Hon'ble Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat Ji. Acharyaji is a doyen of Governors also, which means the senior most Governor, leading all the Governors. I have had the good fortune to be Governor with him, and therefore know his deep commitment and passion for natural and organic agriculture.He is extremely concerned with the rural sector, the farm sector, and these two taken together are fundamental to the growth of this nation. These are the two vital sectors that will pave the passage for Viksit Bharat at 2047.

Acharya Devvrat doesn't believe in preaching. He practices. And those of you who can get the opportunity to go to his farm will see what he talks, he performs first. I still recall before governors of all the states in the presence of the Prime Minister of the country and the Hon'ble President. He addressed us on farming. And trust me, he took much beyond his time, and no one objected. I'm extremely happy to note that he is an alumnus of Panjab University.

Shri K. K. Paul has had the distinction of being Governor Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Member UPSC and Commissioner of Police Delhi. The presence of Shri Shekhar Gupta, An alumnus of this university is very different for me. In the world of journalism, he has shown his fearless commitment to truth and facts, and presently, as editor-in-chief of the print, he is widely read, and when it comes to critical issues facing the nation, he economizes on words, 50 words. I am a regular reader of his contributions. He has headed country's most prestigious and independent media. He being the alumnus on the dais is a matter of pride for me.

Shri Atul Karwal ji, and mind you, he has earned for us global reputation. National disaster doesn't give any respect to principles of natural justice. It comes, number one, uninvited. It comes with full fury and a DG of National Disaster Response Team, his performance has been exemplary. So exemplary that the nation has earned laurels and we have been accoladed globally that in similar situations on the planet, Bharat has earned the name being one of the first responders.

He is the initiator of a new culture and I had the good fortune to get the benefit of it as Governor of the state of West Bengal. On account of geographical conditions and being a country close to the sea, our entire line, thousands of kilometers, is always a challenge. States of West Bengal, Odisha in particular suffer cyclones. It is in that capacity I came to know gradation of cyclones. But I can share with you. So remarkable was the performance that human lives were saved, hardly any mortality.

And therefore I can say that the alumnus on the dais, Acharya Devvrat, Shri K. K. Paul, Shri Shekhar Gupta and Shri Atul Karwal, are amongst many who are legends, who are respected for their contributions, their convictions and their deep commitment, and I would be reflecting a little later if we have such a rich reservoir of human resource, such a talent that is nationally and globally acknowledged, time for us to engage into optimum output.Professor Renu Vig, the first woman Vice-Chancellor of this University, and if I may engage into some kind of self-praise, appointed by a Chancellor, who comes from rural stock. Her two years have defined this university with transparency, accountability and dedication.

I will also not commit a mistake of not naming my dear friend, Shri Satpal Jain, a distinguished senior advocate, one of the senior constitutional functionaries in the legal field of government of India, and associated also for a number of years with the management of this university in capacity as a member of the Senate or Syndicate. Ladies and gentlemen, there is the presence of another gentleman I must take note of. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur.He is Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, 1987 batch, IAS officer. And he is helping the Vice-President of the country as secretary to the Vice President.

Countries are known by the institutions they nurture. Because it is institutions that are crucibles of innovation, change, research. They catalyse big change, they create concepts. It is their innovation that is translated by industry, by process of execution. And therefore countries that are ahead in research and develop research are the countries that emerge as world leaders. Let me give you some figures to begin with. Harvard endowment fund in 2024, ladies and gentlemen, jumps to 53 billion US dollars endowment fund. And this is larger than the GDP of 120 countries, and at the base of it is the alumni of Harvard.

The alumni of Panjab University. They have occupied positions of the President of the country, the Vice President of the country, the Prime Minister of the country, Cabinet Ministers, Secretaries and Cabinet Secretaries, distinct positions in armed forces, in journalism, in art, in culture, in sports, Nobel laureate and what not. But then, I am here to see their commitment only as alumni of this institution. Just imagine the power of the alumni if they act in a structured manner. If they nurture their alma mater, the results will not be geometrical, they will be incremental.

सुना था बहुत दिनों से अपना चेहरा नहीं देखा, कोई आईना तो दिखा दे। With utmost restraint at my command but out of great compulsive need मैं alumni को आज आईना दिखाना चाहता हूं। Society progresses. Why? Because we need an ecosystem that enables every citizen to fully exploit his/her potential to realize ambitions and aspirations. We accolade the prime minister of the country. Why? He created such an ecosystem. It generated an atmosphere of hope and possibility.

He gave new dimension to development. It became people-centric. His achievements are phenomenal, reflected in our exponential economic rise, infrastructure we never dreamt of, and our outreach of inclusion in banking sector to the rural woman by way of gas connection, by way of toilets, by way of नल and नल with जल. There is a question before all of us. Has the rich resource of alumni of this prestigious university exploited its resources, its talent or potential to nurture this institution.

I leave this soul searching to all of you. But I will make one appeal. Those who look back carry bad baggage. Let us shake off that baggage. Time to make a new beginning. Why a new beginning? We are at a turning point in our history. We are already in the last quarter of independence of our country.

The centennial independence of our country, last quarter. We have entered the last quarter of the century of adoption of the Indian Constitution. And therefore, right time for the alumni of this prestigious university to take a call. संकल्प लेकर जाएँगे, संकल्पित होकर जाएँगे कठोर निर्णय करेंगे हर वर्ष पंजाब यूनिवर्सिटी के लिए योगदान दूँगा। It doesn't matter, ladies and gentlemen, what your fiscal contribution is. What matters is that there is contribution.

