Distinguished parents, there can't be a prouder moment for you than this amazing moment. Members of the faculty, members of the staff, distinguished members of the bureaucracy and I must justify my presence. I'm here for you boys and girls.

Education is a gift of God, if you get quality education you are lucky. If you get this kind of education in a nation of 1.4 billion you are privileged in the right sense. Education is a great equaliser. Equality in law or otherwise can be optimally and best secured only through education. Education hits very hard inequities, injustice and that's what you are going to do all your life. Quality education, its accessibility and affordability are fundamentals for any democratic nation to achieve. Fortunately, you belong to a different category of society. Your parents have been highly indulgent to make available this education to you. But for others, I'm included therein. The government over the decades has thought very wisely to have a similar mechanism.

I come from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. It was in 1962 I joined Sainik School, Chittorgarh from a village that did not have electricity, did not have road connectivity, did not have a toilet in the house. As a matter of fact, I came to put it figuratively from darkness to light in Chittorgarh.

I therefore reflected on occasions, is celebration of a living legacy of a tradition that continues to shape minds , mould character and nurtures not only leaders but good citizens of tomorrow. Established in 1869 during British era, this institution has stood the test of time with grace and dignity.

My dear boys and girls, what a coincidence. Another important event took place in 1869 and that was birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, An apostle of peace and non-violence.

I will beseech you, take out some time in the library to focus on brief biographies of our icons. The number is large. It is in every field, astronomy, architecture, science, arts, politics, philosophy and the kind. This education was primarily meant to impart education to a certain category. Now, it has become representative, reflecting the representative character of our nation. Boys and girls always remember when we were in Sainik school, you were our envy.

We envied that there were better schools around. We always took you to be luckier than us. And therefore, thank your parents. Have a deep sense of gratitude for your teachers and your stars that you are getting world-class best education.

For over a century and a half, the alumni of this institution, as reflected by the Hon’ble Governor, have made their mark, left indelible print on our minds by their contributions, spectrum of human endeavour in science, defence, literature, cinema, business, and public service. Therefore, this occasion is two-fold.

One, you have to reflect on the glorious journey you have had so far, but you also will have to devise a way forward stance for the simple reason that a philosopher much before Socrates, Heraclitus, reflected the only constant in life is change. And he buttressed it by an argument that the same person cannot be in the same river twice. Neither the person is the same nor the river is the same.

You will have to change with the times. We have lived through times where a landline was absolutely a privilege, and look at now, India boasts in the world of having the largest number of smartphones.

Digital penetration and connectivity, which is unrivalled in the world. You must have heard very frequently Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Machine Learning, and the kind but these have entered your life, in school, in workplace, in homes. You will have to change and adapt so that you become worthy citizens of a nation, Bharat. That is home to one-sixth of humanity.

And for you, it is motivational, inspirational. Just reflect back and you'll find home. You are at a place where legends have walked. Major Somnath Sharma, first recipient, the highest military decoration of this nation. Your alumnus had it. He studied here. Field Marshal Manekshaw, architect of 1971 victory that has gone down in history as a page to be read by one and all ever. He brought that victory to the nation, having been nurtured by this Institution. You live in that area, never forget.

If I come to the other field, there are multiple areas I would not reflect on more but I would make a reference shortly to Amitabh Bachchan, because his spouse is a very distinguished member of Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan always reminds you, work is worship. There is no age for work. You must continue to contribute. Now, my dear young boys and girls, their phenomenal achievements are your heritage, and heritage matters. Their achievements are your foundation. But there is something more.

Their legacy is your responsibility now. You have to create new benchmarks. I have no doubt you will do so. This Institution, like many other good institutions in the country, do not just educate. Other principals are there, they will bear me out. You are inspired here. You are helped to shape your minds. And on this occasion, I am particularly reminded of what Vivekananda ji said. What is education? Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.

Vivekananda ji, barely just 40 years, but we iconize him, the world iconizes him. His address at Chicago, brothers and sisters, resonates in our ears and ears of everyone in the world who cares for sanity. So, education is the manifestation of the perfection already in you.

You have a soothing environment here to fully exploit your potential, realise your talent to the fullest level, and thereby fructify your dreams and ambitions, and Vivekananda ji gave another motto. Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is achieved. Don't have narrow goal. Don't have a self-centred goal. Have a goal for society, for humanity, for the nation. If you look around, let's say, for a thousand years, who are we living today? Who are we remembering? Only those who gave back to the society, who worked for the society, who lived for the society and led their lives for society. So, bear that in mind.

Look around Nainital. What a wonderful place. People flock to this place. It's a great tourist attraction. But at the same time, we find we are faced with fragile Himalayan ecology. We are faced with it and we are therefore reminded of climate change. Climate change is a time bomb ticking. We are cliff hanging. We don't have another planet to live. And that is why the Prime Minister of the country gave a clarion call ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.’ I was happy to have it for both my parents, but I appeal to each one of you and to students all over and principals in particular all over the country. They must imbibe this spirit in the students because when a mind is nurtured at a young age, tender age the mould is lasting.

Because this brings me to another core issue that is sustainability. There has to be sustainable development. We cannot engage in reckless exploitation of natural resources because we can afford-No. Optimal utilisation has to be there, believe in that.

You boys and girls are in a delicate ecology zone. I urge you to lead life defined by eco-consciousness and sustainable choices. You are experiencing it firsthand. Just imagine if it doesn't last for long. What irreducible damage will be doing to humanity and to this place in particular. In this century, we are not only to literate people.

