Former President APJ Abdul Kalam addresses students at SK Memorial Hall in Patna on Friday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Friday advised thousands of students gathered at SK Memorial Hall in Patna to dream big and strive to achieve them.

Delivering a lecture — “You have to dream before your dreams can come true” — organised by Punjab-based Gulzar Group of Institutes and Kalam’s organisation What Can I Give?, he said: “An individual should have an aim for 20 years ahead. He or she should focus on acquiring knowledge continuously and work hard towards achieving the aim and persevere to overcome all problems.”

Addressing the students, Kalam said: “Above all, you will need a strong will power and confidence to achieve your goals.”

The former President said corruption was the root cause of all problems in the country. “Graft is not only in government offices but is also deeply rooted in the society. We should try to fight corruption from our homes.”

To enlist the support of the youth who had come to hear him in his crusade against corruption, Kalam asked them to take an oath: “From today onwards, I will give my affection and love to my parents and ensure my home is free from any kind of corruption.”

Social problems were not his only concern. Kalam also focused on environmental protection and sanitation in his speech.

“Plant at least five saplings and nurture them. Focus for cleanliness at your home and neighbourhood,” he said, adding that youths should become a partner of the local administration and the law enforcement agencies to keep their surroundings spick and span.

The students were excited to listen to the man who is a role model for many. Neha Rohtagi, a BCom student of Patna Women’s College, said: “Though I am a commerce student, Kalam is my role model. His message is not confined to science but he also tells us how to live a happy and peaceful life.”

The student said she was impressed with Kalam’s advice to plant saplings.

“We have heard and read about ecological problems. But if everyone pledges to plant at least five saplings and care for them, the problem of ecological imbalance would be solved easily,” she said.

Abhishek Raj, a Class X student of Sainik School, Tilaiya, who had also come to hear Kalam, said: “It was a rare opportunity to hear him. What I gathered is that a student should try to find a scientific interpretation to every thing he encounters in his day-to-day life. Scientific interpretation can not only help a student in his development but also in producing a youth force having rational thoughts.”