprised of 32 youngsters from all across India, who qualified for the last three rounds of the Awakening Indians to India National Quiz and 10 Chinmaya Yuva Kendra members.

We started from Chinmaya Centre for World Understanding, New Delhi at 2:15 p.m. and within 15 minutes our bus was driving up the Raisina Hill to enter the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan. After a security check we were allowed to enter the building. The corridor that took us to the Meeting Hall was well decorated with items of historical significance. As we waited eagerly – after being informed of a slight delay, by the President’s Estate staff, during which we were offered tea and refreshments, the youngsters wrote out questions, which they wanted to ask His Excellency.

At the stipulated time, Honorable President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam arrived and was welcomed by 2 of the AITI Quiz participants. Swami Mitranandaji welcomed the President and briefly introduced Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, Awakening Indians to India Quiz and all of us to him.

Then, to our surprise,the President asked us to suggest a topic on which we wanted him to speak. A confident participant of AITI Quiz requested the President to speak on “The role of youth in India”.

Dr. Kalam started his talk by elucidating one of India’s biggest strengths of being the youngest nation in the World. India is the youngest country in the world. 56 % of the population i.e 56 million people in India are below 35 years of age. If any change has to happen it has to come from youngsters.

Emphasising the need for education and learning, Dr. Kalam made us repeat the following:

Learning leads to creativity.
Creativity improves thinking.
Thinking enhances knowledge and
Knowledge brings strength and greatness.

Mentioning specific points about the role of the youth, Dr. Kalam said

Youth should have a clear picture of what they want to become in life. They should have a clear aim and a well-defined destination. Most people prefer to travel in well-laid roads, for it is safe and easy. Very few decide not to follow the path and dare to create a path of their own and leave a trail.
Once the destination is clear they should work hard to reach the destination without any deviation. Many things would appear colourful and pulls one’s attention away from the goal. Students should be alert and focus on the goal.
There is no substitute for hardwork. Let the days of youth not be spent in vain.
I am yet to see a person who has not faced failure in life. Problems come to everybody. The question is who is the master – the problem or you. One should never get discouraged by failures.
Youth need not work separately for India 2020.Let everybody give their best to the profession they have chosen. Let doctors become better doctors. Let nurses become better nurses. Teaching is a noble profession- they create best minds. Let teachers become better teachers. This would suffice.
In India 50 million do not know how to read and write. Today’s youth have to fight ignorance; darkness. Each one should teach atleast 5 such people. Let every youth plant 5 saplings and ensure their proper growth. No other revolution is required.

Speaking about the country, Dr. Kalam said

26million people in India are below poverty line. GDP rate today is 6-7 %. Economist predict that once the GDP rate reaches a double digit and if we sustain it for 10 years, all the 26 million would be lifted above the poverty line and India would be a Developed Nation. To increase the GDP rate India should concentrate on developing 5 areas where the youth must contribute:

Education & healthcare
Agriculture and food processing
Environment & Biotechnology
Information technology &
Strategic sector (nuclear and space technology).

Dr. Kalam also spoke about the National River Linking project which will distribute the water evenly to the entire country. It is a massive project which requires 500,000 crores and more than 15 years to complete. This will take care of the droughts and floods in the country and balance the water situation evenly.

This was followed by a question answer session –

Question and Answers.

What are the measures to be taken to protect the rights of street children?

The project PURA has been launched wherein the near by rural areas are connected to urban areas to prevent immigration from villages to the cities. Nearly 10 million look for employment after 12 std.

This project helps develop the rural areas by providing basic facilities and also funds for self employment.

The villages need the following connectivity –

Physical Connectivity – good roads, transport etc.
Telecom connectivity – Telephones, faxes etc.
Knowledge connectivity – schools, colleges etc.
Satellite Connectivity – connecting all the villages through internet

Do you see India as a Information super power or Knowledge super power in the future?

Ancient India was an agricultural society. Later value addition to agricultural products was introduced making it an Industrial soceity. What we have today is information soceity providing more connectivity. What we are aiming at is to provide creativity and innovation in every field. Innovation is knowledge. What we want is a knowledge soceity. Especially with the patent-rights etc. we must become innovative.

why should India spend so much money on defence when so many people do not even get enough to eat?

Battle of Panipet was fought thrice. Every time it was fought between two different dynasties. This clearly says how India was subject to continuous invasion by different people – the Portuguese, the Mughals, the Arabs,….and the British. All this was because we did not have a proper system of defence. Today when the nations surrounding us are well equipped with nuclear weapons, it has become our need to possess nuclear weapons to be free from threat. India is very clear in its policy of defence i.e not to strike first.

Why do we lock our houses when we go out? To protect our property? Today to protect our nation we require nuclear weapons.

although India has never attacked another country and does not plan to – we should be equipped to defend ourselves if ever attacked – thus, the need for nuclear weapons. But our policy is clear – never to attack first. Attack only when we are attacked.

What is your opinion on satellites begin used mostly for entertainment?

Vikram Sarabai even in 1960’s had a dream of developing our own satellite launch vehicles when India did not even have its own satellites. Today Satellites are being designed, developed and launched in India. This is a vision come true. The next satellite to be launched would link all the educational institutions and universities providing more connectivity. Even today satellites are being used for educational purposes and not merely entertainment.

What gives you more happiness – being a scientist or being the President of India?

Dr. Kalam responded with a smile and said: we all have our moments of happiness, and ‘I am still searching for that happiness’. He has developed various satellite launch vehicles, agni etc. and the happiness he experienced at each stage was increasing. But the maximum happiness he found when he was able to make the calipers for handicapped children. The calipers which were weighing 3-5 kgs. Were reduced to 250-300gms. The smile on the face of those children gave him ‘ananda’ (bliss). Dr. Kalam concluded by saying – True happiness is in serving others.

The meeting scheduled for 20 minutes had already taken an hour and there was evidently a lot of joy and love throughout the interaction, as he shared his vision for India with the young citizens of the country. To conclude, we all repeated a pledge, led by the President himself. In the pledge we promised:

To excel in whichever profession we undertake.
To educate at least 5 people who do not have access to basic education.
To plant at least 10 trees and look after their growth.
To assist 5 urban and 5 rural youth remain addiction free.
To work towards provision of amenities in rural areas.
To live a life of transparency, free from corruption and with high values, so as to set an example for others, including our parents.

Although there was a mention of how the last statement of the pledge is going to be the toughest to live up to – we know we CAN!

At the end of the meeting Dr. Kalam encouraged everyone to move towards the lawn in the Garden for a photograph session. Thus ended the most memorable 65 minutes of the Bharat Darshan. The finale was really GRAND.