I do not propose to talk today about the need for reforming our educational system. Eminent educationists and leaders of public opinion have from time to time given expression to views which are well known. The entire process of education has to be viewed as an integrated whole and we have to be clear about the objectives that we wish to achieve. As you all know, the country is engaged at present in a process of economic development. Indeed we are going through what may be termed a period of industrial revolution. A large number of structural, industrial and other types of units are being set up throughout the country. For manning these, the country needs a large number of well trained technical people.
The Aligarh University has devoted considerable attention to engineering education and other universities have also done the same. Four large technical institutions have been set up in the country. Now that we are contemplating a fourth Plan whose size would be equal to that of all the first three Five Year Plans put together, our requirements for technical personnel will be substantially larger. I should, therefore, like all universities and technical institutions to make an assessment of the expansion that they can undertake for increasing the number of students for technical courses and to formulate specific proposals.
The academic content of technical education has to be good and substantial, but it is equally important that our young engineers and scientists should have a practical approach to problems. I would like them to be anxious to use their own hands in order to do a good job. It is an approach of this nature that will enable the country to make rapid headway in the matter of industrial development.
I would now like to say a few words to you, my young friends, who have already graduated and have received their degrees and diplomas today. The completion of education marks a turning point in the life of every individual. Naturally your anxiety must be to get suitable employment which is essential for finding the means to live. Opportunities for employment are being created increasingly as our development plans are implemented. The fourth Five Year Plan, for instance, which will commence in less than a year and a half from now, envisages altogether about twenty million jobs. It cannot be said that every one who acquired a degree or a diploma will find employment immediately but most of you would in due course find yourselves employed in one capacity or another. There is equality of opportunity for everyone and to a large extent your future is really in your own hands.
Whatever your station in future life, each one of you should first of all think of yourselves as citizens of the country. This confers on you certain rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution, but it also subjects you to certain responsibilities which also have to be clearly understood. Ours is a democracy which enjoins freedom to the individual, but this freedom has to be subjected to a number of voluntary restraints in the interests of organised society. And these voluntary restraints have to be exercised and demonstrated in every-day life. A good citizen is one who obeys the law, whether there is a policeman around or not, and who takes delight in performing his civic duties. In the olden days the sense of self restraint and discipline was inculcated by the combined effort of the family and the teacher. The economic stresses of present-day life unfortunately do not leave enough time to the parents to look after their children. In the educational institutions the numbers have grown so large as to take away the benefits which used to accrue formerly by personal contact between the teacher and the taught.
Inevitably, our young students are often left much to their own resources. Often this creates problems which we all know about. This is an important aspect which needs thorough examination. The responsibility of our young citizens is great. In my view every station in life is important in itself. Work has its own dignity and there is great satisfaction in doing one’s own job to the best of one’s ability. Whatever the duties, we should apply ourselves with sincerity and devotion. Such an approach, apart from being good in itself, also has the added advantage of opening avenues for further advancement. We have to see whether we have done our own job well before thinking of criticising anybody else. All too often, we succumb to the temptation of decrying others without bothering to look at ourselves. Never forget that loyalty to the country comes ahead of all other loyalties. And this is an absolute loyalty, since one cannot weigh it in terms of what one receives.
It is essential to remember that the entire country is one and that any one who fosters or promotes separatism or fissiparous tendencies is not our true friend. What I have said stems from a desire to see that the youth of our country prepares itself in a disciplined and determined manner for the responsibilities of tomorrow. A democratic country is sustained not by the greatness of a few but by the cooperative efforts of the many. The future of the country is in your hands and as the older generations complete their task the new ones come along to take their place. If they are well equipped as individuals and as citizens, the country’s future will be bright indeed. At a time when you are at the threshold of a new period in your life I would urge you to play your role with confidence and dignity.
Mr Vice-Chancellor, you have paid a rich and fitting tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s faith in secularism and the keen interest and unfailing encouragement which he extended to this University at all times. Our position with regard to secularism is known so well that it hardly needs any reiteration. It is embodied in our Constitution, which ensures equal respect for all religions and equal opportunities for all citizens, irrespective of their caste and creed and the faith which they profess. In spite of a seeming diversity, there is a fundamental unity in India which we all cherish, and it has to be our constant endeavour to maintain and strengthen this unity. The country can progress only if it does away completely with fissiparous tendencies and emerges as an integrated whole. And it is in the field of education that the seed of secularism has to be sown at the earliest stages, so that the plant can be carefully nurtured as it grows.
The world is at the moment passing through very difficult times. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that never before in the recent past had mankind to grapple with problems of as complex a nature as are confronting it today. It is imperative that satisfactory and, as far as possible lasting solutions should be found to these problems without undue delay, otherwise there is a danger of the situation getting out of hand. Mutual suspicions, hatred and ill will between nations and groups of persons have to be removed at all costs and sincere and determined efforts have to be made to ensure that differences and outstanding problems are resolved by mutual discussion in a spirit of understanding, and not by the use of force. Wars and conflicts, as we know to our cost, always create more problems than they succeed in solving. The great advances made by science and technology, particularly in the field of nuclear and thermonuclear energy, have placed an almost unlimited power at the disposal of mankind. This power can be used either for constructive or for destructive purposes and it is up to us to try to derive the fullest possible benefit from it.
We in India have our own special problems. No one can deny that some of them are of a serious nature and must be tackled with vigour and determination. Our national objective has been defined clearly and unambiguously. We aim that every citizen should be provided with the basic necessities of life and should have complete freedom to lead the life of his or her own choice. We aim at a democratic society, strong and free, in which every citizen, irrespective of his religious belief will occupy an equal and honoured place, and will be given full and equal opportunities for growth and service. We aim at the removal of untouchability and the doing away of the prevailing serious inequalities in status and wealth. We are opposed to the concentration of wealth in a few hands. Our rich cultural heritage, extending over countless centuries, is not the culture of this community or that but the synthesis of the cultures of the great peoples who lived here at various times in the past. The objectives I have mentioned are by no means easy of achievement in their entirety. I know that we have met with only a limited degree of success so far, but we have to persevere until the goal is achieved.
I should like to mention here that the concept that Muslims constitute a minority in India and Hindus a majority is totally outmoded and this institution lives and progresses in the fulfilment of Rabindranath’s dreams.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.