Youngsters should reject selfish politicians, says High Court judge

Speaking at the 18th convocation of Periyar University in Salem, Jagadeesan cautioned youngsters to reject pseudo religious leaders and selfish politicians who promote hatred in the society. “Develop core values and philosophical perspective to succeed in life,” he added. 

Dwelling deep into the nation’s advancement in space research, defence manufacturing and industrial growth, the former justice stated that unemployment is not an issue anymore. 

“Unemployment is not any issue, but unwillingness among youngsters is. Opportunities are plenty in India. Happiness is not equated with money but with relationships.  Do not go abroad by leaving the family here and repent later,” he added. 

Mentioning an anecdote of President Roosevelt, Jagadeesan expressed the idea that for any society to be progressive, the younger generation needs to be inculcated with the spirit of enquiry and motivated to pursue the truth. 

“This is a great and worthy objective and universities all over the country must really be made liberal both in structure and character,” he remarked on the purpose of universities. 

He insisted that having a contented mind leads to happiness and the restless pursuit of material wealth leads to a meaningless life.  The journey of education that started in school and continued in the university needs to be sustained throughout life to improve the mind. 

Periyar University Vice Chancellor P Kolandaivel said that faculty knowledge enrichment and facilities conducive to research are vital for social development. On the initiatives to enhance the research environment in the campus, the Vice-Chancellor said that the number of university research fellowships were increased to 162 and streamlined for unhindered utilization by the beneficiaries. 

“A 50 per cent travel grant for faculties and rupees five lakhs allotment for research scholars has facilitated more participation from the university at the international academic events,” he said.  

Recognising the need to incubate the entrepreneurial skills, the Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the proposal with regard to food science and nutrition. In addition, 16 funded projects worth Rs 2.31 crores are continuing in the 27 departments. 

Earlier Governor Banwarilal Purohit awarded degrees to students at the convocation.