Sunday, May 24, 2009

Dr Kalam & India's Missile Programme

Dr.Kalam and India’s Missile Programme


Kudos to Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam for winning the highest civilian award-“Bharat Ratna”. Government also deserves congratulations for conferring the award on an eminent scientist and architect of India’s integrated guided missile programme, thus making a welcome departure from tradition. Dr. Kalam’s contribution to our missile programme and self-reliance in military hardware are unparalleled in the history of the country.

India has a vast reservoir of scientific and technical manpower. However, despite having abundance of talent in the country, our achievements in the international arena are dismal. It does not require a Commission of enquiry or research scholar to find out the reason. We Indians are not only reluctant to recognise talent but also suppress and strangulate talent. While Indian scientists and technocrats are holding exalted positions in various parts of the globe, many of us still believe in super power screwdriver technology. No wonder even after 50 years of independence our achievement in indigenisation and self reliance are paltry.

We quote Japan day in and day out but never follow their qualities. In Japan everybody whether a teenager or an old man stand on his own feet, in India even highly placed persons proudly talk of their connections implying that they can not stand on their own feet. There is a popular joke that a Japanese impressed with the rich and diverse resource of India, offered to make India like Japan within a period of one year, Indian made a counter proposal to make Japan like India within a period of six months

It is hoped that Dr. Abdul Kalam’s incredible achievements and the latest laurel he achieved will inspire other budding scientists and technocrats to reach greater heights in the years to come. This will be the harbinger of Indian resurgence in science and technology.

If we make a little change in our outlook and attitude by recognising and rewarding talent, India can make spectacular progress in all the fields and thereby remove the oft repeated slogan chanted by our students of commerce and economics that “India is a rich country inhabited by poor people” from our lexicons.

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