21st
CONVOCATION ADDRESS BY DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM, PRESIDENT OF INDIA AT
THE SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING, PRASANTHI NILAYAM,
ANDHRA PRADESH
Friday,
November 22, 2002
Enlightened Citizens
I am
indeed delighted to participate in the 21st Convocation of Sri
Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. I take this opportunity to
congratulate the young graduates for their achievement. I greet the
Vice Chancellor, Professors, teachers and staff for the excellent
contribution in shaping young minds to contribute to the nation in
multiple fields. It is a great honour for me that the Chancellor,
Swamiji for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts at this
Convocation. Is value based education possible? Sri Sathya Sai
Institute of Higher Learning has given an answer in the affirmative.
Our ultimate goal is : all human beings should be prosperous and
should have all forms of security like food security, social
security and future security of their children. How to achieve them?
How can a nation be secured from external and internal problems?
National security and economic prosperity are interconnected.
Sathyam,
Dharma, Santhi and Prema are the eternal human values. Efforts and
endeavour are man's duty. Success or failure is God's domain. I can
see in this campus, high calibre graduates bubbling with creativity.
There is virtual presence of divine blessings all around. I could
sense intervention to alleviate the people's pain, difficulties and
problems. The integrated effect of this place is how a Guru can
integrate both spiritual and material wealth.
Divine Message from Prasanthi Nilayam
When I
was thinking what thoughts I can share with you, young graduates, a
beautiful divine message was ringing in me: Where there is
righteousness in the heart There is a beauty in the character. When
there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When
there is harmony in the home. There is order in the nation. When
there is order in the nation, There is peace in the world.
Who can
give a beautiful connectivity like this between heart, character,
nation and the world? This is a divine statement. This can come from
only a divine personality who has been transformed from religion to
spiritualism by Thapas. The purpose of real education is to initiate
a learning process that transforms children into good human beings
with knowledge and value system. My dear young friends, you are
really blessed with this divine environment, where the song I
referred is sung by Bhagavan Swamy Sathya Saibaba.
Tawang Message of Peace.
I would
like to share with you an important message, which I experienced
very recently, when I was visiting Arunachal Pradesh a few weeks
ago. I happened to spend a day in a Tawang Monastery, which has a
400 year old history, located at an altitude of 3000 meters - a
beautiful spiritual environment. There, I met a gathering of monks,
students, teachers and political leaders. Just like you, I saw
bright young faces with an urge to learn with creativity. A unique
message was echoing in the Monastery. It looked to me that the
message was part and parcel of the students and teachers community.
What is that message? I was asking myself. Who can enlighten and
explain the message? I sought the help of the chief of the monks at
the Tawang Monastery. I asked, 'Your Holiness, can you explain the
message with your vast experience in this Monastery, the most
important part of learning - particularly in the present environment
of our country". The respected Buddhist Monk told me, "India is a
nation of peace. India lives as a spiritual and peaceful nation.
Peace should engulf our nation. The Abbot told me further: when you
remove "I" and "ME" from your mind, you will eliminate ego; if you
eliminate ego, hatred towards fellow human beings would vanish; if
hatred goes out of our mind, violence will not spring from the human
mind and then peace and peace and peace will blossom. I bless my
nation". This divine message was born in Tawang Monastery. I recall
this incident when I see devotees here doing social work ceaselessly
with the blessings of Bhagavan Sathya Saibaba. If this divine spirit
spreads to every citizen and makes each one to think that the nation
is bigger than the individual and guide them to work for the
national development, then I am sure the India will become a
developed nation.
In the
past few years, I have been trying to see how India can be
transformed into a Developed Nation. What are the components needed
for a Developed India? How to Transform India in a time bound way?
The topic I would like to discuss with you today is: "Prosperous,
Secure and Peaceful India"
Thinking is Progress
Friends,
we should note that the human mind is a unique gift. You can try to
fathom the marvels of the universe. You can enter into it only if
you have curiosity and thinking. I suggest to all of you, thinking
should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs
you come across in your life. Thinking is progress. Non-thinking is
destruction to the individual, organization and the country.
Thinking leads to action. Knowledge without action is useless and
irrelevant. Knowledge with action brings prosperity
I would
like you, dear youth, to have a mind to explore every aspect of
human life. Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is
friendly to us and conspires to give the best to those who dream.
