I am indeed delighted to address you all students and members of the Amrita Yuva Dharma Dhara. I have received 33 questions from 5 institutions of Amma. All are beautiful questions, I have answered all the questions and are available in my website. Few questions and its answers, I would like to share with you which brings out the concern on national development and how to go about it. I am very happy to see all the 33 students who have asked questions present here. S. Sreebala of Amrita Institute of Technology, Amritapuri has asked an interesting and thoughtful question. That is:

Being a person of such caliber, as to have achieved more than one can dream of in a life time, we are going to ask you a very difficult question. Could you select one achievement of so many, that you could place at a pedestal higher than others, for the reason that it satisfies and provides contentment the most and is the most fulfilling.

- S. Sreebala, 2nd year, CS AITEC,

Amritapuri My answer to the question through certain examples and are as follows:

Nobility in leadership

Two decades ago while I was working at ISRO, I had the best of education which won't come from any university. I will narrate that incident. I was given a task by Prof. Satish Dhawan to develop the first satellite launch vehicle SLV-3, to put ROHINI Satellite in orbit. This was one of the largest high technology space programmes undertaken in 1973. The whole space technology community, men and women, were geared up for this task. Thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians worked resulting in the realisation of the first SLV-3 launch on 10th August 1979. SLV-3 took off in the early hours and the first stage worked beautifully. But the mission could not achieve its objectives, as the control system in 2nd stage malfunctioned. There was a press conference at Sriharikota, after the event. Prof. Dhawan took me to the press conference. And there he announced that he takes responsibility for not achieving the mission, even though I was the project director and the mission director. When we launched SLV-3 on 18th July 1980, successfully injecting the Rohini Satellite in to the orbit, again there was a press conference and Prof. Dhawan put me in the front to share the success story with the press. What we learn from this event is that the leader gives the credit for success to those who worked for it, and he absorbs the failures. This is the leadership. The scientific community in India has the fortune to work with such leaders, which resulted in many accomplishments. This success generated great happiness among all my team members.

Pokhran incident

On 11th May 1998 the then Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission Dr R Chidambaram and myself and some of our team members were working for the results of the underground nuclear test followed by another two. We were very close to the test site and the countdown was progressing. At T-5 seconds, hundreds of parameters from instrumentation were displayed. The mission was to take place in a few seconds. At T-0, we witnessed the whole earth shrugged and thundered in front of us and all around. We saw part of the earth raising. What a powerful energy India generated through nuclear weapons?. This was another achievement which made me and my team happy.

Agni launch

The third event is about a missile system. On 11th April 1999, the AGNI-II took off with computer command from the beautiful island range. 600 parameters from the missile were monitored in real time through a series of radars, telemetry stations and ship borne instrumentations networked with our own communication satellites. The AGNI with its payload reached the pre-determined target, 2000 kms away. The partnership of many labs with academic institutions and industries brought this important success and it is another triumph for self reliance, amidst several technology denials by developed countries. This event also made me happy.

India 2020 - A Vision document.

I was the chairman for the TIFAC (Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council) for nearly a decade. The council evolved with the help of experts a road map on how to transform India into a developed country by 2020. Nearly twenty volumes of documents were generated and presented at that time to the then Prime Minister in 1996. There was certain experimental work with certain funding allotted for the project. This funding was utilized to see how productivity per hectare in Bihar can be multiplied, milk production in Punjab can be enhanced and the sugar cane quality and production can improve through various missions. All these activities arising out of India's millennium mission 2020, generated keen interest in the country which gave me tremendous amount of happiness.

Joy of removing the pain

The next important event I would like to share with you is about the fitment of FRO (Floor Reaction Orthosis) to a polio affected child. During my visit to one of the hospitals in Hyderabad, I found one child was struggling to walk with an artificial limb weighing over 3 kgs. At the request of Prof. Prasad of NIMS, Head of orthopedic department at that time, I asked my AGNI friends why we cannot use the composite material used for AGNI heat shield for fabricating FROs for polio affected patients. They immediately said it is possible. We worked on this project for sometime and came up with a FRO for the child weighing around 300 gms. Exactly, 1/10th of the weight which the child was carrying. The doctors helped us to fit the new light weight FRO on the child and the child started walking and running around. Her parents were also present. Tears rolled down on all of them through the joy of seeing their daughter running with light caliper. With the light weight device provided by the hospital she could run, ride a bicycle and do all sorts of things which she had been denied for a long time. The removal of the pain and the freedom attained by the child gave me a state of bliss which I never experienced during any of the four major events which I described earlier.

Knowledge Card

Proper learning makes a person great and self reliant:

Learning gives creativity

Creativity leads to thoughts

Thinking provides knowledge

Knowledge makes you great

When Can I sing the SONG OF INDIA?

