Kalam appeals to go to villages

Sandesh Prabhudesai
3 February 2001  



Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, the principal scientific advisor to the Indian government, has appealed to all the young guards of the nation to penetrate into the quake-affected villages of Gujarat to rebuild devastated areas of the rich state.

Speaking at the thirteenth annual convocation ceremony of the Goa University here, Dr Kalam said only the youngs have the capacity to face any challenge that comes forth and their energies are today needed in Gujarat.

"Your energies are needed in the countryside and not in the cities at this crucial juncture. Go and start temporary schools, work in educational field and help them to stand on their own feet", he appealed to the hundreds of students and young lecturers who had gathered at the ceremony.

Though growing population is our problem, Dr Kalam said it has also given us a strong army of 700 million young boys and girls below 30 years of age. They can play wonders if they decide to take the nation to the new heights, he said confidently.

"Ignited minds can rule on the earth, above the earth and even below the earth", said the veteran scientist, while requesting the young generation not to stop seeing dreams as dream generates thought which can be converted into practical action.

"In spite of having rich traditional knowledge of 5000 years, we missed the industrial era due to colonial rule. We also missed the recent information era. But the knowledge era is designed for our nation", feels Dr Kalam.

According to him, India could be the knowledge super power by 2010 by listing itself among the five economically powerful nations and achieving 9 to 11 per cent GDP, provided the younger generation responds positively to counter the hurdles before us.

Stating that the agricultural or industrial society needed labour and capital as its driving force, he feels that knowledge alone is the driving force for the knowledge society. "Keeping this in mind, the first decade of this century should be the fusion of the traditional knowledge we have and the technological knowledge we derive", he suggests.

He also reminded the educated gathering at the Goa University campus about the five areas identified to march forward - agriculture and food processing, education and health care, enrichment of traditional knowledge, information technology and space technology.

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