Vice President, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat  address at the 89th convocation  held on April 9, 2007.

     Namaskar, GoodMorning! 

           I am happy to be here on the occasion of Eighty Ninth Convocation of this prestigious University. I offer my hearty greetings and best wishes to the graduating students. I also greet the Vice-Chancellor, the distinguished members of the faculty and the staff. 

It is a privilege to be here amidst you in this holy city of Varanasi. Visiting the sacred  land of Lord Vishwanath is a pilgrimage for me. With magnificent aura of mystic beauty, all along the majestic Ghats ofthe holy Ganges, Varanasi is the centre of our great Ganga �Yamuni culture where knowledge and creativity, education and research, art  and literature have flourished over centuries. It was in its vicinity at Sarnath that Bhagwan Buddha preached his first sermon. The revered Kashi Pandits put this city on high pedestal of esteem even in the deep South. This holy city of Varanasi emphatically highlights the value of spread of knowledge among all human beings and exhorting them to open their eyes to the light of knowledge.

Friends, the Banaras Hindu University is Varansi's knowledge-icon. It has an illustrious history. It's foundation was led by Pandit, Madan Mohan Malaviya, the great nationalist leader, on the value systems and ethos of our ancient cultural heritage on the one hand and the vision of building a modem India by promoting professional knowledge in diverse fields of science, technology and engineering. Stalwarts like Dr . Annie Besant and Mahatma Gandhi were associated with it in one way or the other. It truly became the embodiment of the spirit of nation with urge for excellence and an abiding belief in the destiny of the nation. Those who have had the  privilege of being ushered into this ,reputed temple of learning are indeed privileged to be the inheritors of its inspirational legacy. Befittingly, this University has produced generations of alumni who made outstanding contributions to varied spheres of nation building. The teachers and students, administrators and staff members should always bear in mind the University's rich history and endeavour to live up to its glorious tradition.

Friends, role of education in the progress of a nation can never be over emphasized. Through right kind of education, we can inculcate citizenship values, liberate people from ignorance, empower them with knowledge, information and skills to know about their rights and entitlements, expand their outlook, form their aspirations and above all, prepare the young citizens to take up the roles and responsibilities to shape not only their own destiny but also the destiny of the nation. Mahatma Gandhi had also visualised education as a means to awakening the nation's consciousness against injustice, violence and inequality.

Despite the vital importance of education in nation building, the literacy level in our country still remains abysmally low. It is a matter of great concern that as high as 35 per cent of our people lack basic literacy skills. About 53 per cent of our children drop out at the elementary stage itself and just one third of high school students graduate. Most of the drop-outs belong to the poorest segments of our society. We need to bring down drop out rate to zero. For this, the poor and the deprived sections would need special support lest their poverty of resources should compel them to withdraw their children from schools. During my tenures as Chief Minister of Rajasthan, many pro-active initiatives and innovative programmes were undertaken to address these issues which resulted in all time high increase in the literacy rate from 38 per cent in the year 1991 to 62.5 per cent in 2001. Sustained efforts need to be continued to achieve the goal of 100 per cent literacy.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that the State has the obligation towards working for the empowerment of the poor and the deprived to enable them to enjoy their fundamental right to live with dignity. Noble Laureate, Prof. Amartya Sen has aptly observed, I quote "When people are illiterate, their ability to understand and invoke their legal rights can be very limited, and educational neglect can also lead to other kinds of deprivation ... if we continue to leave vast sections of the people of the world outside the orbit of education, we make the world not only less just, but also less secure". Unquote. I strongly believe that if education has to become integral to people's welfare, as also to their empowerment and their fight for a life of dignity and self-respect then we, as a nation, have to accord top most priority to education ofthe masses.

We also ought to remember that education, when completed, should enable one to secure proper employment. I, therefore, have been impressing upon the need for expanding avenues for vocational training ,right from high school stage. A disturbing feature of the present system of education, as also ofthe realities of emploYment pattern, is the wide disparities being created not only amongst the rich and the poor students but also amongst students from urban and rural backgrounds. These unfortunate features of our present system are fraught with the risk of causing social and class unrest. There is need to address these concerns with a sense of urgency as well as seriousness.

Friends, we are living in stirring times of globalisation. The information age is impacting the lives of individuals and reshaping the societies. As India strives to compete in the knowledge-based economy, , we ought to be the very best in the global arena. The youth are our most valuable resource to seize the emerging opportunities offered by globalization and maximize our interests. We only need to provide a better environment of governance to our youth and build up their capacities through sustained nurturing of entrepreneurial talent, innovation and creativity, research and development. Our institutions of higher learning should be able to foster the spirit of research and enquiry among the students and enable them with requisite knowledge and skills to face the emerging challenges ofthe 21^st   century.

