Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Nov 30: In forthright terms, without mincing words, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that a University can not be used as a platform for anti-India baiting and that free flow of thoughts is welcome, but it has to be guided by the bottom – line of patriotic and nationalistic commitment.
Addressing an interactive programme of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there are certain individuals who, in a haste to prove their false intellectual pretensions, try to sound unorthodox or unconventional and in the process, forget to draw the line of their commitments to the nation. Even in the most advanced democracies of the world, including United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA), he said, not only the local natives but even those from other countries who acquire citizenship of these countries, are careful not to utter a word, directly or indirectly, which would hurt the pride of the country in which they have settled. It is, therefore, a pervert mind which thinks that it will be possible to make news and attract attention by abusing Mother India and the persons who indulge in such perversion are precisely the ones who otherwise lack the confidence and credentials to make a mark through genuine merit, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, he is himself of the strong view that a University or any other institution of education should provide fair opportunity for free exchange of ideas, ideologies and thoughts, but the motive behind this is not to pollute the young minds, rather the motive should be to expose the young minds to all schools of thought, from left to right, so that a young mind is able to evolve with spontaneity and conviction. He said, for a wider understanding of the world view, it may be helpful to read all streams from Lenin and Marx to Gandhi and Martin Luther and to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, but the ultimate objective has to be to reinforce and reaffirm the commitment to integrity and supremacy of the motherland.
Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated Vice Chancellor, Prof M Jagadesh Chander for having started the initiative of inter-disciplinary interaction, which would enable harmonious growth of young minds and enable them to decide their priorities and their role in the making of new India. He said, educational degrees are not meant to be imposed or thrust but are meant to be sought by aptitude and diligence.
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