Address of the President of India to the University of Khartoum, Sudan

EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

I am indeed delighted to have this opportunity to address the students and the faculty members of the University of Khartoum. I know that this University is one of the leading institutions of higher education in North Africa. I am also happy to be here amongst you today, for another reason. This is because this University recently celebrated its foundation centenary and it is an honour for me to be with you. I was thinking what thoughts I can share with the students and the faculty on this important occasion. Over the past few weeks, I have had some opportunities to study the history of Sudan and meet many people of Sudan from various walks of life. I was delighted to know that all of them were happy at the prospect of peace and I am sure many new opportunities will arise for young students in this emerging era of peace.

It brings me great joy to be in your beautiful capital city situated at the confluence of the famous White and Blue Nile Rivers. The Emblem of the University reflects this.

Universities - where minds are ignited

Universities are places of learning where minds are ignited and where knowledge is exchanged to give students and scholars a broad vision. The founder of this University, Lord Kitchener the first Governor General of Sudan, was earlier in India as the first Commander-in Chief of the British forces.

I have always felt sad when observing how the dynamics of colonization had spread into education, armed forces and the people's way of life. Colonization should not be allowed to take place again anywhere in the world. This is possible only if nations are strong. As I have often said, strength respects strength. The strength of a nation comes out of economic growth and the ability to defend itself. Hence progress in the developing world is strongly linked to an integrated approach to economic development and national security. Particularly for teachers; I myself was a teacher, a Professor of Technology and Societal Transformation in one of the oldest and best known Universities in India: the Anna University. I want to convey an important message from one teacher to another that good teachers can do extremely well, if they keep their mind in a state of intellectual alertness through continuous research. Guiding students in different research areas generates creativity and enhances the quality of teaching. The teaching should flow out of one's own research. I have no doubt that the University of Khartoum is emphasizing and encouraging such frontline research. Such an environment will also nurture interdisciplinary sciences which is the key to the future in science and technology.

Growth of Technology

I would like to give you a glimpse of technology, and how it progressed, during the last 250 years. You may be surprised to know that the adaptation of technology in national defence started from India. The first "War Rockets" were developed and deployed in India to defeat British Cavalry in a battle that took place in Srirangapatnam a small town in Southern India in the year 1792. The technology of rocketry then spread from India to Arabia and finally reached Europe. Now rocketry has made tremendous strides and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed many space launch vehicles and satellites; while the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has developed advanced guided missiles.

During the years 1920 to 2000, i.e. a 80 year period and substantial progress was made by the world community in the use of technology for weapons development. Not because of love for technology or progress, it was because of the clash of ideologies - capitalism and communism. It is important to note that Europeans fought for over 100 years with each other and this led to two World Wars which dragged in the rest of the world. Even nuclear weapons were deployed. The post World War era witnessed the development and deployment of nuclear submarines, precision guided missiles and space based high resolution surveillance, navigation and targeting systems. The world does not know how to handle tens of thousands of nuclear warheads which have accumulated because of international rivalry.

In human history, I do not know whether we would ever witness such a period of development of most sophisticated technologies of warfare on land, sea, underwater, air and space.

Science for societal prosperity

If science is driven by destructive intents, it becomes part of the problem, rather than a solution. This blunts the effectiveness of science in becoming a vehicle for creating a happy and prosperous society. Time has come for the world to use science and technology for alleviation of poverty, and to find solutions for water and energy shortages in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner. As you are aware, the science and technology, which has gone into design, development and manufacture of the weapons of war, have great relevance and application for economic growth of nations. For example, the military aircraft technologies like fly-by-wire aircraft control systems have direct application for passenger transport aircraft. The satellites used for military surveillance have direct application for remote sensing needed for agricultural development and mineral resource explorations. Even the Internet, which is so widely used all over, the world has emerged from the DARPA of the US.

Indo-Sudanese Cooperation

I am happy that the University of Khartoum has kept pace with the times and is imparting knowledge through a number of courses of relevance to the modern society. While going through the list of degrees offered, I find that there is a wide range of courses ranging from arts, law, economics, education, management, African and Asian Studies to the pure sciences. It is important to provide high quality education, which leads to pursuit and creation of knowledge. Soon after Independence, India had setup several institutions of advanced learning such as such as the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Regional Engineering Colleges to augment its science base of the Universities and Industries. The century old Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore has been the fountain head of sustained high quality teaching and research in advanced sciences.

These Indian S&T institutions have made tremendous contributions to the advancement of industry and economic growth in India and in many developed and developing nations. I am sure that many universities and institutes in India who are teaching and researching in advanced areas of science and technologies would be happy to collaborate with your universities in a mutually beneficial way. I am convinced that the complementary strength of the two university systems would be a core asset to this cooperation.

India and Sudan - common aspirations

Although India and Sudan are separated by the Indian Ocean, we have shared a long history of contacts. The river-valley civilizations of both our nations had intense trade and cultural interactions. The Nile River and the Red Sea provided useful routes to the Indian traders and visitors. Today, with technology shrinking distances, the interactions have also enhanced.

