‘India’s power is for world’s welfare, not to scare anyone’

India is the only country in the world that has never attacked or occupied an inch of any other country’s land, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

“Our dream is to make India jagatguru (world power). We want to make the country powerful, rich, knowledgeable, and a nation with values,” Singh said at Delhi University’s 98th convocation ceremony on Saturday, where he was the chief guest. “India’s power is meant for the welfare of the world and not to scare anyone. India is the only country in the world that has never attacked or occupied one inch of land of any other country. This is our character.”

Noting that intelligence and educational qualifications were not enough, Singh exhorted the students to cultivate good values. “Your intelligence alone doesn’t matter. Your values and open-mindedness matter. One needs to have an elevated mind,” he said.

Around 173,443 students were awarded digital degrees by Delhi University on Saturday. Additionally, 802 students were conferred PhD degrees, the highest in the history of the university.

DU will start new programmes in engineering, including BTech in computer science, electrical, and electronics, and integrated five-year BA-LLB and BBA-LLB programmes, among others, to mark its centenary this year, vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said.

New programmes will also be started at the School of Open Learning, he said.

While outlining the university’s efforts towards implementation of the National Education Policy, Singh said the university was taking a lead in implementing the policy across the country.

“Our framework is ready. From the coming academic session 2022-23, we will be able to implement most of the provisions of the NEP,” the vice-chancellor said.