It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here today at the 150th year celebrations of St Xavier's Kolkata. My best wishes to all the teachers, students and all those associated with this great and historic institution.

 

I am honoured to be in these august environs that have produced many great sons of India. I am specially honoured to be here on a street named after another great icon of this city, Mother Teresa.

 

 

The Christian missionaries who came to this country chose the path of education to reach out to the hearts and minds of the Indian people. St. Xavier's was built as a result of this ennobling vision of Jesuit priests. Today it continues to do what it did 150 years ago - which was to provide progressive, all round education to rich and poor, privileged and under-privileged and to children from all faiths and religions.

 

Institutions like St Xavier's laid the basis for English language education in Bengal. But the missionaries did not look upon learning as an elitist enterprise. They adopted an inclusive approach. St. Xavier's dominated the educational scene in Kolkata, but the fathers also built excellent schools in tribal areas.

 

The fathers learnt Indian languages and familiarized themselves with the customs and conditions of the regions of India where they worked.

 

I have been told by some alumni of St Xavier's that they were taught by Belgian-Jesuit priests who were erudite not only in European culture but also in Sanskrit and Bengali.

There were also fathers who could have made original contributions in science had they not chosen to respond to the call of priesthood.

 

A remarkable Jesuit priest called Father Lafont was responsible for the establishment in St. Xavier's of Kolkata's first Meteorological Observatory and the first Spectroscopic Observatory. He was also the inspiration behind the work of the scientist Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose, another towering Xaverian.

 

I would like to make a mention of another very distinguished old boy of St. Xaviers and a great son of India, Shri Jyoti Basu. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and I wish him a speedy recovery.

 

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore studied at St. Xavier's. Even though he was not inclined towards formal studies, the story Shri Aveek Sarkar related showed that he nonetheless valued the time he spent here.

 

Father de Peneranda's actions left behind a deep impact on his sensitive young mind. It is teachers like Father de Peneranda and the many dedicated fathers who came after him through their personal examples instilled in their students a moral compass to guide them through their later life.

 

The Christian fathers helped those they taught to become well rounded and cultured human beings. Their students were given the great gift of rational thought. This I think is the most important reason why St. Xavier's has sent forth to the world so many outstanding citizens of India who have become leaders in their respective fields. India does not need blind faith. We need rational thinking and a scientific temper to counter outdated dogmas and ideologies.

 

The 19th century, when St Xavier's was founded, was a period of great intellectual ferment in Bengal. Many historians have called this period the Bengal Renaissance. It was also a period of profound religious introspection leading to an understanding and appreciation of various religious traditions.

The coming together of European and Indian culture had made this flowering possible.

 

The Jesuit fathers of St Xavier's, self-consciously or otherwise, became a part of this confluence of cultures and learning. They made themselves an integral part of and reinforced India's culture of religious tolerance and secularism.

 

We owe these fathers a debt of gratitude and I salute them for their immense contribution to the intellectual enrichment of our people and to nation building.

 

Our Government has made universal access to education one of the corner stones of our strategy of inclusive growth. I am delighted to learn that the rate of literacy has been going up significantly in the past few years. I am also happy to learn that enrollment ratios are rising and drop out rates are falling.

 

I wish to see every child in our country becoming literate over the next decade.

We must aim for 100% literacy across India. I would also like to see every child have access to school education within reasonable distance from his or her home. When I was a young boy I had to walk miles to go to school. That should not be the lot of our children in future.

 

Our Government has raised public investment in education very steeply. Never before has so much money been invested in education. I urge every State government to ensure that this money is well spent.

 

I also urge all those associated with school education in our country to pay special attention to the modernization of our syllabi and to the overall development of our children - their intellectual, physical, moral and social development.

We must pay attention to children's health, to physical education and community and national service. School education must focus on the all-round development of a child's personality.

 

Finally, let me add that I would like to see a sharp increase in the enrollment of the girl child in schools. Every girl child should have the opportunity to fulfill her potential and become equal citizens of our great Republic.

 

I assure you that in the months to come we will pay even greater attention to the development of school education. I wish St. Xavier's a bright and purposeful future.

 

Jai Hind.