Some of my friends had launched a web site in my name. I normally exchange views particularly with the young within the country and abroad. I had put forth two points in the web site for the young to share their thoughts. The first point I had putforth was, "India is a developing country for more than half a century. What will you do to make it Developed India?". The second one was, "When can I sing a song of India?". There is a connectivity. There were more than 100 responses. I thought of sharing with you four important suggestions that I received. One student from Meghalaya had responded, "I will become a teacher (rather a Professor of Engineering) since I am good in, as well as enjoy teaching. Since, I believe that one of the best ways in which to serve any nation is to be either a Professor or a soldier among many other professions". What a noble thought. Only from beautiful places like Meghalaya such beautiful thoughts can arise. Another young girl from Kerala says, flower gives beauty, flower gives fragrance, some flowers give honey, my aim is not to become a single flower. I want to make a garland out of flowers, that means I want to work for my country, just like a garland, with unity of minds. A twenty year old boy from Goa has responded, "I would become an electron and like an electron in the orbit, I will work ceaselessly for my country now onwards. With reference to the second point which I had putforth, a young man from Atlanta says, "when India builds the capability to put sanction against any country, if needed, then I will sing a song of India". What the young man meant was: Economic strength brings prosperity accompanied with national strength. Like that there are many responses. The cross section of people of young age group have inspired mind to make the nation great. It is important to recognise that India has a population of 700 million young people below 35 years. This is a big force. How to ignite the young minds? Only launching the vision for the nation will bring the young force into action. When I see such a young gathering bubbling with happiness and action oriented spirit and above all young minds, I believe, it is time for India to enter into the second vision led by the young of this country.

Song of Youth

Now I would like to administer the Song of Youth to you my young friends. As a young citizen of India, armed with technology, knowledge and love for my nation, I realize, small aim is a crime. I will work and sweat for a great vision, the vision of transforming India into a developed nation powered by economic strength with value system. I am one of the citizens of the billion, only the vision will ignite the billion souls. It has entered into me, the ignited soul compared to any resource is the most powerful resource on the earth, above the earth and under the earth. I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning to achieve the vision - Developed India.

What can I do for you

Every one of us has gone through the various phases of education from the childhood to profession. A scene appears in front of me. It is, a child, a teenager, an adult and a leader. How each one reacts to one situation? The situation is human need. The child cries, it means, "I need it, you give me. The teenager says, "I want to do it alone and leave me alone". The adult proclaims, "let us do it together". The leaders quality is "what can I do for you". A child's attitude is 'you give me', the leaders attitude is 'what I can do for you'. The teachers and parents have got a tremendous responsibility to convert the attitude of of child 'of you give me' to the attitude of a leader - when they grow up 'what I can do for you'.

The best part for a person is his or her learning period in school childhood. The prime learning environment is 5th to 17th years of age. Of course at home, love and affection are imparted. But again most of the time in a day is spent in preparing school's homework and study, eat, play and sleep. Hence the school hours for children are the best time for learning and need the best of environment and mission oriented learning with value system. During this stage, they need value based education in school and at home for them to become good citizens. This reminds me the echo from Bestolozzy, a great teacher's saying, "Give me a child for seven years. Afterwards, let the God or devil take the child. They cannot change the child." For parents and teachers, school campus and home have to have an integrated mission: education with value system. If the child misses the value based education of 25,000 hours in the school campus, no government or society can establish a transparent society or a society with integrity. Up to the age of 17 years, the father, the mother and the teacher lead a child to become an enlightened citizen. I also consider learning is a continuous process and knowledge acquisition continues.

Oath for national development and enlightened citizenship

Friends I have visited 23 states and union territories. Many of the time, I was in the rural environment in the states. Lot of hard work is being done by the people. I consider that the hard earned money must be utilized for children education, particularly for girl children and leading a happy life. Recently I read a book, titled "Six D". When I see a hundred thousand gathering the Six-D formula applies. A connectivity will emerge of more than a million people. Hence, I would like to administer a oath for enlightened citizenship, if you like.

Ten point oath for enlightened citizenship

1. I will love whatever profession I take up and I will try to excel in it.

2. From now onwards I will teach at least 10 persons to read and write those who cannot read and write.

3. I will plant ten saplings/trees and ensure their growth.

4. I will go to rural and urban areas to reform at least five persons from the habits of addiction and gambling.

5. I will take responsibility for removing the pain of ailing persons.

6. I will participate in the mission of realizing the economic strength of India by combining it with an education with value system and by transforming religion into a spiritual force.

7. I will not support any differentiation on account of community or language.

8. I will lead an honest life free from all corruption and will set an example for others to adopt a transparent way of life.

9. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and I will work hard to make them feel normal.

10. I will celebrate the success of my country and my people.

Conclusion

Young minds are the powerful resource on the earth, above the earth and under the earth. Ignited minds of this gathering will generate beautiful thoughts. Beautiful thoughts lead to high performance enthusiasm. Knowledge and enthusiasm are indeed the two major building blocks of developed India.

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