Introduction

A very good morning to you all and the young minds of HK Arts College. 

It is a matter of great privilege and honour for me to be invited to felicitate the brilliant cultural, sports and the like ambassadors of this College and the University. I have no doubt in my mind that these students in whom the future of our country resides shall in a not so distant future take up the baton from our hands to provide India with the vision and leadership that it needs to emerge as frontrunners in not just economic development but cultural, sports and social development as well. As a college inaugurated by one of most renowned educationist of all times, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan students of this college I am sure would live up to the high ideals and aspirations set by him.      

I often hear the phrase that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And the leadership and vision that is expected of you is best reflected in your efforts on August 14 last year. I learnt that the boys of your University tied rakhi to the girls to symbolize the need to protect the female sex in our country through prevention of illegal activities like female foeticide. It was a proud moment for me as an academician and I congratulate you and your tutors. They have ensured that your education is not limited to literal learning but you recognize as well as address the challenges faced by our country, for example in the area of human rights. This type of initiative can be emulated by other colleges and universities. Why not the principal of this college take a lead role in suggesting his colleagues across the State?

The need for a University to have a vision

A vision defines the goals and aspirations of the University and states how it is going to promote a value based system of education. At the Gujarat National Law University we have taken up the mantle to take the few extra steps which will help us lead the country in the field of legal education, research and training.  My students have actively been involved in creating legal awareness among the masses through street plays to underscore the importance of legal rights. At the same time, they have been assisting the Government of Gujarat in drafting legislations to govern the State.  As a University we have adopted a Vision 2020 and Medium-Term Plan 2014 which underlies our commitment to legal education. A vision which may be best summed up in our motto

“Motivated Staff and Committed students for the best public and private legal service to the nation and the world at large.”

And I am sure you will agree with me when I say that it is not the financial success of the students of this college but the small steps like that taken on August 14, 2008 which defines the vision of the University.  It has been said that higher education serves no purpose if it teaches students how to earn a living but does not teach them how to make a life.

I invite HK College of Arts to set out a vision for the future, and I assure you that academicians of the State such as myself shall be more than happy to assist in whichever way we can in such pursuit.

I also request the HK College of Arts to actively contribute towards State events like Vibrant Gujarat and Swarnim Gujarat as well as national events. At my University for instance we have started the Swarnim Gujarat Legal Reforms Committee to contribute towards the legal landscape in the state. By forwarding new concrete proposal and pursuing the same with the Government and all stakeholders, the College can get additional staff/faculty to meet its needs.

Through brainstorming of able minds your college will also be able to outline the areas where you can make a positive contribution to this goal.  As a friend of the University I also encourage you to think at three levels, state, national and international. The college will have a unique contribution to make at all three levels and it is very important that the immense talent of the college is suitably channelized in these directions.  It is through a culture of knowledge sharing that the college shall be successful in disseminating its value and vision to the world.

At the international level I actively encourage the college to promote collaboration with educational institutions and non government organizations abroad. Such exposure is going to facilitate the global experience which can be of immense help in the present age of globalization. I would also like to emphasize that corroboration is a two way process. To give you an example, a proposed Memorandum of Understanding was scheduled to be signed between Sardar Patel University and the International Institute of Asian Studies. I did not want to wait for the Memorandum to be signed. Even before the formal signing a professor was sent to Netherlands, with the travel expenses accommodated by Sardar Patel University and the stay sponsored by the host institution.          

While I encourage such foreign collaborations, I am concerned that our young able minds are leaving India for supposed greener pastures only.  It may interest you to note that the United States in the last one week has significantly tightened its visa rules for the migrating work force. Over the years I have noticed that students borrow huge sums of money from financial institutions to finance education abroad. As an academician I would definitely caution you against investing huge sums of money in studying abroad in lieu of using it as a vehicle of migrating out of the country. Do not forget “ dur thi dungar radiyamna”.

In fact emphasis should be put on attracting foreign scholars to India for workshops and lectures. While the concept of visiting faculty is very much present in foreign universities the concept is still at a nascent stage in India.  A good way of ensuring that the college is able to attract such eminent scholars to campus is to keep a note of when they are on a visit to India or Ahmedabad. You may invite them to your college during one of such visits and I am sure that the scholars will only be happy to have an occasion to meet and interact with such brilliant minds from a different part of the world.

To my fellow academicians of this prestigious college I encourage you to not just be teachers but be visionaries and grow as academic leaders. Your vision shall be the necessary light which shall educate a generation of able minds. The academic community in particular notes with gratitude the efforts of the college in December 2004 to organize a conference of Association of Indian College Principals to promote the standard of higher educations. It is through initiatives like these that the college will be at the forefront of reforms in the education sector.

