Centenary Celebration Address at Mkp College

Fountain of the Vision

Introduction

I am indeed delighted to be here to participate in the centenary celebrations of the Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala Inter and PG College, Dehradun. Friends, you belong to a great tradition, the tradition of the great founder of your institution Srimathi Mahadeviji, who established Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala for educating girls. The life of Smt. Mahadeviji is indeed an inspiration and a life with a mission to give thrust for women education from school to the college. Particularly nearly 100 years ago Smt. Mahadeviji's mind was ignited by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswathiji's pioneering movement towards women education. My greetings to all the students, professors and teachers who have the opportunity to be here in this MKP College environment. The teachers are indeed a great positive force for transforming students into responsible citizens. I was thinking what thoughts I can share with the students and the faculty on this important occasion when you are beginning the centenary celebrations. The next twenty years is very important for India for transforming from 'developing' country to a 'developed' nation. The responsible citizens, particularly women are all the more important for the nation as their thoughts, the way of working and value system will lead to fast development of a good family, good society and a good nation. At this juncture, I am reminded of a saintly saying: "Where there is righteousness in the heart,

There is beauty in the character.

Where there is beauty in the character,

There is harmony in the home.

Where there is harmony in the home,

There is order in the nation

Where there is order in the nation,

There is peace in the World"

Let me wish the MKP College for Women for righteous thoughts and hard work that give the students beautiful life in a happy nation.

When I see you all, particularly the young girl students with an urge to gain knowledge, a scene unfurls that has to be made a reality. I see in front of me our Parliament with a large number of lady Members who bring to Indian politics, the nobility and high order of decorum. Also another beautiful scene appears that is India transforming in to a developed nation within two decades where 50 % of our women population taking active role in every aspect of India's development. Can you make it a reality? What are the value systems one need for accomplishing such a mission. I would like to highlight two aspects. They are Indomitable Sprit and Universal Mind.

Indomitable spirit

In this environment and particularly on the occasion of centenary celebration of MKP College, I would like to quote Sir CV Raman, at the age of 82, while addressing young graduates. The message is still reverberating in my mind: "I would like to tell the young men and women before me not to lose hope and courage. Success can only come to you by courageous devotion to the task lying in front of you. I can assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality of any Teutonic, Nordic or Anglo-Saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack is perhaps driving force which takes one anywhere. We have, I think, developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit. We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that will carry us to our rightful place under the sun, a spirit which will recognise that we, as inheritors of a proud civilization, are entitled to a rightful place on this planet. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing can hold us from achieving our rightful destiny."

That was a great saying to the young. You would see the bridge of science and society. Friends, I request all who are responsible for the young, all who are creators of the young, for their childrens' growth, allow them to dream. Dream transforms into thoughts and thoughts result into actions.

Universal mind

I would like to recall another incident, which happened four decades ago. As you all know, Prof Vikram Sarabhai is the visionary of space programme in the country. He is well known for his cosmic ray research area that led to evolving the space research programme for the nation. Both Dr Homi Bhabha and Prof Vikram Sarabhai were looking for a site to establish space research station in the equatorial region. These two great scientists visited a number of places. Thumba in Kerala was selected by the scientific community for space research as it was near the equatorial region and was ideally suited for ionospheric research in upper atmosphere apart from study of atmospheric structure. When Prof Vikram Sarabhai visited Thumba, the locality had series of villages and thousands of fishermen folk were living in that area. It also had a beautiful ancient church, St Mary Magdalene Church, Pallithura and a Bishop's House. Prof Vikram Sarabhai met many politicians and bureaucrats to get the place for the work of space science research. It did not move further because the nature of the place. He was asked to see the Bishop of Trivandrum, at that time in 1962, His Excellency Rct Rev Dr Peter Bernard Pereira. It was a Saturday when Prof Vikram Sarabhai met the Bishop. The Bishop smiled and asked him to meet him the next day, ie Sunday. In the morning Service, the Bishop told the congregation, "my children, I have a famous scientist with me who wants our church and the place I live for the work of space science research. Dear children, science seeks truth by reasoning. In one way, science and spiritualism seek the same divine blessings for doing good for the people. My children, can we give the God's abode for a scientific mission?" There was a chorus of 'Amen' from the congregation and the whole church reverberated. Subsequently, the big event took place in 1962. His Excellency Rct Rev Dr Peter Bernard Pereira, the Bishop of Trivandrum, took the noble decision to dedicate the church in recognition of the national goal for the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation at Pallithura, Thumba. That was the church where we had our design centre, started rocket assembly, design of filament winding machine for FRP product and the Bishop's house was our scientists' place. Later, the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) led to the establishment of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and multiple space centres throughout the country.

When I think of this event, I can see how enlightened spiritual and scientific leaders, all converge towards giving reverence to the human life. New church and new schools were established in record time. Of course the birth of TERLS and then VSSC gave the country the capability of design, development and produce world class huge rocket system and subsequently, India has the capability of launching geo-synchronous, sun-synchronous and meteorology spacecraft, communication satellite, remote sensing satellite thereby provided fast communication, weather forecasting and also locate water resources for the country.

Today, among us, Prof Vikram Sarabhai is not there, Rev Dr Peter Bernard Pereira is not there, but those who are responsible for creation and make the flower and blossom will themselves be a different kind of a flower as described in the Bhagwat Gita: "See the flower, how generously it distributes perfume and honey. It gives to all, gives freely of its love. When its work is done, it falls away quietly. Try to be like the flower, unassuming despite all its qualities". What a beautiful message for all generation of this nation, on integration of minds and universal mind. We have a tradition of experience with noble leadership, indomitable spirit and universal mind. With this background of national enriched life, we have to transform 'developing' India into a 'developed' nation.

Second Vision : Developed India

The second movement for the nation will definitely result if our nation work for the second vision - developed India by 2020. I can see a virtual image of India, the children by 2020 will not see the high illiteracy, poverty and social differentiation. They will see a new India. Our children will sing the song of prosperous India if we sweat in this decade. Today, the Indian mind has to get ignited by our second vision for the nation. The ignited human mind is the most powerful resource on the earth, under the earth and above the earth.

Let me administer it for you with your concurrence:

Me and My Nation - India

As a young citizen of India,

armed with technology, knowledge and love for my nation,

I realize, small aim is a crime.

I will work and sweat for a great vision,

the vision of transforming India into a developed nation

powered by economic strength with value system.

I am one of the citizens of the billion,

only the vision will ignite the billion souls.

It has entered into me,

the ignited soul compared to any resource

is the most powerful resource

on the earth, above the earth and under the earth.

I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning

to achieve the vision - Developed India.

Best wishes to you all.