Like Chandrasekhar Subramaniam discovered the black hole. Today,
using Chandrasekhar's limit we can calculate how long the sun will
shine. Like, Sir CV Raman looked at the sea and questioned why the
sea should be blue leading to the birth of the Raman Effect. Like,
Albert Einstein, armed with the complexity of the universe, asked
the questions about nature of the universe. The famous equation
E=mc2 arrived. When E=mc2 is in the hands of noble souls we got
electricity using nuclear materials. When the same equation was in
the hands of extreme political thinkers, destruction of Hiroshima
took place.
It was
11th May in 1998, when Indian scientists witnessed a great event for
the nation. The nuclear explosions one after another - five
explosions took place. I was standing on the planet earth on a hot
sandy hill. The earth shook as though Atlas shrugged. I felt India
could create the energy of any magnitude but also I remembered the
importance of technology in the hands of good human beings.
Fortunately the central theme of our nuclear doctrine has become "no
first use". It was born out of the civilisational heritage of the
nation. Now I am standing here in this divine campus, which is a
fountain of our heritage.
Imagine
the condition of the land and people in this area 40 to 50 years
ago. There was no drinking water supply system. There was no
educational institution. There was no healthcare center. Today, the
people here have got all basic amenities. How has this
transformation happened? It is all because of the vision and
blessings of Sri Sathya Saibaba. Millions of people walk in this
universe. But during the last millennium one noble soul walked and
walked on Indian soil giving application to ahimsa dharma leading to
Indian independence. My dear friends, wouldn't you like to become a
noble minded like Mahatma Gandhi or a great intellectual like Sir CV
Raman or Einstein, or Chandrasekhar Subramaniam. Look at the marvels
of your universe. You become a great thinker and action will follow.
Knowledge, sweat and perseverance
Wherever
I go, I meet school children. Till now, I have met more than 100000
students. I was in Jharkhand last year. Recently, I was in Tuensang,
a remote village in Nagaland. I talked to the student community. I
was in Tawang, in a 400 year old monastery situated in the high
altitude of over 10,000 ft in Arunachal Pradesh. I was in Manipur
valley, I was in Gujarat. Everywhere, one common voice echoed from
the young. Mr. Kalam, can you tell us, in this complex world how to
achieve a prosperous India, peaceful India, a secured India? What
can be my answer? I was thinking and thinking. I have lived in this
planet for 71 years. Did I learn out of my difficult times, some
thing to share with you, the young boys and girls across the
country? From 1982 to 1992 was a very important period for me to
design, develop, build and operate certain missile systems for our
country. What type of world was there around me at that time? All
developed countries had condemned India in the name of MTCR, their
first weapon. The other weapon used by them was NPT (Non nuclear
Proliferation Treaty). With these two weapons of technological
denials could Indian minds succeed in their mission? I will share
with you an experience, which I had during development of Prithvi
and Agni missile systems. In the missile system, for guidance and
control, we use two gyro sensors in every flight system. For a given
accuracy for a missile payload system, it was essential to have an
accuracy of .20 drifts per hour. One of our industries at that time
was producing 10 per hour gyros. There was a denial of high accuracy
gyros from developed countries. A task team was formed between a
University and one of our labs to find a technical solution. About
twelve software and hardware engineers after working for eight
months came out with a solution of fast algorithm to be loaded on
the on-board computer of the missile system and for real time error
compensation. This would predict the error in the flight trajectory
ahead and compensate for the error in the gyro performance to make
it provide very high accuracy than the one, which was denied. I am
giving this example to show how software solutions, knowledge and
enthusiasm can work with hardware constraints. We have to work for
high-end software, which will bring more value addition. Also, VLSI
foundries should be continuously upgraded to the sub micron level.
To keep these foundries going, one of the major requirements is high
purity VLSI grade silicon material. The country should have this
facility and the investment should take place in this critical area.
These are but a few examples. There should be many hundreds of such
actions with perseverance and tenacity to make the country secure
and prosperous.
The
Vision for the nation
After 50
years of progress, aspirations are mounting that India should become
a developed country. This is the second vision for the nation. How
we can prepare ourselves for this challenge?
To
become a developed India, the essential needs are (a) India has to
be economically and commercially powerful, at least to be one of the
four top nations in terms of size of the economy. Our target should
be a GDP growth of 9 percent annually and that the people below the
poverty line to be reduced to near zero. (b) near self-reliance in
defence and needs of weapon, equipment with no umbilical attached to
the outside world. (c) India should have a right place in world
forums. Technology Vision 2020 is a pathway to realise this
cherished mission.
