The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee delivered Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee memorial lecture to mark his 150th birth anniversary in Kolkata today (June 5, 2014).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said if India has to be one of the front ranking nations in the world, the way ahead is only through a robust education system. India needs today many more individuals like Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee willing to dedicate their lives to improving the quality of education in our country. He called upon the leaders of educational institutions to follow in the footsteps of this great son of India.

The President said Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee was a rare combination of academic brilliance. He had an integrated persona, was fiercely independent and a wonderful example of an interdisciplinary scholar. He was also a linguist who was responsible for the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute in 1906 and the College of Science of the Calcutta University in 1914. Under his guidance, Calcutta University became a major centre of learning and research in the Indian sub-continent encompassing students from Lahore to Rangoon. His sterling character was in evidence when he refused the post of Vice Chancellor in 1923 as the colonial administration tried to reinstate government control of education.

The President said Sir Ashutosh worked towards excellence in educational Institutions. Through determination, zeal, hard work and above all remarkable leadership skills, he strived to raise Calcutta University to the ranks of leading institutions of the world. The President said similarly we must transform our Universities into world class institutions. For almost 1500 years, from the founding of Takshashila in 3rd century BC to the collapse of Nalanda in 12th Century AD, India was a world leader in the field of higher education. But today our universities lag behind the best universities in the world. We must urgently salvage the declining standards of our country’s higher education as a top priority.

The President said we must learn from Sir Ashutosh the importance of ensuring cross fertilization of ideas through interaction of scholars from across India and abroad. Our educational institutions should break down the silos in which different disciplines function and strive for a harmonious interchange of thoughts between the humanities, science, languages and other disciplines. This was the atmosphere which used to prevail in Nalanda and Takshashila in their days of glory.

The President said Sir Ashutosh recognized the importance of research. But, currently, research is a neglected domain in our higher education structure. Successful research programmes offer vast possibilities to make a difference in the lives of people, therefore, our universities have to be the breeding ground for creative pursuits. They have to be the source of cutting edge innovation and technological developments. Universities must through their inventions and discoveries lead in the registration of patents for our country.

The President said Sir Ashutosh was instrumental in discovering the talents of Sir C.V. Raman and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. He went beyond the realms of academics and recruited Sir C.V. Raman who was an employee of the Calcutta Mint. Sir Ashutosh, thus demonstrated courage of conviction and an ability to take risks - a quality worthy of emulation by our Vice-Chancellors of today. We must recognize that good faculty is a critical component of our education system. Our universities must be able to identify ‘inspired teachers’ who can motivate students to think from different perspectives and spur holistic learning. Such teachers should be encouraged to mentor junior teachers and students.

The President said academic autonomy should be preserved at all cost. Students should be actively encouraged to have a passion for their alma mater and to contribute actively to its growth and development. Transformative ideas are required to steer our educational institutions from the muddy waters of mediocrity. Governance structures have to be supportive of innovative ideas and also facilitative of faster decision-making. The expertise and experience of alumni, who are well-established, can be utilized for effective university management. Our universities, especially the older ones, should make a definitive move towards engaging alumni in their activities.