Page 137 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Elective English–I

Notes history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom
of others. That is why my FIRST VISION is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first
vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of Independence. It is this freedom that we
must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.
We have 10 per cent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements
are being globally recognised today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a
developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured. Isn’t this incorrect? MY SECOND VISION for
India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have been a developing nation. It is time we see
ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top five nations in the world in terms of GDP.
I have a THIRD VISION. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that unless India
stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be
strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-
hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, of
the Dept. of Space, Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr. Brahm Prakash,
father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and
consider this the great opportunity of my life.

I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year-old girl asked me for my autograph.
I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her,
you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim India is not an underdeveloped
nation; it is a highly developed nation.
You say that our government is inefficient. You say that our laws are too old. You say that the
municipality does not pick up the garbage. You say that the phones don’t work, the railways
are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, and mails never reach their destination. You
say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. You say, say and say.
What do you do about it?
Dear Indians, I am echoing JF Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians
……. “ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE
INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY.”

13.2 Understanding the Text

PART 1

I have ................................ will respect us.
Our country has been invaded and controlled by many different rulers during our 3000-year
old history. You must have heard about the British rule in India. But you would have never
heard of India attacking another nation or conquering it. This is because we fought very hard
to win our own freedom and so we respect others’ freedom. Now that we have our freedom
we must value it. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam says that by protecting our freedom we can get the
respect of other nations.

PART 2

We have ....................... terms of GDP.
Dr. Kalam eludes being in the top five positions of the world. According to Dr Kalam, although
our nation has been developing continuously and we are recognised globally, we unfortunately
are not confident about ourselves. We need to believe in our own ability to become a developed
nation.

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