DH NEWS SERVICE
Udhagamandalam, Apr 25
The terror attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in J and K was a grim reminder that ‘Terrorism is a global menace”, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar observed on Friday.
Condemning the Pahalgam terror attack on innocent tourists that claimed 26 lives in strongest terms, Mr Dhankar said this incident in J andK reminds that Terrorism is a global menace.
Speaking as the Chief Guest at the inaugural session of the Conference of Vice-Chancellors of State, Central and Private Universities of Tamil Nadu at the Ooty Raj Bhavan convened by Governor R N Ravi, the Vice-President said that Bharat is the World’s most peace-loving Nation and Terrorism is a Global Menace, Needs to be addressed in Unison”.
Expressing deep sorrow over the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Mr Dhankar said “Today I join the Nation in expressing profound grief and outrage at the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed innocent lives.”
“It is a grim reminder that terrorism is a global menace to be addressed by humanity in unison. Bharat is the world’s most peace-loving nation and our civilisational ethos reflects Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, he said.
He said the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in his third term, is our greatest assurance that the nation’s rise cannot be handicapped by any situation internal or external.
“But we all have to bear in mind that national interest is supreme. This was echoed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while imparting his final address to the Constituent Assembly. We therefore have to take a resolve to always keep nation first, national interests cannot be intertwined with partisan interest, it has to be uppermost”, Mr Dhankar said.
“This cannot be subservient to any interest political, personal or for a group”, he said. Touching upon the transformative National Education Policy, the Vice-President said NEP is not a Government Policy; It is a Policy for the Nation.
“After three decades, taking into consideration inputs from the widest spectrum of stakeholders, there was the evolution of the National Education Policy. This policy aligns with our civilization ethos. It encourages multidisciplinary learning.”
It gives priority to Indian languages. It envisions education as the development of the person, not just employability, he said, adding, the most significant aspect of the NEP is that it allows students to learn in their mother tongue.
“It has got us out of the colonial regime. Even medicine and engineering in local languages, which could not be entertained at one point of time, even in dreams, it is getting shape on the ground”, he said.
Calling upon institutions to study and adopt the policy in full spirit, he urged, “I beseech you all and the faculty and directors wherever they are to please do a thorough study of National Education Policy to realise its real intent and purpose so that we reap the harvest of it.
“From this platform, I wish to indicate National Education Policy is a government policy. It is a policy for the nation. And therefore I appeal, it is time for us all to adopt it, understand it, execute it, and to reap the fruits”, he stressed.
Emphasising that the future of Indian higher education lies in moving beyond traditional silos, he said “We are well past the era of standalone institutions. It can’t be just IIMs, IITs etc. Standalone era for institutions is already behind us. There is now need of convergence for various verticals to give institutions cutting edge and Multi-disciplinary approach across academic pursuits is the only answer.”
