Don't allow anyone to dictate your course of action: Dhankhar to students

Chandigarh, Mar 5 (PTI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday advised students not to allow anyone to dictate their course of action, asking them not to be afraid of failure.

Dhankhar made these remarks while addressing a convocation ceremony of Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth (JCD) in Sirsa. Haryana minister Ranbir Gangwa, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala, who is president of the Devi Lal Memorial Trust; and INLD MLA Arjun Chautala, who is chairman of JCD Vidyapeeth, were among others present.

At the beginning of his convocation address, Dhankhar told the gathering to always put the nation first, saying, "There can be no interest higher than the national interest. Personal and political interests are insignificant." Dhankhar called upon the students to choose a career in life according to their interests and aptitudes.

"Allow your life to go like a river and not like a canal... there was a time when a child was born and parents used to decide what career their child has to choose," he said.

The vice president told them that India today offers numerous opportunities to the youth and they must take advantage of it.

"If you look around, boys and girls, your basket of opportunities is ever enlarging, it is there in the blue economy, it is there in the space economy. You are in Bharat at a time when no nation in the last decade has grown as fast and as large as Bharat.

"Be it economic upsurge, phenomenal infrastructure growth, digitalisation... Per capita internet consumption of Bharat is more than that of China and USA taken together," he said.

About digital transactions, he said these are four times more than the combined transactions of the USA, UK, France and Germany.

"If we examine our economy that was very fragile a decade ago... but today our foreign exchange reserves are over 700 billion.

"You are lucky to be living in times when Bharat is dotted with open possibilities. There is an ecosystem in place, affirmative government policies, hand-holding policies that allow you to exploit your talent and potential and realise your ambitions and aspirations," he told the students.

He said meritocracy prevails now and when that is the scenario, the students must think big.

"Never be under stress, never be under tension. And fear of failure is the worst failure in life because it is a myth, there is nothing like failure. It is an attempt that has not succeeded," he said.

He also told the students not to be startled if they received a setback.

"An occasional failure only improves you," he said.

Dhankhar said, "Some people were so pessimistic that Chandrayaan-2 was called by them as failure... Chandrayaan-2 came very close to the lunar surface but could not touch it. It was, according to me, more than 90 per cent success.

" And that is why Chandrayaan-3 became a success. And therefore, failure is a myth," he said.

He told the students that failure allows them to further improve. Many greatest accomplishments in history have never succeeded in the first attempt, he added.

The vice president advised the students that if they had a brilliant idea, they should not allow that to be parked in their minds.

"That will be the greatest injustice to you and humanity. Experiment, think out of the box.

"Look at what has happened in this country, particularly in the last decade. Startups, unicorns... therefore, never fear, never have tension or stress; go for experimentation, go according to your attitude. You will have enough to contribute for the nation," he said, as he referred to numerous opportunities which are available to youth today.

He asked the students to only think big.

"Disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence, internet of things, machine learning and every moment we are having a paradigm shift and every moment is a change that brings huge challenges and every challenge has to be converted into opportunity and that has to be done by you boys and girls," he said.

Dhankhar invited the students of JCD to visit Parliament and said he would be happy and delighted if they came in the coming session.

Talking about India's progress, the vice president told the students that "no nation in the world has grown as fast with such a big leap as Bharat in the last decade".

"People have tasted development, they have seen development. They are, therefore, in aspirational mode and if people are in aspirational mode, there can be restive situations, there can be restlessness, a problem.

"But that problem has to be addressed by each and every individual, he said. Let me give you certain suggestions. Always, dear boys and girls, put civic duties, fundamental duties over rights," he said.

He asked them to always nurture their family, teachers, elders, neighbourhood as that is India's civilisational culture.

"Believe in the environment, that is something we are concerned. An alarmingly worrisome scenario is there. We do not have another Earth to live in," he said.

Earlier, Dhankhar accompanied by his wife Dr Sudesh Dhankhar paid tribute to Chaudhary Devi Lal at the Vidyapeeth in Sirsa. PTI SUN KSS KSS

Source: PTI