Dr Kalam begins 'Lead India 2020 movement'

Aligarh, Jun 18: Former President A P J Abdul Kalam, highlighting ''poverty'' and ''lack of quality education'' as the country's two major problems, today said he has started a ''Lead India 2020 Movement'' with youngsters by designing a 10 point oath.

The former President was here as a Chief Guest in the 56th annual convocation of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Conveying that youth can make a difference to the society by contributing in the areas of literacy, environment, social justice, minimising rural urban divide and national development, Dr Kalam said, "the youth development has multiple dimensions." The youth, who works hard with a career goal, can altogether serve his family, society, nation and humanity, the former President claimed. Out of 6.6 billion people, two-thirds were living below the poverty line, while 50 per cent of the population even do not have access to safe drinking water. Even many people were not getting quality education, he noted. "Therefore, I have started a 'Lead India 2020 Movement' with the mission for young students based on the self designed ten point oath," Dr Kalam maintained. He urged the students of Aligarh Muslim University to come up with "out of the box" solutions to help people below poverty line gain access to quality education or even safe drinking water. Dr Kalam, who has authored the inspirational work, "Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India," said '' an ignited mind is the most powerful resource on the Earth, above the Earth and under the Earth." The mother, father and primary school teacher were the three sources to build a youth with righteousness in the heart, he added.

Turning to Wipro chairman Azim Premji, who was present on the dais, he said Aligarh should also get a taste of "Wipro knowledge and its mantra for achieving success based on hard work, customer's delight and a bit of luck." Dr Kalam and Mr Premji were conferred with honorary doctorates for their devoted efforts in the development of the country. The dignitaries, arriving in the ceremonial horse driven carriage escorted by the university riding squad, got a standing ovation from the audience in the convocation hall. More than 1400 post graduate and 3000 graduate degrees were also awarded to the students this year. A student of MBBS, Sumaiyya, bagged 12 medals, including five gold models and was given special mention during the event. The missile man of India told Mr Premji that Aligarh should also get a taste of Wipro knowledge and its mantra for achieving success that was based on hardwork, customer's delight and a bit of luck.

The WIPRO chairman said the most important attribute required in a successful individual was "wisdom and the ability to emerge from the failures." He attributed his success to 'the 100, 000 employees of Wipro'. Stating that education can change the current scenario, Mr Premji said, "It is only education that can set free the tremendous potential of our nation." Talking about the corporate social responsibility that his organization had undertaken, he explained the 'WIPRO cares' trust took up disaster management and helped people struck by natural and manmade disasters.

The Azim Premji foundation was working with village children imparting them primary education, he said, adding, ''The trust has employed 1600 NGOs to upgrade the teaching and community involvement at the grassroot level.'' He emphasized the need for motivating the society, especially teachers in the rural areas, to impart education to the children.

UNI