Ladies and gentlemen, these endowment funds are not to be analyzed in the context only of it being, let's say, for Harvard or 50 billion US dollars. No. This generates a great integral bond with the university, with its students. And that bond reflects positively, affirmatively, in several areas. I would seek to invite a focus

Alumni engagement is vital for curriculum development. Can you imagine of a greater human resource that can make available to you ideas as to what should go into your curriculum. Industry alignment, research in partnerships, evolution of policies, governance mechanisms, financial support is only one part of it. The other part will change the careers of many for the better. It is through your efforts that universities will be enabled to embrace critical thinking innovation. Prepare, motivate, energize and inspire our youth for entrepreneurship. Your input can shape them into future leaders.

And it is a time when we must have mindset and culture in the country that when it comes to country's interest, let us not have partisan approach. Let our instinct be fired only by nationalism. Let nationalism alone guide us. Let the principle of nation being always first guide us. I am pained and disturbed on two counts. One, some states have not adopted it. I am sure this is inconceivable on any rational ground. How can this happen? And this happens because the academia, the intelligentsia and the journalism, those in journalism, they don't generate that pressure.

We cannot afford in this country to engage into politics at the cost of nationalism or development. That is something which has to be focused. The role of alumni is much beyond. I don't want this to be limited only to educational institutions. I have advocated from this platform. Number one, wherever I go, I find Panjab University Alumni Associations good, remarkable. It keeps people in connect but please have one confederation of alumni associations for Panjab University. Second, there must be national confederation of alumni associations, of IITs, of IIMs, of universities like Panjab University, institutes of eminence, and that will be a think tank unrivaled and matched in the world. Such kind of remarkable human resource can contribute.

In evolution of national policies. They will bring on the table their global experience. I'm reminded of a young student who told me just a month back that there was a time when an Indian mind was not seen in global corporates. And now there is no global corporate that doesn't see Indian genius at the apex level. That's a big change.

भारत ने कभी नहीं सोचा था कि भारत दुनिया में आज इतने प्रखर पर होगा। कल्पना से परे था कि जिन्होंने हम पर राज किया और उस स्थान पर मैं राज्यपाल भी रहा।पश्चिम-बंगाल का राजभवन। उनको हमने पीछे छोड़ दिया। हमें कहा जाता था कि दुनिया के अंदर पाँच हिलती डुलती अर्थव्यवस्थाएं हैं। Fragile five economies of the world, We suffered being part of it and now our economy is spinally so strong that we are among the top 5 और दो साल में जापान और जर्मनी, हम किसी को पीछे नहीं छोड़ते हम सिर्फ आगे निकलना जानते हैं।

मैंने आँखों से देखा है। I was elected to Parliament in 1989, I was a Minister. मेरी आँखों के सामने निर्णय लिया गया कि भारत का सोना भौतिक रूप से स्विट्ज़रलैंड के बेंक में गिर्वी रखा जाएगा, और रखा गया क्योंकि Foreign Exchange डगमगा रहा था। आज उस समय के मुकाबले Foreign Exchange 700 गुना है-- 700 times, मैंने वो आँखों से देखा जब 1990 में मंत्री परिषद के सदस्य के रूप में श्रीनगर गया था। डल लेक के कोने पर वो होटल है। जहां हम रुके थे, हमें 2-3 दर्जन से ज्यादा लोग दिखाई नहीं दे रहे थे और मैंने वो सीन भी देखा, जब राज्यसभा में बताया गया हर साल 2 करोड़ से ज्यादा पर्यटक जा रहे हैं। More than 2 Crores, मैंने देखा है, उस समय वातावरण क्या था। कानून के समक समानता नहीं थी, नहीं थी समानता ! Power corridors were extralegally leveraged by nefarious elements, Shekhar Gupta ji का write up है, you can go to that.

ऐसे हालात में Alumni Association का role बहुत बड़ा हो जाता है। आपके मजबूत कंधों पर बहुत बड़ी जिम्मेवारी है।आज यदि अगर आप ठान लेते हैं, आज अपनी Alma mater को आप गले लगा लेते हैं, आज आप संकल्प लेते हैं कि हम इस University को भी बदलेंगे, इस University के हर छात्र जीवन को हम दिशा देंगे-क्रांतिकारी नतीजे आएंगे, क्यूंकि अपना देश बड़ा विचित्र है। Here iconic status is determined on parameters that are baffling. Look around and you'll find iconic figures and देखें वो कैसे अपना कलर बदलते हैं। I would not name, I would leave it to your genius. The Indian Banking sector is doing good now because is handling NPAs created by earlier regime. छपा है, उनका बयान देखिए। जब जोड़ने की लंबी यात्रा हो रही थी, एक उद्घोषणा की गई की इस देश के अंदर 5% से ज्यादा की ग्रोथ तो हो ही नहीं सकती। शेखर गुप्ता जी आपने तो जरूर प्रश्न पूछा होगा उनसे की ग्रोथ तो 5 के बजाय 2.5 गुना हो गई थी।

Ladies and gentlemen, as citizens of this country, it is our prime obligation to ensure that we do not allow in this country disorder to be order of the day. It is indigestible for us. We cannot allow people who have inimical instincts, intentions, evil design towards our progress, and trust me, these forces are powerful. These forces are powerful only on two planks -- One, they are fueled by fiscal power which is very tempting. So people fall prey to it. When they fall prey to it, they for a moment forget nationalism and commitment to the nation or the nation first principle, पर जब आम नागरिक, आम भारतीय आज शासन कि सकारात्मक नीतियों को अपने पक्ष में मान रहा है। सकारात्मक नीतियों का लाभ उस तक पहुँच रहा है तो यह जरूर सामने आता है कि जो हो रहा है वो और ज्यादा होना चाहिए, but fundamental premise is we must acknowledge what is happening.

 

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JK/RC/SM

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