“If a particular ideology is a cause for strife, it is not an ideology and definitely not India’s ideology. An ideology progresses through ideas and discussions. No one remembers those who destroyed the universities of Nalanda and Taxila. It is said that the library of Nalanda University burnt for months. But the thoughts from those universities continue to live on even till now,” Shah said.
Shah advised youths to understand duties towards the country and spoke about India’s defence policy. India did not have a defence policy before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power and even if it existed, it was a shadow of the foreign policy, Shah alleged. Anti-terror surgical strikes and airstrike showed the meaning of India’s defence policy, he claimed.
“Earlier, terrorists would be sent to attack us and there were similar attempts to do so with the Uri and Pulwama attacks. But with the surgical strikes and airstrikes, we showed what the defence policy meant,” he said. India “worships peace, wants peace” and has cordial relations with every country in the world, he said.
“India is a geo-cultural country and many people will not understand the idea of India until they understand this. Some people call India a country of problems, but we believe that our country has the potential to solve millions of problems. From 2014 to 2022, under PM Modi, India achieved several things and crores of poor people started considering themselves as part of the country.”
Shah praised the New Education Policy and said that it is the first such initiative that has been “welcomed by all.” Referring to the 5+3+3+4 scheme in NEP, Shah said it was very important that children were schooled in their mother tongue in the first five years. “One should learn French, various Chinese languages, but if I don’t study Gujarati, Hindi, I won’t be able to connect with my roots,” he claimed. “For me, it is a matter of pride that DU has invited me to present my views. I was in a dilemma for a couple of minutes about whether I should go or not, but then I decided that I have to go and I should talk to people. ‘It’s a big achievement that you have managed to retain your relevance even after 100 years,” Shah said.