Role of the young ambassadors of the college

It is also imperative that you recognize that you, the students shall be the ambassadors of this College and the Gujarat University. I am of the firm belief that vision without mission is a road which leads to nowhere. A vision cannot be restricted to the four walls of a University. You are the products of this system of education and shall be the flag bearers of it.  It is your responsibility to promote the vision of the University long after you have passed the corridors of the Institution. This is what will help us in bridging the gap between the beneficiaries of such education and those without.

You must be aware of the Satyam or Madhoff greeds and scandals which has plagued the nations. On hearing about the scandals the first thing that struck me was how ashamed an academic institution, would be of its alumnus. And I just wondered that would the gentleman have acted differently if their universities/institutions had introduced him to a strong value and ethics based education system which treated the importance of financial management and business ethics with equal vigour.

In this context, a small post I read sometime back comes to mind.

 Two top political leaders, alumni of St Stephens, New Delhi met in the alumni meet of the college. One of the leaders proudly exclaimed.

“I am what I am because of my college”, to which the other leader promptly replied “Why are you blaming the college?” 

The important lesson that comes out of it is that it is not enough for you to be proud to be from Harvard or IIM or a National Law University. It is equally important that your college is proud of you and you never let your alma mater down.

In many ways you are fortunate to be located in the State of Gujarat. You may be already aware that the State Government is taking proactive steps to promote the cause of higher education in the State. The Bill on the Educational Innovation Commission, emphasizing the value and ethics based education and new concepts and experiments, have been passed on Wednesday, 16 February 2009. The news are out that a Private University Act is contemplated and new universities promoting the training of teachers and children are envisaged. During my courtesy call to H. E. Governor Shri Navalkishore Sharma underlined the great importance of progressive education in Gujarat to complement the strident progress the state has achieved in socio-economic fields.  With the necessary executive support institutions may now pursue their vision without any inhibition. 

Having said this, it is also important for me to state that one should not become overtly dependent on the Government. If you become overtly dependent on the Government or any body for that matter, then you will not be able to grudge the interference that is going to accompany such assistance. All states have recognized this with countries like US, UK, France and Germany moving towards reduced Government support in their institutions. 

If I am to give you an example of foreign universities you will see that the reason behind the financial independence that universities like Harvard and Columbia enjoy is the dedication of its alumni who provide support both financial and otherwise to their alma mater. I was in fact extremely touched when the students of my University who had been recruited by big law firms and companies came to me and promised to give their first month’s salary not to their families but to the University. And it is only through this symbiotic relationship between University and students through initiatives like PRAKTANI undertaken by the college can the education system of the country grow.

I have been told a Gujarati play by one of your students Ms Soumya Joshi became the first Gujarati play to be played at the Prithvi Festival in Mumbai. I can only imagine the tremendous sense of pride her teachers from this college would have felt on such occasion. I hope there have been many such proud moments since 2006. Such laurels at the national platform are reflective of the sense of purpose and commitment of the students of the University and the able guidance of your teachers. And I have no doubt that your college will play a pivotal role in bringing laurels from across borders as well.

The power of education can hardly be overstated and one of the finest examples of how education can transform an entire nation is visible if you look east, Japan. From a country devastated by World War II the country has emerged as one of the greatest economic powers today on the strength of its educated citizens.

Awards, scholarships and prizes are an important way of recognizing initiative and purpose in different fields. And to the recipients of the award today I would like to say, that the values and principles that you have imbibed should be shared with zeal and enthusiasm with friends an comity. This will be the biggest service you can do to society and the nation.  This is the college which has contributed in fields as varied as journalism and politics as well as the judiciary, the few names which come to my mind are Ms Shastri, Shri Ashok Bhatt, Shri Harin Pathak, Shri Madhusudan Mistry, Hon Justice Rathod, Shri Kumarpal Desai, Mr Rajendra Asari. I hope some of you will join these luminaries in the future. The immense commitment towards the country displayed by past students who I believe share the common values of this college is best reflected by National Cadet Corps Mr. Vinod Soanki who martyred for his country during the Kargil War.

If all of us are to join hands I am sure that the vision of Dr. Kalam, an aspiration as fellow Indians we share with him would meet with high success.

Once again congratulations to the winners and thank you to all.

Bimal N. Patel

Director(Vice-Chancellor)

Gujarat National Law University