Ignited Minds (10 page)

What is keeping us from taking this concept further? Does it sound risky to abandon the time-tested route of checks and balances and go in for a tightrope walk? Or is it that going into mission mode would demand a responsibility: Either one has to
show the result or quit?

In October 2001, I got the opportunity to visit Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi. The topic I selected for my address to the students was ‘Responsible Young Citizens’. I put forth the importance of India becoming a knowledge society. After the talk, one student asked me an important question, ‘Could you tell me why Indians, particularly educated Indians, excel when they go to the USA and Europe? They become rich also.’

I said, ‘Recently, I read a book–
The Horse that Flew
by Chidanand Rajghatta which is about Indians who have succeeded in the IT field, especially in America. One quality I noticed in all of those who excelled was that they did not work solo. They worked with their colleagues, irrespective of religious or other differences, and they were not afraid to take risks, starting with the risk of going to a foreign land.’

I met B. Chandrasekhar, who has been a big success as an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, when he contributed to our alma
mater, Madras Institute of Technology (whose acronym, MIT, is the same as that of the famous institute at Massachusetts) to start an Internet Technology Centre. One fine morning Chandrasekhar sold his 10- billion-dollar company to start another enterprise. When I asked him how he took such chances to build his enterprise, Chandrasekhar told me he loved taking risks. There was one other aspect to the success of his and other companies. For them survival depended on performance. And the better they performed, the richer they became.

I have an experience to tell in this regard. It was 1955. I was in the second year of my course in Aeronautical Engineering in Madras Institute of Technology. Our Director was Dr N. Srinivasan, an aeronautical engineer himself. I was working on a project surpervised by him on designing a low-level attack aircraft. A seven-member student team was allotted this task. Three of them– Vivekanandan, Mahabaleshwar Bhat and I– were given the task of system integration. Our team was supposed to provide the design
report with all the drawings in three months’ time. Because data on the engine, control system and some other sub-system drawings coming from my friends got delayed, I also got delayed by more than two weeks in submitting my drawings.

It was a humid evening in the month of August. I was working on the drawing board. Dr Srinivasan, on his way to the tennis court, peeped into my room and looked at my work. He realized that I was nowhere near completion. He said, ‘Kalam, if you do not complete it in three days’ time your scholarship will be stopped.’

That was a big jolt for me. The scholarship was my lifeline, as my father could not afford the high cost of education at MIT. I had to make the best use of the time available. Three days was too short a time to complete it. I would have to work continuously. And this is what I decided to do. I slept on a bench in the college for three nights and went out only for food.

Exactly after three days, Dr Srinivasan visited my drawing board. He spent nearly
one hour examining what I had done and said, ‘This is good. You have performed a few weeks’ work in a few days.’ Coming from him, it was a great compliment.

I realized then that if something is at stake, the human mind gets ignited and working capacity gets enhanced manifold. Challenges throw up opportunities. Once one selects a task, one should get immersed in it. Either you will succeed or fail; that risk will always be there. This should not deter you. When you fail, you still have the experience gained to draw upon in the future.

Start by risking your own position for a mission. Either I deliver or I go. Prepare yourself for the endeavour. With effort and perseverance you will succeed. There is always a risk involved when we venture into something new. After all, the process of birth itself is a risky affair. But then the infant starts breathing … and life follows, with all its hopes and aspirations. Breathe in thoughts of success and you will be a success.

The way to development is through purposeful activity. The young especially have to be guided properly, so that their lives find a proper direction and their creativity is allowed to flower. To facilitate this, certain educational reforms must be initiated.

With regard to improving the pace of development, Centre-state efforts should be coordinated in a few key areas and efforts across sectors and organizations integrated and taken up in a mission mode. The mindset must change, showing willingness to take pragmatic risks. Success will follow.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments … .
My Father, let my country awake.

—Rabindranath Tagore

All through this book I have spoken about the power of the imagination. It lies at the heart of the creative process and is the very substance of life, allied as it is to the power
to attract to us what we most desire. This power makes all the difference between the winners and the losers. I would like to see in twenty years a literate and poverty-free India. I dream of an India governed by noble leaders. I dream of a system where the work of scientists and technologists is focussed on specific missions driven by goals relevant to the common man. How is this dream to be made real?

We need to realize that missions are always bigger than organizations, just as organizations are always bigger than the individuals who run them. Missions need effort and the mind provides the purpose. Seen this way, consider, which department or ministry will take man to Mars and build a habitat there? Can 200,000 MW of electric power be generated by isolated efforts in thermal, hydroelectric, nuclear and non- conventional sectors without an integrated effort? Can the second green revolution happen without agricultural scientists, bio- technologists and irrigation experts working together? Without proper diagnostic facilities
in clinics and affordable drugs reaching our masses, our biotechnology laboratories and medical councils will continue to perpetuate each other’s survival without serving the purpose of their existence: to set in place the most advanced medical facilities and make these available to the people at reasonable prices.

I have dwelt upon my own experiences that made me aware of the energy field which is created by a vision. It is a power that arises from deep within you. This power is the basis for the movement towards excellence we saw at the time of independence. I have been touched by this power on many occasions while facing a challenge. Pre-independence India reverberated with it. It helped us humble a mighty empire.

Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata brought the steel industry to India even though the British rulers were not favourably disposed to the idea. Acharya P.C. Ray nurtured the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. We saw the birth of many great institutions like the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, started by J.N. Tata, the Banaras Hindu University established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, and Aligarh Muslim University set up by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Some of the progressive maharajas too set up universities, as in Baroda. There are many examples. In all these cases, the motivation was to see India come up in the world, to demonstrate that ‘India can do it’.