You may be aware of how our countries shared many common aspirations when we were both ruled by colonial powers. When India became independent in 1947, many of the countries of Asia, Africa and other parts of the world were still under the colonial yoke. Given the moral thrust of our struggle for independence, it was natural for India and its people to share the aspirations of the people of those countries, which had still not been liberated. The peoples of both our countries shared many similarities in our national struggles for independence. The association with Africa of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, has made Africa and its people very close to our hearts. His principles inspired many of those who took part in the Sudanese national struggle for independence.

Global Challenges before young citizens

I am happy to note that there are many Indian educationists who are teaching at this university. A Master of Arts degree by the Institute of African and Asian Studies is one of the many courses offered by this University. I would like to use my visit to strengthen the exchange of ideas between our two countries through the University of Khartoum.

Young citizens of developing nations have many challenges before them. The sweeping changes of globalisation, are being felt across the world. The countries in the African continent are progressing towards multi-party democracy, economic reforms for poverty alleviation and development and regional integration. Simultaneously, these countries are also faced with the challenges of addressing the issues of poverty, illiteracy and disease. The challenges that our countries face today combine many of the great challenges that confront the whole of mankind. We need social stability that is based on equity and on socio-economic development. We must nurture human resources by continuous up-gradation of skills.

India's experience in solving development problems

We in India have handled the development issues with some success and we are always ready to share our experience. I believe that developing nations should share their experiences in these areas. Indian Universities, colleges and institutes of higher learning are well equipped to impart knowledge and expertise to train students from Sudan in learning how to tackle many of these problems. Our institutes of higher learning have the expertise to train young Sudanese. India's human resource development capabilities are well known. In this context, the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme has proved to be a useful and effective vehicle of South-South Cooperation. Out of over 1400 international trainees who attend various technical courses in India each year, more than half come from Africa. Several Sudanese students study in our Indian Universities and institutions. Thousands of African students have graduated from Indian universities. At any given point of time, there are around 10,000 African students studying in India.

Hand of friendship to Sudan

India has made significant strides in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, housing, pharmaceuticals, small and medium enterprises, information and communication technology, space research, atomic energy, defence technology, irrigation and transport, to mention a few. My visit to your beautiful country, I believe, should further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the field of education and also in broader socio-economic areas.

Students from Sudan can be trained and educated in India, and also Indian vocational training institutes could set-up such centers in your country. Information Technology is a sector, which will have a potential for the future in your country. This technology is immensely useful in the development process. Although at the moment Internet user penetration level is increasing in your country, this increase has been taking place only in the last few years. Some Indian companies have already started a few IT training centers in Khartoum and such institutions can bring cutting-edge Information Technology to Sudan in the form of model training institutions. Our nations must work together to bridge the "digital divide" between the developed and developing countries.

India can collaborate with Sudan and set up a very cost effective Virtual University in the cyber space, which will provide a common platform for teaching School, College, University and even vocational courses. Experts from both countries in highly advanced and specialized fields would directly contribute towards the teaching and the learning experiences. This facility would also help in the development of telecommunication and IT services. All this would contribute to greater perfection in your educational system and to the enrichment of your social and economic life.

Global development challenges in the 21st Century

Let me now turn to another issue that I believe will become increasingly important in the coming years. As humanity begins to face many different problems, the younger generation will have to rise to resolve them. Globally there will be a crisis in the coming decades in energy, drinking water, and environmental protection. Many nations have to come together to evolve a vision to solve these global issues so that future generations can live peacefully. It is not adequate that we have these problems solved in some pockets of the planet earth. It is necessary that these be solved in a globally comprehensive manner. Guarding this earth is the mission of every citizen of this world.

Enlightened International Citizens

I feel that education systems around the world will have to work to generate enlightened international citizens who would then be able to work together as citizens of the planet Earth. How does one produce an enlightened international citizen? It will be through a combination of learning and value systems. The second important component will be organized religions graduating into spiritual movement. Third and the most vital component is poverty eradication by attaining economic prosperity in developing countries. This will result in high employment potential and in turn will lead to peace of the individual, thereby peace in the family, peace of the nation and peace on the planet earth. I wish to quote a poetic divine message:

Where there is righteousness in the heart

There is a beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,

There is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home.

There is order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,

There is peace in the world.

Friends, we can see a beautiful connectivity between heart, character, nation and the world. This is indeed the purpose of human creation, which is divinity.

Need for stability in society for development

My young friends, as citizens of a developing nation one of the foremost priorities of your country no doubt is stability, as that is a vital factor that brings peace to any society. Stability in society revolves around providing basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter and safety and security to the people. People, who are economically or socially under privileged, are vulnerable to exploitation. One way to reduce this exploitation is to narrow this divide. As young citizens I feel you should work for policies with a vision at the global level which will eradicate poverty and which will ensure that the basic needs of every human being are met. The policies must also lead to a reduction in the gap between the haves and have-nots. How are we going to achieve this? Global sharing of resources under a consortium approach will be one way to address these issues for peaceful co-existence and co- development.

Let me conclude this address to you, my young friends and the faculty members of this University with the words of our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who said when India was about to gain her Independence, " We have to labour and to work ? to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams ? are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples ? now, and so this One World can no longer be split into isolated fragments." I am sure all of you will agree that the future of humanity lies in working together for the benefit of all of humanity. After seeing all of you, I am hopeful that the future is safe and bright.

My best wishes to all of you and I wish you success in all your endeavours.

May God bless you.