With reference to the essay, ‘My Visions for India’, what visions have Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam held for India?
The essay ‘My Visions for India’ is originally a speech delivered by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, while addressing the young minds at the campus of IIT, Hyderabad on May 25th, 2011. It was an extremely inspiring speech in which he had outlined his visions for India.
In the speech, Dr. Kalam has stated the three visions that he had held for India and has expressed the desire to bring those visions into concrete realities. Dr. Kalam’s first vision for India is to always live in freedom. Referring to the three thousand years old history of India, Dr. Kalam says that many people from all over the world had invaded India, be it Alexander, Greeks, British, Portuguese, etc. Yet India has never invaded any other nation just because India values the individuality of each and hence never believes in enforcing its way on other nations by grabbing other’s land, culture or history.
Dr. Kalam says that India respects the freedom of others. After the War of Independence in 1857, India has envisioned its freedom and the desire to create its own identity. He says that only a free nation gains respect in the eyes of the world. He says, “It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.”
Dr. Kalam’s second vision for India is regarding its development. He says that its been five decades that India has been a developing nation and he feels that it is time that we progress into becoming a developed nation. He says that the economic health of India is positive. For instance, India stands among the top five nations in the world in terms of GDP, most sectors have witnessed the growth rate to ten percent, poverty levels are decreasing and India’s achievements are being recognized globally too. Despite so many achievements, we still trail behind as a developing nation. The reason behind it is that we lack self-reliance and self assurance. Due to this dearth of self-confidence, we fail to see ourselves as a developed nation. Hence, we need to believe in ourselves and become one among the developed nations.
Stating his third vision, Dr. Kalam wishes India to be standing upto the world for he believes that only strength begets strength. To become a strong nation, the military power as well as the economic power should progress hand-in-hand. Only then can a nation be called ‘powerful in its true sense.’ Hence, these are the visions that Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had held for India.