Be an Icon yourselves, don’t imitate: Governor
Bhubaneswar, Nov 10: Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal today exhorted the students to be icon themselves and not imitate anyone.
“Don’t fall in trap of material goddesses of ignorance, illusion, corruption, conspiracy, diplomacy and ignore these completely. Be an icon of yourselves and never imitate others”, said the Governor addressing the graduating students of KIIT Deemed to be University during its 14th convocation here.
He said every country of the world is striving for economy supremacy and these students are going to face a world divided by the lines of religion, regions, color and languages.
“The biggest challenge before you is to vanquish these divisions”, he exhorted the graduating students.
He said as they advance in their chosen careers, they should not forget to smile, be kind and find peace in the laps of nature.
“India is not only a country with her land, rivers, mountains and habitations, but for Indians, she is much beyond these things – she is the divine Goddess. Odisha is the state for humanity at large,” the Governor said. Praising the founder of KIIT and KISS Prof Achyuta Samanta, the Governor said he is an example.
“KIIT & KISS are divine creations through him. Prof. Samanta is bringing smiles to 27,500 underprivileged children. He loves those who have never been loved before. I regard him as an angel”, he added.
A total 5695 students of 2017 – 18 received their degrees at the convocation in the presence of Vice-President, World Academy of Arts & Culture (WAAC), U.S.A. & Fmr. Vice President, IPPNW (Nobel Peace Prize winner – 1985) Prof Ernesto Kahan and other dignitaries.
Among them, 77 students got Ph.D. degrees in various disciplines.
The University conferred Honoris Causa Degrees of D.Sc. upon Prof. (Dr.) Kahan and Prof. Dinabandhu Sahoo, Director, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal, and D.Litt. upon Baroness Usha Kumari Prashar, CBE, PC, U.K.; Member of Swiss Parliament, Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, Prabhu Gaur Gopal Das, Life Coach, Monk & Spiritual Motivational Speaker; Renowned Indian Film Writer, Producer, Director and Actor Kabir Bedi, and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Dr. Md. Sabur Khan.
The Chief Speaker Prof. (Dr.) Kahan said, “I have visited many places in the world, but never saw institutions like KIIT and KISS. Two institutions are indeed examples for the whole world”.
He promised to help KIIT in all possible ways , particularly in the field of medical science research.
Prof. Kahan, who is a well-known litterateur besides a physician, also read a poem he had written on conflict in Middle East and relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings.
In her acceptance speech, The Baroness Prashar said, “This institution has inspired me the most in whole of my working career. Prof. Samanta’s vision has made it a reality and by emphasizing on women empowerment.
Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, said his journey of life had taught him many lessons and his experience in KIIT & KISS is among the most important ones.
Prof. Samanta’s work for the underprivileged children is the top level service to humanity, he stated.
Calamities can be turned into opportunities and students can learn this lesson from the life story of Prof. Samanta, said Prabhu Gaur Gopal Das.
“He has the combination of leadership with compassion and empathy.
Bedi expressed gratitude to KIIT, its founder, all the teachers of the world because “knowledge is the best gift a human being can receive”.
Advising the graduating students to explore entrepreneurship, Dr. Khan said that they are lucky to have an example like Prof. Samanta, who has become an icon of India.
Accepting the Honoris Causa D.Sc. Degree, Prof. Dinabandhu Sahoo said, “This honour is very special to me as it comes from a top university of my home state”.
Karan Khandelwal, MBBS, Pritam Samantaray, M.Tech. (CE&M) and Nirmal Pandey, B. Tech. (Civil) won Founder’s Gold Medals for their outstanding all round and academic performance.
Similarly, 20 students were awarded Chancellor’s Gold Medal, while 21 students got Vice Chancellor’s Silver Medal. P.K. Bal Memorial Gold Medal, PPL Gold Medal and Nanibala Memorial Gold Medal were also given away on the occasion.
