We are in a hall that is named after one of the greatest icons of the world, Swami Vivekananda ji. When he addressed the gathering global gathering of religious leaders as 'Brothers and sisters' there were thunderous applause in the hall.What he said was 'Arise Awake and stop not till the goal is reached.’ That should be your Motto. You have to be continually striving to achieve your Motto.
I must apologize to all of you. I had planned a visit to this great institution, and I would say a brother institution or sister institution because I am from Sainik School Chittorgarh. This was supposed to happen in September 2023. On account of inclement weather, I could not make it. I was destined to make it on this day- NDA day, and a day after Army Day. Both these days are critical for us; they motivate us, they inspire, and they are reminders of our destination.
My friends, I see a big change.When I was in Sainik School Chittorgarh,it was open only for boys. Now we have a school open only to girls that was inaugurated by Raksha Mantri ji only of few days back. I find there is admission of girls in your school, as inSainik Schools also. Let me tell you importance of your school. When I went to my alma mater as Vice-President, I told them Jagdeep Dhankhar was biologically born in village Kithana but my actual birth was in Sainik School Chittorgarh because Sainik School shaped me, Sainik School made me what I am and therefore you must ever cherish the time spent here. You must never forget your friends as the years will pass by. You will remember them and it is a great strength in times to come.
I would, therefore, with the permission of the faculty, like to invite all the students of Rashtriya Military School, Dholpur to be my guests at the Parliament. In batches, when you come, your administration will coordinate, and my administration will also coordinate. That visit to Parliament and Bharat Mandapam will reveal to you where we are in the world today.
As young boys, my category of people used to wonder would we ever have the kind of roads the Western world has, the kind of airports, the kind of railway station, the kind of technology? Now the world is stunned;what India has, not many countries have! We are being followed by countries like USA UK and Singapore. Our digital transactions mechanism UPI has been adopted by a country which is very developed, Singapore. Our ISROisputting in space rockets of US UK and other countries. we have come a long way!
Your faculty will do everything to shape you, but then you will have to take extra initiatives, and those initiatives will make you what you would be. I had the good fortune in Sainik School to be class prefect, then school prefect. That was only on the strength that academically I was brilliant, but I missed out on certain things. I was so much obsessed with my rank in academics that I couldn't give time to other aspects.
Now it is time for you to evolve like a plateau. Academic brilliance is one part, and sports is another; cultural activities, yet another. There are several facets because, in general, the school will teach you ethics, a high degree of professionalism, discipline, and decorum. But knowledge, you have to gain for yourself.
You have great advantage now because of Technology. You can access knowledge wherever you want and we are living in times when sky is no longer the limit for Indians. We are beyond sky as Chandrayaan 3 has shown, our mission to sun has shown.
Could you ever imagine that a girl would be a fighter pilot? No. Could you imagine we would be manufacturing Tejas, a helicopter, and a Vikrant in our country? We never imagined this as a ground reality.
So, boys and girls, you must really think big. No one could ever imagine earlier that the Prime Minister of the Country would be Mr. Narendra Modi. He comes from that category which has suffered most. Or a tribal woman, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, will be the President of the country. Or a farmer's son, Jagdeep Dhankhar, will be the Vice-President. No one imagined.
Because we now have a level playing field, a field without patronage; you don't need a godfather. Times have changed; everything is transparent and accountable.
Your motto is 'Sheelam Param Bhushanam': 'Character is the highest Virtue'. You share your motto with one of the greatest Institutions and that is Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
Those who are in uniform, those who are in our services, they have better options of making money. But making money is one insignificant part of life; serving your motherland is absolutely necessary. But desire itself is not sufficient. Desire has to be intermixed with accomplishment; you must prove yourself.
It is absolutely necessary for you to visit every part of the country. North East is the part unknown to us. The beauty of North East culture, flora fauna wildlife sanctuaries are rated among best in the world. I am sure your administration will take care of it because you are part of an organisation the presence of which is there in every nook and corner of the country and we all are proud of our men in uniform. They are outstanding people. I know it out of experience.