Literacy mattered long back in Bharat. Bharat today is no longer a nation with potential. As your potential is exploited to your great advantage by hand-holding attitude of your faculty members. Similarly, Bharat is no longer a nation with potential. This nation's potential is being exploited day in and day out. It is a nation on the rise. The rise is continual. The rise is incremental.

And if I go by last decade at a global benchmark, the economic rise of Bharat has been exponential. Infrastructural growth has been phenomenal. Among the large economies, we are the fastest growing. The last decade for Bharat has been a decade of development, decade of growth, decade of finding a new place in the global order. And that being so, you have to take it forward now because a developed nation status which is Bharat as we call it is not our dream. It is our destination.

We have to achieve it by hard work, by perseverance. Already we are on track. Global economy, we will be third largest global economy in two, three years, which means we have traversed in economy against headwind, difficult terrain, air pockets from double-digit economy, fragile five economies to this elevated status.

And therefore, institutions like Sherwood and the institutions in the neighbourhood play a crucial role in nation building. You are sanctuaries of character building, character formation, training in nationalism, training in leadership, laboratories for citizenship. You will have to imbibe a spirit, nation always first.

We will have to subscribe to nationalism without qualification, unrestricted, because that is what Bharat, a unique nation with 5,000 years of civilisation depth, deserves. On this occasion, contextually, I am reminded, boys and girls, of your motto. Very well chosen, but you have to live through the motto every second. Your motto encapsulates all you have to achieve in life - Mereat Quisque Palmam. I practise how to pronounce it, but you would have done much better. Am I right? Let each one merit his prize. Now look at what it says. Mottoes are not meant to be hung on walls. It has to become part of your life and that being so, look at the motto. Don't just rival the other one.

Don't just envy what the other one has done. You must keep on attaining higher level for you. In the process, the more you handhold someone, the more you help someone, even to march ahead of you, that will be your contribution.

There are many people who have become very great in sports, science, politics, and otherwise, but they will say, I give credit to someone else, who may not have risen to that level. Therefore, do it. This land is not just a land of geography.

Look at other countries which we envy on occasions. Now we are no longer envying them. The entire world is focussing on Bharat. Somehow history of 400 years, 500 years, 1000 years, no one comes close to us. When we look at our Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, our epics, Ramayana, Mahabharata, astonishingly refreshing for mind, the guidest ever, the discourse of Lord Krishna to Arjuna in Mahabharata, amazing.

Let me tell you, boys and girls, little be curious about it. When our constitution was formulated, it had 22 miniatures. One was Lord Krishna giving discourse to Arjuna at Kurukshetra. The other was Ram, Sita, and Lakshmana coming back to Ayodhya.

Coming back to what the world looks at India. World is looking at India not for its rise alone, not for its scientific development, not alone for infrastructural development. It is also looking at India because of its enviable demographic dividend.

The median age of our youth demographic dividend is 28. We are 10 years younger to China and U.S., 10 years! . And when we look at the composition, 65 percent of our population is below 35 years.

Boys and girls, the world is changing too fast for us. We have not to be taken or overtaken by change. We have to create the change we need. We have to formulate the change which we want. And Bharat wants a change which is good for the entire planet. And that is why we have Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

In G20, we gave a motto to the entire world, One earth, One planet, One family, One future. That's what Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The good thing is that while you are extremely fortunate and lucky, but people in my category and now also are getting benefit of quality education, first by way of a number of schools that is proliferating. But also having Rashtriya Adarsh Vidyalaya or model schools. Because a nation rises when the rise is like a plateau it can't be like a pyramid.

But then you are respected so much that you have to outperform yourselves day in and day out. I'm sure Amandeepji would help you know. And when you step out in the larger domain, you will know the great advantages of national education policy 2020. It's a remarkable policy. It distances you from degrees, credentials. It helps you discover yourself, your talent.

My advice to you will be never fear failure. Fear of failure is a myth. Failure is not failure in the sense it is understood by parents and teachers and others. Some of the teachers think he has got less marks. No. Failure is just a setback for the next success that is due to you.

Whenever you think of failure, think of Chandrayaan 2. It failed according to many. According to me, it succeeded 95 percent and paved the way for success of Chandrayaan 3, where we had the occasion and distinction in the world of landing on the south pole of moon which no country in the world has done so far.

Let Sherwood College emerge as a living model of this vision, blending global excellence and Bhartiya wisdom in the reverse order. Let Sherwood College be a shining example of this transformation where global outlook meets rooted wisdom which we have. Boys and girls, it has been absolutely amazing experience for me and I would therefore urge you to keep the legacy and heritage of Sherwood on incremental trajectory.

To begin with, I extend warm-hearted invitation to those students boys and girls who were alongside me when I had two saplings, saplings in the name of my late father and mother. I invite them to be my guest at Indian parliament. This will be also for the two who have managed the situation here. The one who painstakingly portrayed me and the portrait here, painting here.

I am grateful for your patience but I will add two more things, As a student in Sainik School, I was very studious, I had an obsession that if I don’t come first, heaven will fall for me, they would never fall. I was lucky to be number one throughout.

Never be obsessed with being number 1,2,3 in class. Its good if you are in median age, median category. So two things you are giving now–No tension, no stress. I appeal to parents, parenthood is the most important obligation you owe not only to your children, but to the entire humanity and so please do not stress your children. Don’t decide what their objective life is, If you will decide all of them will end up being in pursuit of money, in pursuit of power, where would we have scientists, where would we have astronomers, where would we have people who define destiny for the entire globe.

Thank you.

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JK/RC/SM

Sherwood Press Release