A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Quotes

Leading and managing are two different ways of organising people. The manager uses a formal, rational method, while the leader uses passion and stirs emotions. A leader is someone whom people naturally follow by choice, whereas a manager must be obeyed. A manager may only have obtained his position of authority through time and loyalty given and not as a result of his leadership qualities. A leader may have no organisational skills, but his vision unites people.

Dreams are not those that we see in our sleep; they should be the ones that never let us sleep.

No country has so far implemented an e-governance system for over one billion people. Therefore, it is a big challenge for us.

Today I address professionals, business leaders and researchers on how they can contribute with innovative ideas to achieve these ten pillars. These are as follows: 1) A nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line. 2) A nation where there is equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water. 3) A nation where agriculture, industry and the service sector work together in symphony. 4) A nation where education with value systems is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination. 5) A nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists and investors. 6) A nation where the best of healthcare is available to all. 7) A nation where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free. 8) A nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and no one in the society feels alienated. 9) A nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, peaceful and happy and follows a sustainable growth path. 10) A nation that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership.

some poor child living in an obscure place, in an underprivileged social setting, may find a little solace in the way my destiny has been shaped. It could perhaps help such children liberate themselves from the bondage of their illusory backwardness and hopelessness.

the best way to win is to not covet the win too much, instead to keep a calm and open mind to new challenges.

In the humble environs of my boyhood, books were a scarce commodity. By local standards, however, the personal library of STR Manickam, a former ‘revolutionary’ or militant nationalist, was sizeable. He encouraged me to read all I could and I often visited his home to borrow books.

Firstly, he was always ready to listen.

Knowledge = Creativity + Righteousness + Courage

Many challenges need to be responded to: the emergence of multiparty coalitions as a regular form of government that need to rapidly evolve as a stable, two-party system;

I shared with the ninety-year-old Subramaniam his vision of a second Green Revolution. He told me about his dream of setting up a national agro foundation that would develop hybrid seeds. His foundation would adopt small and marginal farmers and provide them with laboratory facilities for soil testing and access to information on the weather and markets, so that they could earn more through enhanced yields and better prices for what they produced. He aimed at bringing a million farmers under the scheme. Visionaries don’t age!

We also need to increase the forest cover from 20 per cent to 40 per cent by 2020 as well as enrich the environment through mandatory zero liquid discharge and zero effluent discharge system policies for industrial waste, encourage power generation from biomass and municipal waste at city corporations and village municipalities and create 200,000 carbon-neutral village panchayats before 2020.

The concept of Tawhid explains an idea that innovation arises not from the mind of a single individual but from the synergy of multiple sources.

It is a story I never tire of telling, because to me it is the perfect coming together to science and spirituality-the twin driving forces of my life.

I know you have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly across the sun, alone and without a nest? You must forego your longing for the land of your memories to move into the dwelling place of your greater desires; our love will not bind you, nor will our needs hold you.