Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Friday, wooed students of the Visva-Bharati university in Santiniketan (160 km from Kolkata) as he played to the gallery by beginning his address in Bengali and then switching over to Hindi.

In fact, what turned the mood in Modi’s favour was an apology that the PM shot off immediately after he began his speech. Water crisis at the convocation venue had been a pain-point and students were getting agitated regarding its non-availability.

 

Modi, immediately after beginning his speech, sought an apology for the unwarranted crises. “As the Chancellor of this university (Visva-Bharati), I apologise to you for the inconvenience caused; I am sorry that drinking water is not available for you,” he said, pointing out that some students had gestured him about the crises on his way to the convocation venue.

As chants of “Modi. Modi” rang through the venue; the Prime Minister - who is also the Chancellor of the university - quoted Tagore (sometimes in Bengali and mostly in Hindi) to pep up the students.

Message for Youth

Urging students to “align” their dreams with the country’s needs, Modi assured the students that the government would take all necessary steps to help them realise their dreams and build a ‘New India’.

“Gurudev (Rabindranath Tagore) said walk alone if nobody responds to your call. However, I would like to tell you that if you take one step, the government would take four to work towards a better India,” the PM said during the convocation ceremony. His Bangladeshi counterpart, Shiekh Hasina; and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, were also present at the occasion.

According to Modi, youth from reputed institutions give a new direction to the country and his government was working on ways to align such institutions for development work.

In four years, Rs 100,000 crore would be spent on improving the educational institutions in the country. ‘GIAN’ ( Global Initiative if Academic Network ) will ensure that there is international faculty to teach at Indian colleges; and another Rs 1,000 crore has been allotted to a higher education panel that would work on attracting foreign funding.

Invoking Tagore

According to Modi, Tagore was a global citizen whose philosophies are valid even today. In fact, the bard’s influence can be felt far and wide and the PM during his trips abroad, has come across many people who remembered when the Nobel laureate had visited their country. Tagore, the PM said, believed every individual has a purpose in life and education played the most important part in achieving it.

Praising Visva-Bharati students for the development work done across 50-odd nearby villages, Modi sought that the development work be extended to 100-odd villages by 2021. “My expectations from you have risen. In 2021, when this institution completes 100 years, can you (not) take your efforts to 100 villages? By 2021, you should be able to develop 100 villages with the basic amenities: electrification, vaccination, toilets for all, woman and child care,” he said.

Security breach at the event

In a major security breach, an unidentified man broke through the security cordon post the convocation ceremony at Visva Bharati. He went up on stage while PM Modi, PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee were present.

The man, dressed in a kurta and trousers, touched Modi’s feet; sought his blessings and then handed him a portrait picture of Rabindranath Tagore. Modi, however, took the picture and shook hands with this person.

The man was later escorted away by the security personnel.

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