Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 23
Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday urged upon the Naga people to be proud of their identity and laid a huge emphasis on the need to preserve and promote their mother tongue.
“Feel proud to be a Naga, of your rich culture and heritage,” he said. Advocating the importance of one’s mother tongue, Naidu added: “speak in your own mother tongue at home.” However, the Vice President added that the culture of other communities also needs to be respected.
Speaking at the 2nd Convocation of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Nagaland at Dimapur as the Chief Guest, Naidu called upon the citizens to remember three things in their life including parents, native place and mother tongue.
He expressed desire to see students in their traditional dresses instead of the usual robes during future convocation ceremonies. “You will not get anything by imitating others,” he said and also vouched for imparting and receiving education in one’s own mother tongue in the future.
The Vice President meanwhile stated that secularism was safe in India as a democratic country.
Naidu spoke about his positive impression about the natural beauty surrounding NIT Nagaland and maintained that IT and beauty should be joined to perform duty which must be converted into a “mighty” India. He expressed the hope that NIT Nagaland would play a significant role in filling the industrial gap between the State and the rest of the country.
“I foresee that NIT Nagaland, being a technical institute of national importance, will play a significant role in filling the industrial gap in Nagaland, by bringing industries, the corporate sector and technocrats from other parts of our country to Nagaland for its societal growth and uplift. I am sure, the students passing out from the portals of NIT will not only be well qualified engineers, but many of them will also become successful entrepreneurs in their chosen fields,” he stated.
Students from Nagaland and other North East states should take full advantage of this institute in acquiring world class technical education, he urged. The Vice President further said he was pleased to observe the institute’s move to reserve home state quota completely for Naga students.
Go beyond mere degress
Naidu said that the purpose of education was not only to acquire a degree but about enlightenment and empowerment. He said there should not be any compromise in teaching and research.
He noted that students no more need to go abroad for acquiring degrees since there are enough top institutes in the country itself. “If you still wish to go abroad there is no problem but return to serve your society and motherland,” he said.
Naidu said that in a world of liberalization, privatization and globalization, it is necessary to upgrade one’s skill since acquiring mere degrees would not suffice and also called for the need to have a social outlook.
“Today, information with confirmation is more than ammunition,” he said receiving wide applause from the gathering. Naidu also encouraged institutes to offer courses in tune with local contexts.
Earlier, the Vice President presented awards and medals to students who completed their Ph.D, M.Tech and B.Tech.
The Vice President meanwhile also spoke on the North East region being endowed with abundant natural resources, however adding that difficult terrain, dispersed habitations, poor connectivity and inadequate infrastructure have been obstacles in realizing its true potential.
“There is an immense investment potential in the North East and ASEAN countries should not be allowed to miss that opportunity. In this, the central and state governments will have to work hand-in-hand,” he said.
Towards this, the Vice President called for improvement of connectivity in order to bring the NE region to the “mainstream.” “Air connectivity is also vital for promoting tourism, business and people-to-people contact,” he added.
“The corridors of connectivity should be converted into corridors of economic growth with a symbiotic market model of development,” Naidu stated.
Guest of Honour for the occasion, PB Acharya, Governor of Nagaland in his addresses told the students not to perceive acquiring degrees as an end but to serve as a catalyst for furtherance of knowledge.
Stating that education was the building block of a nation, Acharya said universities should be the nodal agent to bring social change by way of holding constructive dialogue between industry, trade, commerce and education. “Our research needs to be socially oriented and not to simply get degrees or to create wealth,” he added.
Director, NIT Nagaland, Dr. S. Venugopal also presented annual report of the institute.
Parents and guardians of the degree holders and a host of dignitaries attended the convocation programme.
