Nitish seeks naming central universities after Buddha, Gandhi

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Nitish wants to change universities name
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged Vice President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for naming the new central universities in Gaya and Motihari after Gautam Buddha and Mahatama Gandhi with whom these places are associated with.

Kumar made the plea to them to use their good offices in telling the Central Government to do so at the First Convocation of the Central University of Bihar (CUB) here which was attended by the three of them.

 

He told them that bills related to the universities are expected soon hence it would be an honour for the people and the state if the two universities are nomenclatured after Buddha and Gandhi.

"Since Lord Budddha had attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and Gandhiji launched freedom movement from Motihari it will be apt to name the two new central universities after them," he said.

After tiff between the Bihar government and the Union HRD ministry over venue of opening a central university in the state, the then HRD minister Kapil Sibal had last year announced two central universities one at Gaya and another at Motihari.

Kumar said the state government has alloted Rs 200 crore for acquiring 300 acres of land at Motihari while in Gaya the land belongs to Defence hence there was no problem in availability for building campus of the two universities.

Addressing the convocation of the CUB which at present is functioning from campus of BIT here, Vice President Hamid Ansari pointed to poor implementation of human rights in the country and stressed on education as a solution.

"In a vibrant and robust democracy like ours, there is no shame in acknowledging that faults and the lacunae that exist in the policies and institutions pertaining to human rights," Ansari said. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who is also Chancellor of the Central University of Bihar, in her address emphasised that education should not only be the source of livelihood, but should be a tool to stamp out rancid tradition fomenting social discrimination.

"Due to vice like grip of caste system the real face of "Due to vice like grip of caste system the real face of democracy has not emerged in the country so far as caste system is based on inequality contrary to spirit of constitution which professes equality," she said.

"Irony of our democracy is that caste system has dominating influence over it...before the load of this evil becomes unbearable we shall gain freedom from it," Kumar, who is Lok Sabha member from Sasaram in Bihar, said.

As Chancellor of the University she said an important initiative taken by the university was launching a five year graduation course in Art and Culture which was probably for the first experiment of its kind to pave way for growth of weavers.

She also stressed in bridging the gap between rural and urban areas in terms of educational opportunity. The Speaker administered oaths to the students to break the stranglehold of caste system, end dowry and serve parents and elders of the society.

A total of 156 students received graduation degree on the occasion. Vice Chancellor of the University Janak Pandey highlighted academic and other activities of the university that came into being in 2009. Bihar Education minister P K Shahi urged the Speaker to help the state get a medical college.

PTI

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