Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah addressed the 66th convocation of Sardar Patel University in Anand, Gujarat today.

On this occasion, Shri Amit Shah said that if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had not been there, the country would not have existed. He said that after the British quit India, the whole world thought that our country would disintegrate, but Sardar Patel worked to unite India by uniting all the princely states. He said that one gets to know who Sardar Patel is by meeting people who endured the horrors and hardships of Partition. He said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel cared about and protected the refugees across the country. He said that today if Jodhpur, Junagadh, Hyderabad and Lakshadweep are part of India, it is only because of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has fulfilled the dream of Sardar Saheb by abolishing Article 370 from Kashmir.

Union Home Minister said that it is sad to see that for a long time after independence, the work done by Sardar Saheb did not get the kind of fame, respect and prestige that it deserved. He said that a great personality like Sardar Patel was not even given Bharat Ratna and difficulties were created in the way of every effort to honor him. Shri Shah said that after becoming the Prime Minister of the country, Shri Narendra Modi worked to build the world's tallest statue of Sardar Patel in Kevadia. He said that the huge statue of Sardar Patel is the most attractive place for tourists among all the tourist places of Gujarat.

Shri Amit Shah told the students present in the program that all of them are getting education from Sardar Patel University established by Bhaikaka. He said that Sardar Saheb worked to lay the foundation of unity and integrity of the country. He said that all the students going to get a degree from here should remember that Sardar Patel and Bhaikaka have been associated with the establishment of this university and students should always remember these two personalities.

Union Home Minister said that today's convocation is very important because this year we have completed 75 years of independence and the entire country has celebrated Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He said that with the inspiration of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we celebrated Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by hoisting the tricolor on every building across the country. He said that Prime Minister Modi has set before us the goal of building a developed India. Shri Shah added that the Prime Minister has set before the countrymen the target of making India the best and first in every field in the world in the next 25 years, from the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to the Centenary Festival of Independence in 2047. He said that the time to create such an India i.e. Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal is 25 years, from the year 2023 to 2047. Shri Shah said that today many students are moving forward in their professional careers after completing their education in the initial year of Amrit Kaal. Home Minister said that today 15,754 students will graduate from here, 106 students have received gold medals, out of which 62 gold medals have been received by girl students. He said that the award of 62 gold medals to girl students shows that, like men, women are also making a huge contribution in the reconstruction and development of the country.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called upon all of us to take Amrit Sankalp during Amrit Kaal. He said that every student should move forward with a small resolution in his life because resolution works to shape personality. He said that small resolutions of 130 crore people of the country will together create a great India. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has opened new possibilities for the youth of the country in every field under the National Education Policy- 2020. He said that while setting goals, one should set impossible goals to know the limits of the possible, only then the limits of the possible can be known. He said that we should not be disappointed by initial failure because every success begins with failure and no one achieves success without overcoming failure.

Union Home and Minister of Cooperation said that to build the developed India that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has envisioned in 2047, we have to believe in the Voice of Youth, Choice of Youth, Aspirations of Youth and the Power of Youth. He said that the policy of the Modi government is to listen to the Voice of Youth, understand the Choice of Youth, give platform to Aspirations of Youth and believe in the Power of Youth. He said that the Prime Minister has started many schemes with the belief that the future India should be built by the youth of the country. Shri Shah said that in the new education policy, there are provisions to study economics with technology, ethics with medicine, arts with commerce and to give a human touch in these studies. He said that under this policy, education curriculum including engineering and medical has been prepared in Indian languages.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has started opening many types of new educational institutions. He said that earlier there were 50 central universities in the country, now there are 56, higher educational institutions were 51,000, now there are 58,000, institutions of national importance were 75, now there are 165, state public universities were 316, now there are 480, technical universities were 90, Now there are 190 and the number of colleges has reached 43,000. Shri Shah said that a lot of work has also been done for skilling, upskilling and reskilling. 4,000 new seats have been created in ITIs and 11 new ITIs have been opened. He said that it is the result of these efforts of the Modi government that there were 400 startups in the country in 2014, which have increased to more than 2 lakh today. He said that in 2014 there were 4 unicorn startups which have increased to 111 today. Shri Shah said that 44 percent contribution in all this is from women power and more than 50 percent startups are in Tier-2 and 3 cities of the country.

Union Home Minister said that Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi ji brought the PLI scheme with the mantra of Make-in-India, due to which India is becoming the center of production across the world today. He said that FDI has increased a lot in the 10 years of the Modi government. Prime Minister Modi ji has worked to secure the future of the youth of the country by making new policies in areas like green hydrogen, electric vehicles, space, defense manufacturing and drones. He said that in the 20 years of Vibrant Gujarat, Gujarat has also reached new heights of industrial development.

*****

RK/AKS/ PR /AK