lauding Indian culture and its traditional educational system, Nobel laureate and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai lama on Wednesday said that India has a flourishing democratic setup, which has paved the way for peace, progress and stability throughout the world.
The Tibetan leader was speaking on the occasion of the 21st convocation of the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) where he was the chief guest. "India is a very rich country full of educational knowledge and wisdom and there is an urgent need of harnessing that, especially by the youths of the country for educational prosperity," said the Dalai lama.
He stressed the need to revive the traditional education system for ushering in a realistic society, which in return gives new heights to the philosophy of the gurus and the rishis. Calling upon the youth of the country to work for the humanity with a stable mind, wisdom and the force given to them by god, Dalai lama said that the three big civilisations — Indus Valley, Indian and Chinese — in the world has given new vistas to humanity and, incidentally, all of them lie in the Asian continent.
"The ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, has contributed a lot to the educational platform in the society and there is an urgent need to study it and understand the values enshrined in the literature," said Dalai lama. The Dalai lama was conferred honorary D.lit. degree by Governor and Chancellor Urmila Singh on the occasion. At the convocation, 194 students were conferred Ph.D degrees and 123 students were decorated with gold medals for excellence in various streams.
Another Nobel laureate, Dr RK Pachauri, who has been heading the prestigious Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change, was conferred the honorary degree of D.Sc. Renowned historian SR Mehrotra was conferred honorary D. lit degree in social sciences while Dr. Priyadarshani R Kalara was awarded honorary Ph. D degree in medical sciences. Speaking on the occasion, Governor Urmila Singh emphasised upon developing an ideal atmosphere in educational institutions, whichcould provide equal opportunities of growth and development to every student.