Former President APJ Abdul Kalam was in New York earlier this week, encouraging people to dream big and to act with integrity to make India a developed nation by year 2020.

Addressing a gathering of 250 students and 750 community leaders at the community centre auditorium of the Hindu Temple in Flushing, New York, Kalam challenged everyone to think loud about ‘what should I be remembered for, when I leave this world’.

The gathering, representing a broad spectrum of Non Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin, posed various questions to the former President. He also interacted with students from area colleges and universities.

To a query from one of the students on what should Diaspora do for their adopted nation, Kalam said: “We should give 100 per cent to where we live and work while committing ourselves to give back to our motherland.

“The ‘People’s President’ said the Diaspora had been contributing to US in many ways — whether it is in science, technology, economics, arts, commerce or management.

“NRI and PIO children are also performing extremely well. Recently, I cam across a press news about Shivani Sud, an Indian American high school student who won the top prize at the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search contest in the US for her project on cancer and many more. I congratulate Shivani Sud and also many Indian children performing so well here.”

“Mission of life should be to earn knowledge and wealth even if it needs crossing the oceans. That is our great culture. I am delighted to see all of you performing well in your profession crossing multiple oceans. America is born out of migration of many millions from many countries. If people have not moved from one country to another, many nations would not have been born,” he said.