This day reminds me of the contributions of all those who have built this great institution during the last one hundred and fifty three years, with dedication and tireless efforts. I consider it my humble duty to pay my respect to each one of them, with gratitude.
During the foundation day of IIT Kharagpur on 18th August, 1951, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, one of the chief architects and builders of the IIT system in India, in his written message said, “The Institution that we are going to start here today in Kharagpur, cannot be built on buildings and roads, classrooms and auditoriums alone – a great institution can only be established by creating an academic tradition”. As a matter of fact, all the great institutions throughout the globe are indeed guided by the great tradition created and enriched by their faculty, administrators and, of course the students – and it is this tradition that ensures academic and research excellence, which makes them great.
Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), with its rich and glorious history of one hundred and fifty three years behind them, have that tradition, for which all of us can be proud of.
The kind of tradition, we look for is a tradition of creating excellence in academics through
(i) selfless and dedicated work
(ii) giving respect to every individual – in particular, to those whose tireless efforts created, upheld and refined this tradition and
(iii) dedicating the fruits of all that we do here, to the service of the nation.
The story of BESU is the story of its evolution from the small seed, sown in 1856, to what it grown today. This grand evolution could be realized with the sincere, dedicated, and selfless work of hundreds of our teachers, students and staff - many of whom are no more with us, and many others who have retired today. It is on the fruits of the selfless, dedicated and silent work of these people that Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) rests today.
The importance of carrying out innovative research cannot be over emphasized in an institution of national importance. BESU is indeed blessed with the association of some of our country’s greatest teachers and researchers in various departments and schools. Not many universities in the country can boast of such an association of academics of highest order. The active association of a galaxy of such eminent teachers and researchers amongst us is a major strength of BESU.
I am indeed happy to find that there exists an ocean of creativity and talent amongst the faculty and the students of BESU. I am confident that with such a vast pool of brilliant human resources, we will be able to contribute very significantly towards advancement of knowledge in India and also around the globe.
I am overwhelmed by the support assured by hundreds of our alumni in shaping the academics in our university. They all are ready to help us in whatever way they can towards achieving excellence. We all are grateful to them. I look forward to getting their help and assistance in teaching, research, and infrastructure development and in many other directions.
In the background of such a positive scenario, we must all agree that possibly we could not reach near the goal set by our founding fathers. A teacher, in my opinion, should be one with a large heart of love, compassion and patience - one who can see the potential in every student and identifies the best in him. The process of learning is accelerated only when teaching is imparted with this sense of love and compassion.
The need of the hour is to restore that environment, where teaching, learning and research becomes a pleasure. This, in turn, is possible only when there is a resonance in our combined will of making our great institution, one of the best in the country.
The old clock tower of B E College, which was a landmark during our student days, reminds us of our obligations towards the older generation and our responsibilities towards the future generations in ensuring a healthy, strong & self reliant India. With support from all corners we are determined to make our endeavor a success.
In the words of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore-
“Let all our songs gather together their diverse stains
Into a single current leading to an ocean of light - we salute thee”.
On behalf of myself and also on behalf of my family, let me once again convey our respects and best wishes to you all.