A nation which forgets the idealism of its past, loses something vital from its future, said President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday.
Addressing the nation on the eve of its 68th Independence Day, Mukherjee said and asked, "Our educational institutions multiply as the aspirations of generations continue to exceed supply. But what has happened to quality, from base to apex? We recall the guru-shishya parampara with legitimate pride; why then have we abandoned the care, devotion and commitment that is at the heart of this relationship?"
He said that a "guru" or teacher, much like the soft and skilful hands of a potter, moulds the destiny of the "shishya" or student.
"The student with devotion and humility acknowledges the debt of the teacher. Society respects and recognizes the merit and scholarship of the teacher. Is that happening in our education system today? Students, teachers and authorities must pause and introspect," the president asked and emphasized.
India, he said, is a complex country of 1.3 billion people, 122 languages, 1600 dialects and seven religions, and its strength lay in its unique capacity to blend apparent contradictions into positive affirmations.
He said, "In the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, it is a country held together and I quote: 'by strong but invisible threads... About her there is the elusive quality of a legend of long ago; some enchantment seems to have held her mind. She is a myth and an idea, a dream and a vision, and yet very real and present and pervasive'"
He said that India has blossomed into a vibrant democracy because of the fertile ground laid by its Constitution.
"The roots are deep, but the leaves are beginning to wilt. It is time for renewal. If we do not act now, will our successors seven decades hence remember us with the respect and admiration we have for those who shaped the Indian dream in 1947? The answer may not be comfortable, but the question has to be asked," the President said.
