Education, empowerment & excellence in Prez Droupadi Murmu’s message for students at Panjab University convocation
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday stressed on the importance of women empowerment, stating that an educated woman contributes not only to her family but also to the upliftment of the society.
In her nearly 10-minute address at Panjab University’s 72nd convocation ceremony, Murmu also noted that despite the varsity having an almost equal number of men and women, women emerged toppers in over 80% of the courses. “While I congratulate all students, I especially congratulate female students for their achievement. An educated woman not just helps her family but contributes towards the upliftment of the society.”
The President also complemented Olympian and PU student Manu Bhaker, who was all smiles while receiving her PU Khel Ratna award. “Such smiling women are an inspiration to the coming generations. I want women to excel not just in studies but also in sports and other fields,” she added.
The President spoke about the need for application-based education, where students can apply their knowledge to real-life situations.
She praised Panjab University’s rich legacy, where former presidents, prime ministers and Nobel laureates have studied.
Murmu is the sixth president to address the PU convocation after Rajendra Prasad (1951), Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy (1981), Giani Zail Singh (1985), APJ Abdul Kalam (2007) and Pranab Mukherjee (2015).
Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini were also present on the occasion.
Renowned mathematician RJ Hans Gill and social worker Sushri Nivedita Raghunath Bhide were conferred honorary degrees. Hans Gill received the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), while Bhide was awarded the Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa). Gurtej Singh Sandhu received the Vigyan Ratna, Harmohinder Singh Bedi was awarded the Sahitya Ratna, Pushvinder Jit Singh was conferred the Udyog Ratna, and Jaspinder Narula received the Kala Ratna.
Among the academic prize recipients, Sukhjot Kaur was awarded the Abhishek Sethi Memorial Cash Prize of ₹30,000 for her achievements in BE Computer Science and Engineering. Balwinder Raj and Munish Kumar each received the Shiv Nath Rai Kohli Memorial Mid-Career Best Scientist Award, which carries a cash prize of ₹50,000.