We have
identified five areas where India has a core competence for an
integrated action. (1) Agriculture and food processing - we have to
place a target of 360 million tons of food and agricultural
production. Other areas of agriculture and agro food processing
would bring prosperity to rural people and speed up economic growth.
(2) Reliable and quality electric power for all parts of the
country. (3) Education and Healthcare - we have seen, based on
experience, education and healthcare are inter related. (4)
Information Communication Technology - This is one of our core
competence. We believe, this area can be used to promote education
in remote areas and also to create national wealth. (5) Strategic
sectors - This area, fortunately, witnessed growth in nuclear
technology, space technology and defence technology. Other areas
like Advanced Sensors and Materials would need a push. The nation
has a plan towards 70 percent near self-reliance in a decade in
defence equipment.
These
five areas are closely inter-related and would lead to national,
food, and economic security. A strong partnership among the R&D,
academy, Industry and the community as a whole with Government
departments will be essential to accomplish the vision.
Vision for independence movement also created leaders
What can
vision do? Vision generates great leaders in every field. We have
witnessed during India's first vision for the nation that is the
Independence movement. Jamsedji Nusserwanji Tata brought the steel
industry to India even though the British rulers were not favourably
disposed to the idea. Acharya PC Ray brought up chemical and
pharmaceutical industry. Likewise, in the pre-independence period we
saw the birth of many great institutes like the Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore started by JN Tata, Benares Hindu University by
Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, and Aligarh Muslim University by Sir
Syed Ahmed Khan. There were also some Indian Maharajas who started
and nurtured universities like the one in Baroda. There are many
examples in both the industrial and educational fields. In all these
cases the basic motivations have been to show the urge to build the
Nation and demonstrate to the world that "India can do it".
So far
we have briefly seen how in the pre-independence period new
scientific thoughts and innovations, industrial and educational
system had emerged with inner conflict and emotions to establish a
competitive scientific educational and industrial system in India.
We have seen scientists cluster during a period. I am elated to note
that a music trinity of great saints, Thyagaraja Swamigal,
Muthuswamy Deekshidar and Shyama Sastrigal, emerged at the same time
in the South within a 50 km radius. What we note is that, the
movement for independence generated the best of leaders in arts,
science, technology, economics, history and literature. As the
Vision for independence movement created so many leaders, I am sure
Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, with its value based
education under this divine environment, will generate great leaders
who will excel in various fields and actively participate in the
mission to transform India into a developed nation.
Role
Model for the young.
I am in
a place where University learning takes place in a divine
environment. Here students get education with a value system. I
would like to congratulate Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
Learning for this noble education. Similarly we have a few more
institutions imparting quality education with a value system. But we
have to go miles and miles, as we have to educate nearly 300 million
young minds. A time bound program to accomplish this value-based
education throughout the country has to be in place, since education
is not merely imparting of information and skills.
When I
am with you, I would like to recall an event that happened on 12th
August 2002. At Sabarmati Ashram, after offering my prayers in the
Ashram, I was addressing about 300 high school children. I was
putting forth the second vision of the nation and the role of the
young. During the discussion, there were many questions from the
students. A 10th standard student asked a question: Who can be our
role model? I encouraged a discussion among the children to find the
right answer. Many students replied father, mother, teacher,
scientist etc. In this way there will many role models for
inspiration. The Prasanthi Nilayam Campus has a divine mission of
providing education with value, healthcare and rural development in
an integrated way.
Conclusion: Empowerment
When the
child is empowered by the parents, at various phases of growth, the
child gets transformed into a responsible citizen. When the teacher
is empowered with knowledge and experience, good young human beings
with value systems take shape. When the individual or a team is
empowered with technology, transformation to higher potential for
achievement is assured. When the leader of any institution empowers
his or her people, leaders are born who can change the nation in
multiple areas. When women are empowered, society with stability
gets assured. When the political leaders of the nation empower the
people through visionary policies, prosperity of the nation is
certain. When religion transforms into a spiritual force people
become enlightened citizens with a value system.
I am
sure; the graduates here have been empowered by their teachers with
knowledge and by this divine environment with a good value system.
When knowledge blended with a value system empowers a person, he can
achieve greater heights in his life. My greetings to all of you.
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