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Learn from India’s performance in Australia: Modi at Tezpur varsity convocation
“This performance by our players also teaches us big life lessons. One is to have belief in our abilities, second is to have a positive mindset. If we have a positive mindset, the outcome will also be similar,” said PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the young minds of the country to learn from the historic victory of the Indian test cricket team in Australia.
“There is a new way of facing and tackling challenges and problems by the youth of today. The latest example of it was witnessed in the cricket field when the Indian team despite loss and hardships, overcame them and won in the next matches,” said Modi while addressing the 18th convocation of Tezpur University in Assam online.
“Despite being injured, our players persevered on the field to save the match. Notwithstanding challenging conditions, they didn’t despair and faced them. Some players had less experience but their determination was not and they created history,” he added.
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Modi said that the team had both talent and temperament to take on the experienced Australian team with senior players and defeat them.
“This performance by our players also teaches us big life lessons. One is to have belief in our abilities, second is to have a positive mindset. If we have a positive mindset, the outcome will also be similar,” said Modi.
“The third and most important lesson is when you have the option of leaving a challenge safely and on the other hand have the choice of a difficult victory, you should explore the possibility of a win. If you fail in the attempt to win, there is no loss. We should never be afraid of taking risks and experimenting. We have to be proactive and fearless to overcome the fear of failure,” he added.
Modi stated that despite questions and concerns about India’s ability to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has been able to turn things around for the better.
“At the start of this pandemic, concerns were expressed on how India, with such a large population, could be devastated by Covid-19. But India showed the world that if you have resolve and resilience, it doesn’t take long to create resources,” he said.
“Instead of compromising with the situation and waiting for the problem to increase, we took quick and proactive steps. As a result, we were able to face and fight the virus effectively. We limited the spread of the disease with made-in-India solutions and improved our health infrastructure. Now our vaccines are giving many countries the assurance of a safety shield,” added Modi.
The PM praised the innovation hub of Tezpur University and initiatives like the simple and cheap way of purifying water by the department of chemical science, which is benefiting many villages across Assam and in several other states.
“Such technology can strengthen the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide clean drinking water to all households. Measures to turn waste to energy from crop waste and tasks being done on biogas and organic fertilisers by Tezpur University can solve a big problem for the country,” said Modi.
Research and documentation of tribes of the northeast and their disappearing languages, preservation of manuscripts written on birch during the period of Srimanta Sankardeva and digitszation of old books being done at Tezpur University were also lauded Modi.
The event witnessed conferring of degrees and diplomas to 1,218 students who graduated in 2020. Among the degree recipients, 48 toppers of various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were awarded gold medals.
The event was held in a blended mode observing Covid-19 protocols, wherein only the PhD scholars and gold medallists received their degrees and medals in person while the rest of the recipients were awarded degrees and diplomas virtually.
Governor of Assam Jagdish Mukhi and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal were also present on the occasion while union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed the convocation online.
Friday’s address by the PM comes a day ahead of his visit to Assam to take part in a rally at Sivasagar where he will distribute land allotment certificates to 106,000 persons.
