To,
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam,
President,
Republic of India.

Subject: An appeal from a student wondering about his future.

Respected Sir,

As much as this is an appeal of an ordinary citizen of India to the President of this great nation, it is also a personal question asked by a student to a teacher.

At the onset, I would like to tell you, that I am an engineering student studying in third year in a small hilly place called Karjat. It is about one hundred kilometers from Mumbai. My college name is Konkan Gyanpeeth College of Engineering.
We have about one thousand students studying here, all trying very hard to become a responsible and mature citizen of this country. So that not only they make a living for themselves but also do something for the nation.

All of us share the same feeling. Of graduating with a degree and making a mark however small it may be. And all of us realize that in order to do so we need to have a better and higher education. And that’s where we see ourselves failing.

Failing not because, we don’t trust our capabilities nor that we don’t have the means to achieve them. But for the fact that someone else’s idea of equality means cutting my chances to half.

Sir, the 50% reservation proposed by the government is not just a hindrance to growth but also very discouraging to someone like me.

Why should I be given half a chance, when I might be more capable than someone else?
Why should my efforts be curtailed, when I might have worked more for it?

Our Members of the Parliament say it is to bring Indians on level terms. I ask, in fifty years of our independence we have not achieved such basics? Is our country still gripped in caste system? Is this our way to become global leaders?

Reservation in itself is an idea that divides the people. It will just bring the feeling that you are here because you were given a free ride and not because you deserved it.
Reservation of any kind is not good. Seeing the yearly results of class tenth and twelfth makes me think that since girls are doing consistently better than boys, rather give the boys a reservation for I am sure in future girls will be so far ahead, that boys will not be getting admissions.

Did people like Kiran Bedi need reservation? During British rule did Indian scholars piggy back on reserved seats to become global leaders? If they could do it, why are the capabilities of my generation being doubted?

As a student I am not against a fellow student trying to compete against me, I rather have the competition so as to challenge myself. But I believe and strongly so, that I should not have to aim at only half the resource that this country can provide to me.

The entrance examination to IITs and IIMs are very tough in itself. They just got more difficult for few of us.

The Tricolour brings more beauty and colour in my life than the rainbow itself, but the very thought of being made to feel unwanted in my own country pains me and I think many others.

It is for this reason that I request you to guide the country during confusing times. When futures are about to be made or destroyed.

As a student I would like to request one of my idle, who grew up from a small town of this country to be my generations most knowledgeable person, to help us. I request Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to help the students of India.

As written in your book, “ A developed India should be able to take care of its strategic interests through its internal strengths and its ability to adjust itself to new realities.” The new reality is that caste system cannot help a country prosper. It will only tie this budding Super power in shackles of past prejudice and a feeling of not being wanted.

As I end my letter of request, I once again quote from your book “ If we come to look upon ourselves as a divided people with no pride in our past and no faith in our future, what else can we look forward to except frustration, disappointment and despair?”




Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,



Mayur Milan.