Unfortunately, the ground reality, as it exists today, presents a disquieting picture. At present only about 7% of the country's youth in the age group of 17 to 23 years get a chance for higher education. Enrollment in science is less than 20%, in engineering and technology 6.6% and in medicine only 3.3 %. Declining enrollment in basic sciences needs to be addressed through making studies in sciences sufficiently interesting and rewarding. I am also concerned about the decline in the standard of research work in the universities. Our universities have to be the hub of quality education and research and become the centres of academic excellence having attribute of highest standard of teaching, a culture of single-minded pursuit of knowledge and top quality research. Distinguished members of the faculty, you have a very special role to play both in the field of teaching as well as research. You have not only to impart true education and true knowledge to your students, but also the wisdom  which is far more important than mere knowledge.

Dear Graduating students, Convocation is a land�mark milestone in your career. It is the beginning of a new phase in life when you enter the world of real action. It is a solemn occasion to ponder on what future you envisage for yourself. This is an occasion to resolve once again about aiming high in life, have a vision of wide horizon and share a dream of bright future. Indeed, you are going to be the architect of, as also the greatest stakeholders in, the developed India of tomorrow. The future belongs to you. You need to be receptive to new ideas and bold initiatives. You would need to come out with viable solutions to address multiple challenges and help secure our country a pride of place in the comity of nations.

My young friends, you are now entering the world of reality at a time when the country's  economy is strong and resilient. Since Independence, our achievements in agriculture, industry, defence, space and atomic energy have been spectacular. We are a global player in IT ; our service sector is ever expanding; foreign trade and investments are on upswing. Indeed, the impressive growth rate of over 8% has put the country on a high growth trajectory. We are also legitimately proud of being the largest functioning democracy. Our parliamentary polity with independent judiciary and free press has deepened the roots of our democracy.

I am, however, anguished that after six decades of Independence, we are still grappling with the scourge of poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and disease with a sub-optimal Human Development Index ranking of 126. Over 3 crore people are unemployed. Every year lakhs of people die due to malaria and tuberculosis. HIV / AIDS has today emerged as one of the most serious public health problems with an estimated 52 lakh infected people. About 26 crore of our people still live below the poverty line. Rural incomes have dwindled; farm households have become more prone to stress and insecurity. The problem of farmers' suicides is a matter of grave anxiety that calls for rejuvenating our agriculture, revamping cooperative institutions and taking up programmes for integrated rural development. To me a fully developed India would mean India without a single person living below poverty line, an India with no case of farmers suicide.

My young friends, we need development that promotes growth not just in term of percent income GDP but which brings out all inclusive development, a growth that uplifts the poor and deprived sections and that which alleviates poverty and bridges the gap between the rich and the poor. We need development  that eradicates illiteracy, development that provides the common man with access to basic education, healthcare and shelter so that the poorest of the poor can enjoy in full measure the fundamental right to live with dignity. It is this developed India that you have the responsibility as also the opportunity to build. 

The task of developing a fully developed and prosperous India is not going to be an easy one. There would be several formidable challenges to be faced. The exponential growth of our population and the growing demand for meeting the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, drinking water, education, healthcare and shelter within the limited resources are contributing to the complexities of our problems. I am sure if we educate our people and sensitise them about the imperatives of sustainable development, we would be in a position to meet these challenges effectively. I would particularly urge you to be always sensitive to give highest priority to the welfare and uplift of the poor. It has been my conviction all through that all programmes of development should begin with focus on the poorest amongst the poor. This is what I had put in actual practice in the Antyodaya programme launched in the year 1977 when I had become Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the first time. This Antyodaya approach, i.e. the poorest amongst the poor receive our foremost attention, should become integral to all programmes of development and growth. 

Dear graduating students, I would urge you all to make a healthy transition to the life of reality with a degree of humility, with the breadth of intellectual horizon, withsensitivity towards the poor and the deprived and with an urge to secure a moral, ethical and secular social environment. Whatever career you choose, be always a good manager of promoting people's welfare. Today, common man is desperately looking for hassle-free and corruption-free governance. It should be our endeavour to improve the efficiency and management of delivery of public goods and services in all programmes meant for people's welfare. Indeed you should be a vigilant watchdog to ensure that no pilferage or leakages are allowed to take place in the benefits meant to accrue to the vulnerable sections.

My young friends, your alma mater has equipped your minds with knowledge and your hands with skill. It has also instilled in you certain ideals. Now you are in the action-arena where you should perform in a spirit of service, tolerance, care and compassion towards fellow�beings. You should pledge to work hard, whatever task the destiny may store for you. It is through individual endeavours that collective achievements flow. I am great believer in the destiny of our country. I have no doubt we are destined to be 'a prosperous, strong and developed nation. I enjoin you to bear this in mind and bring glory to your alma mater and the country. I wish you Godspeed and every success in your career in the years ahead.

I thank you Mr. Vice-Chancellor for inviting me to the Convocation. It has been a great pleasure to share my thoughts with you all.

Thank you, Namaskar!