Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday exhorted youths to be ‘innovative’ in a constructive way to face the challenges prevailing in the country and across the world.
Speaking at the 98th convocation function of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), PM Modi said that there are a number of challenges before the country as well as world and in such a situation, India can play an important role by showing the way to overcome these challenges.
“I want to throw this challenge before young men and women of this country. Come up with innovations that may help the world in bringing down temperatures a bit, help humanity overcome the grave energy crisis it is likely to face if renewable and sustainable alternative sources are not found”, Modi told the gathering of BHU scholars and academics.
He said students should dream of finding solutions to the problems that are being faced by the country and the world. “Innovation is most important for us... New research, not just to obtain PhDs through cut-paste...,” he said.
As his remarks drew an amused response from the audience, the Prime Minister quipped he had felt that those at BHU would not be aware of “cut-paste” aspect of research but even if they were, he hoped they did not use it.
He said, he had in the past consulted Nobel laureates about the prevalence of “sickle-cell disease in tribal families” which is even worse than cancer. But, he felt “our own researchers can find a better solution”.
Making an indirect attack on the state government for its sugarcane police, Modi said the sugarcane growers of UP are in trouble because of losses. “They could profit if sugarcane is linked with petroleum products,” and asked BHU students to make some discovery so as to benefit the cane growers and also be beneficial to the environment.
Talking about global warming with which the world is struggling to cope with, he said Indians believe exploitation of nature is a crime and see God in plants and mother in a river. “In such a country, can’t we find a concrete solution to global warming,” Modi asked.
He said research is also needed in making renewable energy increasingly viable.
“We need technology that can help us realise the goal of increasing our solar energy output,” the Prime Minister said.
In the backdrop of the JNU issue, Prime Minister Modi said the alumni of BHU feel proud by stating that they had studied in this university, and it did not matter whether they lived in America or in any other country and what positions they occupied.
Speaking about the glory of India’s traditions, he referred to yoga and said while it has existed for long, there was a time when “we lived with a mindset that we did not feel that the entire world would take to yoga”.
last year, he noted, the UN accepted observing International Yoga Day on June 21 every year and 192 countries joined in celebrating it.
Modi also referred to the country’s ancient past and said that in the Taittreya Upanishad, the aspects related to holding a ‘Deekshant’ (Convocation) ceremony is mentioned.
“Deekshant (convocation) must not mean sheekshant (end of education), since the real learning begins after one faces the world upon completion of former studies,” he said.
He said that even Mahatma Gandhi had established Gujarat Vidyapeeth with similar objectives as those of the BHU founder Malviya.
He also referred to several school children present on the occasion as his personal guests and said he wanted even poor children to dream and achieve the highest education.
Modi, who had declined to accept honorary Doctorate from BHU, offered his “apologies” to the University authorities for this, saying he wanted to keep away from such things. “Please do not mind. The honour you gave me by inviting me on this occasion of the University’s centenary is enough for me. But I have always believed that I should stay away from such laurels,” he said.
Modi, who is lok Sabha member from Varansi, went on to add that this temple city has already given him something which no university degree can match. “I am already indebted to Varanasi for this,” he said.
Earlier, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said that there was a cross-border education cell in the name of Mahamana to be established in BHU, which would contribute to nation-building. The University Chancellor Dr Karna Singh appealed to the Prime Minister to do something to make BHU among the 100 top universities of the world.
The Prime Minister gave away medals and degrees to 34 students who topped their classes in 2015, including physically-challenged Pankhudi Jain.
The convocation began with garlanding of Bharat Ratna Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya’s bust, followed by ‘kulgeet’ of university sung by varsity students. Registrar Dr KP Upadhyay conducted the proceedings while Vice-Chancellor Dr GC Tripathi welcomed the guests. State forest minister Durga Prasad Yadav was also present on the occasion.