Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's remarks at the Mahindra United World College of India

I am delighted to be here at the Mahindra United World College of India. I compliment my friend, Keshub Mahindra, and his associates and colleagues, for taking the initiative to create this remarkable institution. I believe you have already made a mark for yourself on the global knowledge network and your students are doing well in some of the best institutions of the world.

I must compliment the hard work and dedication of the students and teachers. I derive great satisfaction from the achievements of our youth in the highly competitive world of learning. Long before Indian business was willing to face global competition, Indian students were willing to do so.

Recall how our former Rashtrapati K R Narayanan came from a poor and underprivileged background but went to the United Kingdom, during the days of the empire, and acquitted himself admirably in his studies. He never asked for a level playing field. He, like thousands of us who went to village schools and fought hard to earn scholarships, went and tested our worth against those who were born with a silver spoon, nay a golden spoon, in their mouth!

Over the years we have seen boys and girls from modest social and economic backgrounds passing out of our institutions of higher learning and writing competitive examinations to secure admission in the best institutions of the world. It is they who have shaped the image of Brand India across the world. Doctors, scientists, engineers, musicians, teachers, bankers, across a range of professions, Indians have faced stiff competition on un-level playing fields and done well.

I am sure students of this institution too will make us all proud. In doing so, they hold an example for our business leaders, who must also learn to compete on un-level playing fields and prove their mettle, like you do. Let me say, there is in fact no game that is ever truly played on a level playing field. Playing fields differ, as every cricketer will tell you. But they do not sit back and demand a field and pitch of their liking. They learn to play on the pitch they are given and try to defeat the opponent.

I hope my friend Keshub will instill that message into each of the students here. His own company has done well in the era of globalisation and I compliment him and Anand for their creativity, their enterprise and their tenacity. Hard work pays, enterprise pays. So, young friends, I urge each of you to pay attention to both.

Our Government has launched an ambitious programme to make elementary education available to every child in our country. We have launched a Five Year Plan that I have dubbed a "National Education Plan", because of the public investment we are making in education. Our education system is in urgent need of both investment and reform. At every level of the learning pyramid.

We need a modern education system for the 21st Century. A system that will prepare every one of our children for the challenges of the future, and not make them prisoners of the past. We need a system that is both compassionate and demanding. No child should ever feel left out for no fault of her or his. No child should nurse a grievance that his creativity has been suppressed. No child should ever feel compelled to do things that she or he may not be best euipped to do. We need a humane educational system. We also need a creative and forward-looking system.

While our Government is placing great emphasis on improving "access" to education for all, I would like to also urge our teachers to pay equal attention to excellence and creativity. In the corner of every classroom there is a C V Raman waiting to be discovered, a Jagdish Chandra Bose, a Haragobind Khorana and an Abdus Salam.

Recently I complimented the Indian mathematician, Professor S RR Varadhan when he received the highest award in Mathematics, the Abel Award, known as the Maths Nobel. He wrote back to me and said that what he was able to do in his work was due to the good training he received at school and college in Chennai and Kolkata. It is the foundation laid in India, the enabled him to make a mark globally. I hope each one of you will pass out of this school with such a firm foundation. And, I hope you will never forget what you owe to your parents, your teachers and your school for what you achieve. Wherever you are in the world, allow a little bit of India to be alive within your mind and soul.

I am happy that my visit to your campus is associated with the inauguration of a Van Vihar Biodiversity Park & Reserve. I hope this Park and Reserve will grow into an oasis of peace and natural beauty in a world where green spaces are increasingly becoming a rarity. As the ominous shadow of global warming looms large over us, creative ventures such as this are the need of the hour. By taking the initiative to develop a project as marvelous and unique as Van Vihar, you students have demonstrated that the next generation is more than capable of preserving and protecting our fragile eco-system for the benefit of generations to come.

We in India are committed to sustainable development. Our Government will take up such initiatives as are required to address the challenge of carbon emissions and depleting forest cover. Our people have for centuries worshipped Mother Nature as their own. We worship the Sun God, the Rain God, we name our rivers after our gods and goddesses. Respect for the environment is our religion. I hope such values remain embedded in you as you go forth into the wider world. I once again compliment Keshub and all those associated with this institution. May your tribe increase and flourish!

Thank you.