Are we in a position to continue that work, revive that spirit of enterprise? Shall we ever see cars designed and manufactured in India dotting the roads in Frankfurt or Seoul? Or Indian satellite launch vehicles place communication, weather and remote sensing satellites of other nations in orbit? Or see India build power stations for the USA, Japan and China? The possibility will remain remote if we stay with the present trend of low aim.

Today we are witnessing good progress in the software sector but almost all of the hardware is imported. Can we rise higher on the value scale there? Can India design an
operating system that will become a household name in the world of computers? Our exports consist to a large extent of low- value raw material such as iron ore and alumina. Can we not convert these into a wide range of products that find an international market? We have hundreds of defence production industries but why does India not manufacture and market the Main Battle Tank, missiles, aircraft, guns and other defence equipment? We have the most important core competence in the form of our multifaceted manpower and basic infrastructure. What is that we don’t have?

Let us think what prevents us in undertaking such challenges. We have to analyse how we can give a new dimension to our style of functioning, by cutting across the individual interests of various ministries and even industries and institutions, to follow an integrated action plan. The motive force has to be love for the country. We need a vision that is shared by the entire nation.

In the drive for development, some states are faring better than others in the country.
Bright young entrepreneurs have energized the national technology scene. Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad are hubs of business activity. But even though the IT sector is a very visible area of success and has brought in some capital investment, in terms of overall development this is not enough. Even if you take up the IT area as a mission, manpower is the most important need. Those living away from the cities must also have access to a good education to join the talent pool. And this should happen fast.

My visits to the northeastern states– Tripura and Assam–and to Jharkhand showed me our untapped potential. Tripura’s economy rests on forest products, including bamboo cultivation. It is rich in mineral wealth, as also in natural gas. But the transport facilities are in bad shape. It is difficult to travel, interact and organize business. There is isolation. In Jharkhand too there is mineral wealth besides its resources in terms of forestry products and handicrafts, all of which need to be developed. In Assam, there is no shortage of
resources and the state has good educational infrastructure. All the ingredients required for a developed economy are there but there is insurgency and unrest among people. A focussed mission will integrate people.

States such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka have made me realize that much can be achieved once efforts are made to channel development funds for improvement in areas such as education and health. These and other states can become good examples of economic development.

Our intellectual forums, political platforms, academic institutions and chambers of commerce are full of discussion and debate. There is noise, a lot of it in fact. There are endless debates, arguments, hypotheses, and theories, and yet there is little progress. However, the theme of a developed India is not discussed in board rooms and technology conferences. I want all of us–institutions, political parties, industries, communities, families, individuals–at every level to take full
responsibility for what is good or bad in our situation, for what we possess and that which we do not. This would mean that we stop blaming others for the circumstances we find ourselves in. Taking responsibility also means a willingness to exercise our abilities to the fullest. This will make us worthy of enjoying the benefits that come with effort.

What I have tried to tell you in this book is that we must be aware of our higher self and view ourselves as citizens of a developed nation. We are a great civilization and each one of us born here must trust in the wisdom of this civilization. Our scriptures tell us that there is no barrier between us and the world, that we are the world just as the world is in us. It is for you to put yourself in tune with the music of the universe.

There are a few points I would like to mention.

The needs of a nation’s people are bigger and much more important than any other considerations. The mission of Parliament is that it has to be alive and dynamic over issues vital to the existence of our very
nationhood. Our freedom did not come as a gift. The whole country struggled for decades to achieve the first vision of independence, so we have to protect it. There were excellent leaders in all walks of life–science, education and industry. To preserve this freedom from intruders and others who would compromise it is our bounden duty and not a matter of choice and convenience. No ideology is above the security and prosperity of our country. No agenda is more important than harmony among the people.

Students should get ready to transform India into a developed nation. Ignite your minds and think big.

A teacher once said, ‘Give me a five-year-old child. After seven years, no God or Devil will be able to change the child.’ Will all teachers be such gurus?

The administrators have a great opportunity to link the people and political leaders. They should always take decisions that are good for the people. I believe it is only executives like empowered district collectors who can assist transformation. The
state-Central integrated fund has to be deployed in mission mode programmes.

Fifty years after independence, the results of scientific effort have not reached the people to the extent required. It is time the advances in science and technology are deployed in a big way to transform rural life.

Global competition is on, be it WTO, competition from multinationals or China. For industrialists, competing with high- performance and cost-effective products will result in growth for the industry. Competitiveness and innovation are the two pillars of industrial growth. Industries by working together can generate multinational institutions, reversing the present trend.

The IT community, by its innovativeness has given India stature in the world. India is a competitive nation in IT today. IT must be used for healthcare, telemedicine, to remove illiteracy, generate skills and for e-governance and tele-education. Transform the nation into a knowledge society with IT as the linking tool.

Finally, the farmers have given this
country surplus food with their sweat. Time has come for two events to take place in agriculture sector. One, the value addition of all agriculture products. The second is to improve the quality of agriculture products and compete in the world market. Above all marketing itself is a great business tool; we have to create a new cadre for this purpose. These steps will bring relief to the farmers.

And to God the Almighty! Make my people sweat. Let their toil create many more Agnis that can annihilate evil. Let my country prosper in peace. Let my people live in harmony. Let me go to dust as a proud citizen of India, to rise again and rejoice in its glory.