ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER SHRI ATAL
BIHARI VAJPAYEE AT THE FIRST CONVOCATION OF NAGALAND UNIVERSITY
AT KOHIMA
Following is the text of the Prime Minister
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s address at the first convocation of
Nagaland university at Kohima today:-
"It gives me
great pleasure to be with you at this first ever Convocation of
Nagaland University.
At the outset, my
hearty congratulations to all the students who received their
honours today. Convocation is an important milestone in the educational
journey of a student. To many, it marks the end of their formal
educational career and the beginning of their working life. To
others, it is just a stepping-stone to pursue higher studies.
To both, I wish success in their chosen paths.
In the finest Indian
tradition, today is the occasion for all students to express their
gratitude to the teachers who taught them, and to the institution
in which they studied.
Nagaland University
was established in 1994. So I was surprised when I was told that
this is the first convocation of the university. We know that
every newly created institution has some teething problems. But
if such teething troubles continue for nine long years, it is
surely a pointer that something was amiss somewhere.
I hope that hereafter
the convocation will be held each year without fail.
Convocations are
usually held in a university auditorium inside the university
campus, and not under a shamiana like this at the Central
Secretariat. But we all know that one of the teething problems
that your university has been facing is that it does not yet have
a proper infrastructure. Hence, I have a pleasant announcement
to make today.
The Government of
India will provide Rs. 35 crore for the development of proper
infrastructure for Nagaland University at a new location in Lumami.
This work will be implemented by a Central Sector organization
within the next three years. The university will be expanded and
new infrastructure created. Simultaneously, I would like the Kohima
campus of the University also to develop. I do hope that the new
infrastructure will be managed well.
I would like the
design and execution of this work to match the enchanting natural
beauty of Nagaland. The university campus should become a proud
and modern landmark in the State, befitting the stature of a centre
of excellence in higher education.
A good university
is, of course, more than a beautiful structure. The soul of a
university is the academic and research work that takes place
in it. The hallmark of a centre of excellence is the high standards
of teaching, a culture of single-minded pursuit of knowledge,
and top-quality research.
These cannot be created
by money alone. These attributes of excellence can be gained only
by the dedication, discipline and determination that the students,
teachers and university administration bring to bear on their
work.
In other words, it
is in your hands to steadily and continually enhance the stature
of your university. Since this is your very first convocation,
I commend you to take up this challenge and, like a good high-jumper,
set the bar of performance high and resolve to raise it higher
year after year.
You should dream
of making Nagaland University one of the preeminent universities
in India, attracting students not only from the North-East but
also from distant parts of India. Why only India, in the years
to come you should aspire to attract students from the countries
of South-East Asia. Higher education is rapidly becoming an important
item in the "export" strategies of countries planning
to strengthen the knowledge base of their economies. Today a large
number of universities not only in the United States and the UK,
but also in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and
Malaysia are attracting students from India.
Indian universities
and institutes of professional education should not lag behind
in a similar endeavour. And universities in the North-East, including
Nagaland University, should not lag behind their counterparts
in the rest of India.
Today this may seem
a distant and difficult dream for you to realize. But unless we
dream big, and strive hard to realise them, how will we progress?
How will we achieve big things?
Young Indians today
are no longer satisfied with slow progress and small achievements.
They are aiming at the stars. Didn’t our own young Kalpana Chawla
go on a space voyage? She gave up her life in the process. But
she proved that self-sacrifice in the pursuit of a lofty goal
is a reward in itself. She also proved that women are not second
to men in science and technology, in adventure and enterprise.
Dear students
and teachers, in recent years we in India have shown that
we too can aim big and achieve big. We are building world-class
highways, and Nagaland will soon be connected to this network.
We are building world-class telecom and IT infrastructure, and
Nagaland is already being connected to this infrastructure.
India has now emerged
as one of the global leaders in Information Technology. In the
past five years, our earnings through software exports have gone
up from Rs. 8,000 crore to nearly Rs. 40,000 crore. India’s pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies are making big strides.
In recent years,
whenever I go abroad, or dignitaries from abroad come to Delhi,
they tell me that they highly admire Indian scientists, engineers,
doctors, managers and other professionals working in their countries.
Suddenly, the world
is wondering how India has managed to achieve this. One important
reason for this is the sustained attention we have paid to expanding
and improving our higher education system. Therefore, I strongly
feel that young men and women in Nagaland should not be deprived
of the bright opportunities that are opening up in India and around
the world.
I know that Naga
students studying in Delhi and elsewhere in India are highly intelligent
and hardworking. But we need to create more opportunities for
young Nagas here in Nagaland itself. If lakhs of our young men
and women in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurgaon are employed
for providing IT-enabled services to banks, airlines, hospitals
and multinational companies abroad, why not in Kohima and Dimapur?
The setting up of
Nagaland University has been an important step in fulfilling your
aspirations. I assure you that the Centre will partner with the
State Government to do more. Specifically, the Government of India
will provide an additional Rs. 10 crore each for setting up a
Centre for Information Technology and a Centre for Horticulture
and Floriculture and Agro-Processing in this State.
