Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 18: Maintain-ing that the students protests since the freedom movement have been the part of university culture, the Union Minister of State in PMO with independent charge of North Eastern States, Dr Jitendra Singh today however said that never any student movement launched in the past in the country has dishonored the Mother India like the present one.
Addressing the International Conference on Natural Resource Management: Ecology Perspe-ctives organized by SKUAST J and the Indian Ecology Society in collaboration with Centres for International Projects Trust (CIPT), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) at Abhinav Theatre here, the Union Minister said that SKUAST -J has done a great job by organizing such a progrmme at a time when the politicians are making beelines to participate in dharnas and protests in other universities of the country. The three day conference will culminate on February 21.
The Union Minister said it is time for the nation to draw bottom line and the teacher, student as well as universities have to define their role whether “we should participate in such protests and dharnas to dishonour the mother land or hold such functions which have a wider role for human prosperity and development as a whole’’.
Reiterating that the student movements have been part of the university culture for decades together, Dr Jitendra Singh said the students like Shaheed Bhagat Singh actively participated in freedom movement and laid down their lives for a great cause. Even the JP Movement was launched by students. All these movements had one motto to maintain the prestige of Mother India, he added.
He said the time has come for us now to draw a bottom line and decide the prerogative of our functioning within and outside the university campus. He said in present times the quantity has taken toll of quality in education because the country has been practicing the education policy with the mindset of 1947.
Referring to ecological imbalances, he said though depletion of natural resources and misuse of resources are one of the causes for the same but there is role of man made contribution to the same to a great extent. “We are not guilty for what nature has done but we are guilty for what we have done’’, he added.
The Union Minister said that earlier there was a tradition that we were celebrating the agriculture and referred to the festival of Baisakhi and other related festivals linked to agriculture in the country. But now we are not celebrating our products but abusing them, he added.
Speaking on the occasion Dr P K Sharma, Vice Chancellor SKUAST-J pointed that the importance of natural resources , comprising land water and vegetation is higher than ever before for the need to ensure sustainability in the face of changing climate, increased biotic pressure and declining resource productivity.
Dr K K Katoch, Vice Chancellor, CSKHPKV, Palam-pur HP stressed on integrating modern agriculture techniques to improve production and ecological principles that protect and enhance the quality of land resources on which sustainable growth of agriculture depends.
The introductory speech was given by president of the Society A K Dhawan. The welcome address was made by Dr K S Risam, Director Extension SKUAST-J the convener of the conference and the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Rajinder Peshin, organizing secretary.
During the inaugural session of the conference awards and fellowships were conferred on the scientists.
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