Kailash Satyarthi hands over Doctor of Science degree
Mumbai : A total of 2,389 students of the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay) were conferred their degrees at the 53rd convocation at the IIT-B campus on Saturday. On this occasion, the managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Anand Mahindra, who revealed that he’d faced ‘problems during education’, was also conferred with a Doctor of Science degree.
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who was chief guest at the programme, handed over the degree of Doctor of Science (Honnoris Causa) to Mahindra for his extraordinary commitment in furthering the cause and growth of the automobile Industry and for his significant contribution to the social development of the country.
While addressing the students, Mahindra admitted, “Even my parents wanted me to go for IIT. I joined Agarwal coaching classes for preparation. Then I realised that it cannot entertain my mind, so I moved to the JJ School of Architecture. Meanwhile, JJ School went on strike for nine months. Eventually, I landed up studying the liberal arts in the US.”
While encouraging the best technical minds in the country, he said, “We Indians have limited resources as compared to that of developed countries. So to meet our requirement, we have to make some ‘jugaad’ (adjustment). We are the best in it. The US makes an ECG machine at a cost of $10,000, while Indians develop the same machines at a cost of just $1,000. It is jugaad!”
He added, “This is time, we have to move from jugaad to ‘jhakaas’ (a slang similar to ‘wow’).”
Satyarthi, a Nobel laureate, recounted his inspiring story to the students. He asked students to listen to follow the same, even in their career. He said, “In the early 70s, I decided to give up my career as an electrical engineer for the liberation of children who are trapped in human trafficking. In those days, a degree in electrical engineering was a long cherished dream, but I put aside the degree and followed my heart.”
Vishnudas Sheshrao