Your university should
no doubt develop strengths in various branches of science and
technology. But you should also strengthen your work in humanities,
art and culture. Naga people are very spontaneous with their music.
I have always believed that those who can sing spontaneously,
who can dance naturally are intrinsically good people.
Your university should
expand your research in the oral traditions of Nagaland. You should
also promote sports, since Naga youth are very talented in various
sports. I recall here the great name of Dr. T. Ao, the first captain
of India’s football team to the Olympics.
Speaking of sports
and physical education, I am happy to announce that the Government
of India will provide Rs. 15 crore for building a new Sainik School
in Kohima. We also want to promote adventure tourism.
Friends, this
is my first visit to Nagaland. What has appealed to me the most
is that Nagaland presents a fine synthesis of tradition and modernity.
Each tribe here is justly proud of its rich tradition, which has
been handed down the generations. Each tribe celebrates the brave
deeds of its ancient heroes.
But I also see that
young Nagas want to achieve similar ambitious deeds in pursuing
challenges of the modern world. They know how modernity has transformed
life in many neighbouring countries in South-East Asia.
All of us know that
India’s North-Eastern region is a gateway to South-East Asia.
There are so many cultural and spiritual bonds, as well as racial
and climatic similarities between the two regions. In recent years,
the Government of India has consciously pursued what we call the
"Look East Policy" to give a contemporary content to
India’s close ties with South-East Asia and East Asia.
As you know, India
has now become a summit partner of ASEAN. In this capacity, I
participated in the second India-ASEAN summit in Bali earlier
this month. We have signed a landmark agreement to promote free
trade and investment between India and the ASEAN countries in
a time-bound manner. We want to start this with Thailand, where
I went from Bali.
In February, I will
be going to attend the first summit of BIMSTEC countries. BIMSTEC
aims at promoting economic cooperation between Bangladesh, India,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The Mekong-Ganga
Cooperation is another initiative that seeks to strengthen economic
ties between countries through which these two great rivers flow.
We are also working on a highway going from Imphal to Myanmar
to Thailand.
All these initiatives
promise to give a big boost to agriculture, industry and other
economic activities in Nagaland and other North-Eastern States.
Equally important, these hold the promise of opening up alternative
routes to connect India’s eastern coast with the North-East.
Friends, all
this should convince you that a bright future of progress and
prosperity is awaiting the people of Nagaland and the rest of
the North-East. However, the doors of this future will remain
closed until we establish peace and create a life free of fear
here.
Unfortunately, there
are certain organizations in this region that are misguiding the
youth to embrace the ideology of extremism, exclusivism and divisiveness.
I believe that it is for the schools, colleges and universities
to impart the right education to young people, so that their minds
erect a strong barrier against destructive influences.
Look at the positive
developments around the world. Nations are coming together to
strengthen the bonds of cooperation. The whole of Europe, which
was the theatre of two World Wars, is being welded into a single
Union. ASEAN is an excellent example of working together for common
prosperity.
This being the case,
why should the North-East be a picture of mistrust and conflict?
At the civic
reception earlier today I said that the Central Government is
ready for a dialogue with any organization that is prepared to
give up the path of violence. There is no issue that cannot be
resolved through dialogue – sincere, sustained and patient dialogue.
I am happy that a
good beginning has been made in Nagaland, and good progress achieved.
I want to thank all the people and organizations in Nagaland who
have contributed to the peace process. We can achieve much faster
progress in our efforts with the involvement of all sections of
Naga society and with unity among the various organizations in
Nagaland.
As far as the Central
Government is concerned, let there be no doubt in anyone’s minds
that we are as keen as you are to achieve permanent peace with
honour and dignity for the people of Nagaland. We fully respect
your unique identity. It will be protected. We are proud of your
culture. It too will be protected.
I assure you that
we will always be sensitive to the needs and concerns of the people
of Nagaland, as also of the people of other North-Eastern States.
Similarly, the people belonging to each State, and each ethnic
group, in the North-East should be sensitive to the needs and
concerns of their neighbours.
Let us leave behind
all the unfortunate things that happened in the past. For too
long this fair land has been scarred and seared by violence. It
has been bled by the orgy of the killings of human beings by human
beings. Each death pains me. Each death diminishes us. My Government
has been doing everything possible to stop this bloodshed, so
that we can together inaugurate a new era of peace, development
and prosperity in Nagaland.
The past cannot be
rewritten. But we can write our common future with our collective,
cooperative efforts. In this sacred endeavour, I call upon the
intellectuals and educated youth of Nagaland to take the lead.
And I fervently hope that Nagaland University will become one
of the main sources of education, enlightenment, inspiration and
energisation for building a New Nagaland.
Before I conclude,
let me recall the wise words of late Dinuo, the great Naga poetess
of the fifties, whose poetry deserves to be studied by students
in all Indian universities.
Our Life
Our life makes
the Day
Our life makes
the Night
Our life is made
by us
Our life is destroyed
by us
Thank you".
