‘Fortunate to study at PU’: Kiran Bedi reflects on lasting memories

The event also witnessed the release of the Punjabi-translated edition of her book “Fearless Governance”, titled “Nidar Prashasan”; the translation has been done by journalist and PU alumnus Arvind Chhabra

Former lieutenant governor of Puducherry and an alumna of the Panjab University (PU), Kiran Bedi reminisced about her time spent in PU on Tuesday. She was speaking at an event organised by the Panjab University Alumni Association (PUAA) at the evening studies department auditorium in PU.

(From left) former Himachal DGP Sanjay Kundu, former lieutenant governor of Puducherry and Panjab University (PU) alumna Kiran Bedi, dean of university instruction Rumina Sethi and dean of college development council Sanjay Kaushik during the release of Bedi’s book ‘Nidar Prashasan’ at the varsity in Chandigarh on Tuesday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

“You are very fortunate to study at Panjab University. It’s from where I achieved everything,” Bedi said. She spoke about how she was already a tennis champion and topper at the age of 18 and chose PU over Kurukshetra University as it gave her scholarships for both. She described how she used to travel on a bicycle on Madhya Marg for her tennis training, often eating an apple with one hand when she felt hungry. She also spoke about her time in Puducherry and asked students to understand the National Education Policy (NEP) and benefit from it.

Bedi graduated with a master’s degree in political science from the varsity in 1970 but lives in Delhi now. She had earlier come to PU in last year’s Global Alumni Meet and a session held by the alumni association in April last year on what makes women leaders effective.

Speaking at the sidelines of the event, Bedi discussed the city’s police structure and praised the Chandigarh Police for being one of the most effective and resourceful forces in the country. She, however, mentioned that she hadn’t lived long enough in Chandigarh to see the city’s traffic situation change over the years. She also discussed her upcoming biopic.

On Tuesday, the annual scholarship award function was organised by PUAA and the event recognised the academic achievements of 164 meritorious students from the 2020-21 batch, who hail from various departments of the varsity and its affiliated colleges. PUAA also presented stipends to 19 students selected by different departments and BEd colleges on a need-cum-merit basis.

The event also witnessed the release of the Punjabi-translated edition of her book “Fearless Governance”, titled “Nidar Prashasan”. The translation has been done by journalist and PU alumnus Arvind Chhabra. Former Himachal Pradesh DGP Sanjay Kundu was the guest of honour and introduced Bedi’s book to the audience.