GUWAHATI: “The 11 vows given by Bapu are as relevant today as they were before. Inculcating the moral values and understanding diversity in the light of Gandhi’s life is the need of the present time”, stated Prof Ved Prakash, former Chairman of UPSC while delivering a speech remembering the Father of the Nation to more than 2,400 students at the Central Auditorium of University of Science & Technology Meghalaya (USTM) on Tuesday.
USTM celebrated Gandhi Jayanti on Tuesday as Wednesday (October 2) is a holiday for the institute. On the occasion, USTM also launched a mobile app for students— mystudent@chancellorustm — which will facilitate every student of the university to communicate with the Chancellor directly for any complaint or for sharing their thoughts.
Addressing the students, Prof Ved Prakash said, “Education is essential for attainment of the goal of peace and it can be attained through morality and ethics. If Bapu would have been with us, his topmost priority would have been to deal with the ongoing threat of nuclear war by various nation states.”
His second priority would have been safety of children. Third priority would have been to focus on the prevalent enormous inequality in our country, fourthly to deal with the ecological crisis faced by the country, fifthly to emphasise on renewable energy, and finally to respect the composite culture of the country”.
He said that education must be based on a solid foundation which “helps us to know who we are, it must teach to act with greater autonomy and responsibly, it must develop respect for pluralism in terms of faith, culture, cast and ethnicity”. He mentioned that Gandhi always believed in resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Alaka Sarma, noted educationist, Gandhian and Director (Hony) of the International Centre for Gandhian Studies (ICGS) of USTM said, “From the currency notes in our pockets, Mahatma Gandhi must come into our hearts to bring us on the path of truth, non-violence and sustainability. Gandhi’s life itself is a message, she added.
Dr (Mrs) Vimal Rarh from SGTB Khalsa College of Delhi University and the Coordinator of National Resource Centre of Chemistry, MHRD also addressed the students.
Mentioning that the Government has various schemes for skill development, she said, “Our country does not need job seekers, but job creators. And for this, overall skill development is needed”.
In his address, Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor, USTM said that now was the time to inculcate the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi among the masses.
