CLASS 11th
PROSE=4
A PRESIDENT SPEAKS
(Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam)
Long Question/Answers
Q1. What is Kalam vision for India?
Ans. Kalam has three visions for India. His first
vision is freedom. He says that India had its first vision of freedom in 1857.
We must protect this freedom.
Kalam’s second vision for India is of development.
He wants India to be a developed nation. He says that we are among the five top
nations of the world in terms of GDP. Our achievements are being globally
recognized. Yet we don’t see ourselves as a developed nation. It is because we
lack self-confidence. We must have self-confidence. Kalam’s third vision is to
see India as a Strong nation. He
wants India to stand up to the world. He says that we must be strong as a
military power and also as an economic power.
Q2. What does he say about our behavior in a foreign country?
Ans. Kalam says that in a foreign country, we behave
like a responsible and law-abiding citizen. We never do anything that is
unlawful or unworthy. If we are in Singapore, we don’t liltter on the road. In
Dubai, we don’t dare to eat in public during Ramadan. In Jeddah, we don’t dare
to go out with our head uncovered. In London, we do not try to bribe an
employee of the telephone exchange to bill our calls to someone else. In
Washington, we don’t dare to speed beyond 55mph. Similarly, in Australia or New
Zealand, we don’t throw an empty coconut shell on the beach. And in Tokyo, we
don’t spit paan on the streets, Kalam means to say that in a foreign country,
we are at our international best.
Q3. What does he (kalam0 say about our behavior in our own country?
Ans. Kalam says that we behave very differently when we are in
another country. We become very responsible and law-abiding. We never do
anything that is thought unlawful or unworthy there. But the moment we come
back and step on the Indian soil, we start throwing paper and garbage on the
road. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms. But we ourselves never
use these bathrooms properly; Kalam wonders why we can’t behave like a good
citizen in India also. We willingly follow a foreign system, but don’t care a
fig for our own.
Q4. Write, in brief, the idea conveyed in this lesson.
Ans.
The idea conveyed in this lesson is that we
Indians are very strange people. We are full of praise for everything that is
foreign. We are full of contempt for everything that is Indian. In a foreign
country, we behave like a law-abiding citizen. But in our own country, we
hardly ever care for any law. We blame the government for all ills. We find
fault with fault with the law. We say that the system is rotten. But we very easily
forget that we are a part of the system. We go to the polls and choose a
government. Then we sit back comfortably and expect the government to do
everything for us. But we ourselves never fulfill our duties to the nation.
Q5. Write a note on ‘Social Responsibility”.
Ans. ‘Social Responsibility” means our
responsibility as individuals towards the society in which we live. To maintain
the peace and order in the society is not only our duty, but our responsibility
also. So we should be law-abiding and disciplined. We shouldn’t blame the
government or the system for all the ills. Rather we should perform our duties
towards the system because we are a part of the system. We should be true
patriots and noble sons of our motherland.
1 Comments