71st convocation of Gujarat Vidyapith | Making India self-reliant is our national priority, students have active role in Swadeshi push: President Murmu

Referring to the culture of self-employment and entrepreneurship of Gujarat, she said: “Gujarati entrepreneurs have made their mark not only in the country but also abroad. Gujaratis constitute a significant number of successful NRIs. May all of you students move forward into the world beyond this university with the same global outlook that has been the hallmark of Gujarat. The culture of encouraging self-employment and self-reliance that exists in Gujarat needs to be spread throughout the country. I am confident that all of you students at Gujarat University will become the harbingers of this culture of self-reliance.”

Urging students to become carriers of the culture of self-reliance and promote it throughout the country, she said, “Making India self-reliant is our national priority. In this context, you all have an active role to play in the Swadeshi movement. With the spirit of nation first, you all must promote the use of Indian goods. You have to play an active role in the nationwide campaign of Swadeshi. Local products have to be promoted with the spirit of ‘Rashtra Sarvoopari’.”

President Droupadi Murmu arrives at the 71st convocation of Gujarat Vidyapith on Saturday. (Express Photo By Bhupendra Rana)

“By connecting education to local contexts, you can all put your education to practical use. Our education system and curriculum have, knowingly or unknowingly, included content that is not relevant to our society and country. The National Education Policy-2020 emphasises preparing young people capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century world, while valuing Indian traditions, priorities, and languages. Character building and the inculcation of moral values are the fundamental objectives of education,” she added.

Referring to Gandhi’s idea of self-reliance, Governor Acharya Devvrat, who is also the Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking the country forward in the direction of a self-reliant and developed India. “If we all adopt indigenousness and work with dedication for the nation, we will be able to create the India of Pujya Bapu’s dreams,” the Governor said.

Mahatma Gandhi established Gujarat Vidyapith not just for education, his aim was to free the nation from the mentality of slavery, he said.

“He showed the path of freedom based on truth, non-violence and Indian values,” the Governor said.

Recalling the legacy of Gujarat Vidyapith, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who was visiting Vidyapith for the first time, said that Mahatma Gandhi had established the Vidyapith to inspire the youth to build the nation with the eternal ideas of truth, non-violence and a self-reliant India.

“Today’s graduation ceremony of this Vidyapith, which was the foundation of the non-cooperation movement against the British government for independence, has become an occasion for the debut of the youth of a developed and self-reliant indigenous India into the society,” he said. He added that Vidyapith has been successful in keeping alive the values of Gandhi’s truth, non-violence and labour for more than a century.

“Promoting these same values, the Prime Minister is also instilling the spirit of ‘Rashtra Pratham’ (country first) among the youth. The PM has described the gareeb (poor), youth, Annadata Kisan and Nari Shakti (GYAN) as the four main pillars of a developed India, in which special importance has been given to ‘youth shakti’. In the last one decade, youth have been empowered through initiatives such as skill, education and startups, and the new education policy is encouraging the innovation of youth to make them globally competitive,” he said.

With this event, Murmu wrapped up her three-day visit to the state. Earlier during the day, the President offered prayers at the famous Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka town.

In a first, 9 students get gold medals; 713 awarded degrees

For the first time in the history of Gujarat Vidyapith, nine students were awarded gold medals on the basis of social activities along with studies. This year, 713 students were conferred degrees across 18 departments in seven faculties of Gujarat Vidyapith, including PhD, MPhil, postgraduate and undergraduate programmes. Among them, 366 male and 347 female students are graduating, and 459 students have registered to attend the ceremony in person. The logo of ‘Gramjivan Yatra’, scheduled to take place in November, was also unveiled on the occasion. The Annual Report of Gujarat Vidyapith was released.

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