President Pranab Mukherjee today supported free exchanges of views in universities without any bondage and external imposition.
His assertion assumes significance as there have been a few controversies in the country's premier institutions like Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) over freedom of speech.
Addressing a function, Mukherjee said former prime minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru had outlined objectives of every university.
Quoting Nehru, the president said a university would be a place of higher learning and a place for creating learning environment.
"It would be a place where free views and ideas would be exchanged, it will be a place where mighty minds (would) work in form of teachers and students, who will interact with each other without any bondage and without any external imposition.
"I totally agree (with Nehru's observation). That is the ideal objective of a university, an institution of higher learning," Mukherjee said addressing the centenary celebration of the Osmania University here.
Referring to ancient seats of learning like the Nalanda and the Takshashila, he said India had led the world for many centuries in the field of higher education.
He emphasised on having world-class universities where mighty minds would come from all over the world both in form of teachers and students.
The president said Indian institutions are "lagging far behind" in basic education and research, and suggested industries to support universities.
It is not possible to have complete state funding of institutions and the industry must come forward to support them, he said.
Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister L Chandrashekhar Rao and Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya were among the dignitaries present at the function.
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