Bengal India’s ‘cultural capital’, says CM, hails edu achievements
Times of India | 9 January 2025
Kolkata: Calling Bengal the cultural capital of the country, CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hailed Bengal's achievements across different fields — from education to culture and sports. Speaking at the conclusion of Students' Week celebrations in the city, the CM also praised the accomplishments of Bengalis worldwide and urged those living abroad to return home at some point to contribute to the state's growth. Banerjee handed over scholarships and cycles.
The CM said that the motto of one's life should be to walk together, uniting people from diverse fields.
Banerjee said she had seen tough times while she was a student. Her father had died while she was young, and Banerjee had to look after the family. There was no support system for students then, the CM said, and added that there was the Students Credit Card now by which one could obtain loans of up to Rs 10 lakh.
The CM said that sons and daughters of Bengal were working in every leading institute and organisation across the country and even globally. "Besides economist Amartya Sen and historian Sugata Bose, both associated with Harvard University, so many Bengali academicians are spread worldwide, making the country and Bengal proud," she said. Banerjee told students that while they could obviously go abroad for higher studies, they should return to their roots instead of settling there.
Banerjee recalled that at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, she had facilitated the enrolment of medical students who had to return midway through their courses at medical colleges in the state. "If you (students) are enrolled at institutes of your specialised discipline here, you won't have to face such situations," the CM said.
Banerjee remembered how social reformers Raja Rammohan Roy and Iswarchandra Vidyasagar had shown India the path to eradicate social evils like ‘sati' and exploitation of widows. She also talked about how Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam had spread the message of brotherhood, patriotism and love for the motherland to "unite people and not divide them". "Now if someone threatens to undermine that spirit, that glorious heritage of the state, counter that, combat that," she said.
The CM also said that education was a continuous process, and urged students to remain healthy, keep windows of the mind open, and never be depressed in life.