Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address at the Annual Convocation of Visva Bharati University

"I am very happy to be here with you this afternoon for your annual Convocation. I extend my sincere felicitations to the students and scholars who will be leaving these precincts and making their way in the outside world. You have had the privilege of having imbibed learning, knowledge and experience in a unique environment. I have no doubt that you will be exemplary in whatever you choose to do and successful in meeting the challenges that await you.

A short while ago, I had the honour of lighting a lamp at the Shantiniketan Griha. This was, for me, a deeply moving experience. Built by Maharishi Debendranath Tagore almost a century and a half ago, the Shantiniketan Griha is a symbol of the self-renewing culture and intellectual heritage of Shantiniketan. It is a matter of great satisfaction that this monument, along with certain other heritage structures, has been restored.

We had appointed a high level committee under the chairmanship of Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi with a view to restore the university to its pre-eminence in the national and international arenas and to reaffirm it as a centre of excellence. I am happy to announce today that an amount of Rs. 95 crore has been sanctioned for implementing the initial plan prepared by Visva-Bharati in pursuance of the recommendations of the committee. The UGC has also earlier sanctioned generous grants for development of Visva-Bharati and for expanding its facilities. There is, therefore, no dearth of resources available now to the university and I would urge all of you to take full advantage of this. Also as a follow-up of the recommendations of the committee, the Archeological Survey of India has completed the conservation work in the heritage buildings in the Ashram and will now restore the four buildings in the Uttarayana complex within this financial year itself. A committee has been set up in August 2008 to advise on restoration of art works and other building related issues in Visva-Bharati. All these initiatives will help the university to excel further.

To come to Santiniketan is to come on a pilgrimage. One senses here a presence of the sacred and the timeless, as also the energy of the contemporary. As one who started his professional life as a teacher, I have great affinity for institutions of learning. Here, in Santiniketan, I can have no hesitation in confessing that teaching has been, in a vital sense, the most satisfying experience of my life.

Few Indians have stirred our country's and, indeed, the world's imagination as the teacher of teachers, great Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. We know him to have been a great philosopher, a great poet, a great composer, a great painter, a great reformer, a freedom fighter, a teacher, and a Nobel Prize winner. His polymathic genius transcended all bounds. But if I were to single out one aspect of his many-splendoured personality, it would be his far-sighted concern for the mind and soul of the generations to come.

What do Santiniketan and Visva-Bharati mean to us? The answer lies in the literal and metaphorical meaning of their names. Gurudev's creation was conceived of as an abode of peace, where India and the world could come together. His vision of Visva-Bharati as a place "where the whole world meets in a single nest" was a reflection of his life and his works.

His voice, as manifested through these institutions, is a deeply Indian voice yet one that speaks clearly to the whole world at large. Gurudev was grounded in ancient Indian tradition, steeped in Indian thought, and yet was cosmopolitan in all that he stood for and in the idiom in which he spoke to us and to the world. This wonderful institution that surrounds us both physically and intellectually, represents a vision, not of the clash of civilizations, but of the harmony of civilizations. It is a vision that speaks of the oneness of the world, of the ideal of peace, and of the supremacy of the human spirit. What began as a small school for children has been transformed into a world's university where a sound integration of the learning methods of the East and the West is used to impart education in diverse areas.

The work of Gurudev also helps each generation to question what education is truly about. As India moves forward along the path of economic development and material progress, his vision acquires a new meaning and compels our attention. In his view, education was not about worldly success alone; it was about fulfilling the potential of the human mind and the creativity of the human soul. This is what gives Visva-Bharati its unique approach to education, one that other institutions of higher learning would do well to emulate. This is also what we as a people and as a nation need to remind ourselves. If our quest for individual and collective progress is to reflect a balance between inner and outer development, we must hearken to Gurudev's vision.

Visva-Bharati's open air classrooms, first begun by Gurudev in December 1901 with just five students, symbolize the idea of learning being part of life's natural progression and of humankind's unity with nature.

Similarly, Sriniketan's rural reconstruction programme extending to village life links learning to the heartbeat of rural India.

The blend of music and fine arts in its academic life, have ensured that Visva-Bharati's students are imbued with not just skills but also sensibilities that make for enlightened, well-rounded and fulfilled personalities. The study of other cultural mores helps in bringing India and the world, particularly the Asian World, closer to each other. Visva-Bharati shows how being a citizen of India also means being a sensitive member of the human family.

Gurudev's legacy is a university and curriculum that broaden the mind, that build character and give its scholars and students a holistic perspective on life. He recognized that human beings not only need the scope and skills that science and technology offer, they also need the sensitivity and the creativity that the liberal and fine arts make possible. Too much of our higher education today fails to understand this, and puts emphasis on mainly preparing young men and women for the job market. And, even in the pursuit of this limited endeavour, sadly, we see many shortcomings. As a nation and as a government, we are committed to expanding access to higher education, ultimately to give each and every young person the opportunity to complete the full cycle of learning from school to university. But we know that we have a long way to go and that we have much work to do in raising academic standards and improving curriculums.

I believe that universities should be arenas of intellectual ferment where ideas, where thoughts and where philosophies engage one another, where we enjoy the freedom to pursue the truth no matter what academic field we find ourselves in. Universities should be liberal, free from narrow-mindedness and bigotry. They should offer intellectual spaces where reason and rationality reign, where humanism rules, and where learning is a great adventure. I recognize that these are lofty ideals not always easy to achieve. But we know from institutions like Visva-Bharati that they are possible to achieve if we have the requisite imagination and the determination.

I would like to advise Visva-Bharati's students to remember that individual success, however desirable and coveted, is not enough by itself. I would like them to keep in mind those who have not, through no fault of their own, had the good fortune to enjoy the same facilities and education as themselves.

I would also urge all of you that as you make your way in the world, you do so with intellectual openness. Let Gurudev's ideals as embodied in Visva-Bharati be your guide. As he strongly believed, truth can be realized only by allowing the best of the thoughts and cultures of the world to seep into our learning. We belong as a nation, to an ancient and tolerant civilization. We must ourselves be tolerant of those who might think differently, who worship other gods, or speak in a different tongue. Today, we are witnessing an unacceptable rise in intolerance. Our society seems more divided, more angry, and, tragically, more violent. It is the fundamental right of all to follow their religion, practice their culture and hold to their views. But it is nobody's right to deny anyone this right, or to dictate faith and opinions to others. The essence of democratic polity is that we can disagree, but still work together. I would say to you - venture into life with the courage of your conviction, but also with the wisdom of having an open mind. That would be in keeping with Gurudev's way of thinking.

This great institution is a legacy we are beholden to protect and to preserve. In a letter to Mahatma Gandhi on February 19, 1940, a year before his passing away, Gurudev described Visva-Bharati as "a vessel carrying the cargo of my life's best treasure." He hoped that "it may claim special care from my countrymen for its preservation." Gandhiji assured him that he would do all he could to "assure its permanence". I am very happy to see that over the decades that have followed, Visva Bharati has not been merely preserved, it has grown and evolved, and now occupies a leading place among our centres of learning. I wish Visva-Bharati to remain true to the vision of its founder, and better serve his great ideals, with the vigour of a contemporary salience.

Entrusting the remainder of this afternoon's proceedings to the Vice Chancellor, I take great pleasure in conveying felicitations to the distinguished recipients of the Desikottama award and scholars and students who are being honoured today. May your future be bright and may you do yourselves, your families and your country proud."