August 5, 1996

Delivered at the inauguration of IILM's Bachelors degree programme with Bradford University.

Honored Professors & faculty from Bradford University. Our faculty at IILM, Parents and dear students. Today is certainly an important day for all of us. It marks the beginning of what has been conceived as an institute of excellence. In the years ahead, we will try to set for our students new standards in learning and overall development of the human mind. We will give emphasis on Research and in building a think tank where ideas and dreams will be allowed to take seed and flourish.

The Rai family is personally committed to this enormous task. We have contributed large sums to the development of education and will continue our commitment to these overall aspects of learning. What are we really talking about when we talk about learning. I would like to share my views & thoughts on this with all of you in the hope that you in the coming time you will dwell upon them and give us your feedback.

Learning must be the fundamental goal of every institution. It is the activity that binds the community together, and our success in fostering it is what determines our ultimate value to the nation and the world. Learning includes discovering new truths about nature, creating technologies, and above all developing, the habits of mind that ensure a continuing ability to acquire new ideas and perspectives.

This is not a static endeavour. Today, in fact, much rethinking and reshaping of educational enterprise is called for. At issue is not only what our students learn, but also how they learn it. Faculty must explore educational uses of new information technologies, reworking curriculum to reflect the changing workplace, and making fundamental changes in professional education. We must also seek a new balance between learning as an individual activity and as a group endeavour.

Today change, complexity and globalization define the world you students will enter. Work is being organized in new ways, organizations are linked world-wide by new technologies, thanks to the development of the world wide web and similar technologies Societal priorities are changing.

You our students must have the skills and flexibility to thrive in this fast-evolving environment. We must move on many fronts to make sure that you do too. We have to train you for this process of constant learning. It is therefore, our responsibility as good citizen to set up the right systems and educational institutions.

Today for us in India life & times are really changing rapidly. In 1947 in the words of our great Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehruji, India had a Tryst with Destiny. Today, almost a half-century later, we have in many ways another Tryst with Destiny, a Tryst that is in no way less than the one in 1947.

We are today at the doorsteps of a great economic revolution, the kind India has never seen before. Staring us in the face is an opportunity to be one of the greatest powers in the world. Facing us is a daunting uphill task and challenge to achieve that target. Just how we orient and transform ourselves will decide the future destiny of our people. Our role as an educational institution must therefore he looked at through the broader canvass of transforming our country, our society and our people and developing Corporate managers as an important vehicle in bringing about this transformation.

As the world moves into the 21st Century, the very basic assumptions of mankind are being redefined. We are faced today by a workplace that has a multiplicity of dimensions and polarity, by a global agenda that has new dimensions of complicity and an environment that has intense competition and simultaneous time compression. Time as you all know has been recognized as one of the biggest assets today. Respect for time is essential.

The new leaders of tomorrow will be those that have truly learnt to integrate their economic wisdom with their human values. These leaders will be called upon to deal simultaneously with apparently opposing concepts. In the management Jargon, this is called the concept of and Innovation and Caution, Patience and Speed, Conservativeness and Aggressiveness at the same time. Managements today are being called upon to strike the right balance between the need to preserve the core while simultaneously stimulating progress. From our perspective, this sound very similar to our Vedantic concept of unity in diversity and diversity in unity and our concept of living with and dealing with dualism.

Perhaps, therefore, in the 21st Century, the Western management Gurus would learn a lot from India. India in the 21st Century will be one of the greatest economic powers. I am absolutely convinced about that. We have the markets. We have the human capital.

Nothing can stop us, except ourselves. What is required of us is to really bring about a sea change in our thinking. Drop this " Chalta Hai" attitude towards life. Belief in Destiny does not translate into sitting back and letting things be. We have to completely overhaul our ownselves, overcome our lethargy, our pessimism and our cynicism and rebuild our own faith and our belief in ourselves. A belief that was systematically destroyed by the invaders through centuries of foreign rule. Interestingly, an independent research top Japanese Group while trying to forecast the super powers of the future in say year 2050 shared this view . The study very clearly showed that the top two super powers will be India and China. Our sheer size and market will make it so. Between the two, the bet was placed on India being the topmost. The Group was then asked to single out the one weakness that would perhaps not allow this to happen. The answer was for me shocking and coming from a foreign perhaps astounding. The weakness cited was' Indian people's lack of faith in themselves".

If we think coolly, it is very true. What is stopping us is really our own lack of faith and belief in ourselves. To forge ahead, we have to stop holding on to the past and strongly commit ourselves to the future.

A word of caution! When we talk about reforms and growth, we have to simultaneously respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and under privileged, to make their life more richly rewarding materially, morally and spiritually. Our success or failure is going to be based on our ability to take along the entire populace of the country. In fact, in the final analysis, the real success will be when we are able to reach and satisfy the poorest of the poor. The schemes for the poor like subsidized food and clothing must, therefore, be perceived in the context of overall social responsibility and not just written off a pure political gimmickry. They really are an interim measure to a much needed social security system, where health care and employment are guaranteed for all.

I am a firm believer that our economic development today is really not so much dependent on shortage of financial capital or technology but on our own ability and capability to harness our human capital. Financial capital will come if the projects are well thought out. All we have to do as good-managers is to instill confidence in the investors, whether they are Indian or foreign that we have the capability to safeguard their money and bring them good returns. World wide capital, equity or debt is not having any bias towards a country, a race or any person. It will flow wherever they have confidence and wherever they see the largest potential of growth. So let us not fool ourselves that in India we do not have a level playing ground. I would say that we have as level a playing ground as anywhere else. Every person, company or country has its strengths and weaknesses. It is how we enhance our strengths and cover our weakness that will make the difference. What we have to do then, is to sharpen our own ability and creativity and equip ourselves with the right skills and tools to complete in this fiercely competitive world.

Development of human capital must, therefore, will have to be the prime engine to spearhead and lead growth in the 21st Century. Unfortunately currently our educational system is absolutely historical in nature. We are teaching our students only history - learning Derivation of Equations, formulas without any relevance to real life applications. For these reasons, today students especially in higher education are finding their education totally irrelevant to their needs in dealing with a complex and competitive society. Here I would like to share with you my own personal experience. In 1969, I completed my B,Sc. Physics (Hons) from Delhi University - Physics (Hons) at Delhi university was considered at that time and even till today, one of the best in the country. From there, I went to MIT for my Bachelor of Engineering Degree.

Since I had done Physics (Hons), I was to get credit for work already completed. So the Head of the Department (Physics) at MIT went through what 1 had studied and our questions and answers at the University. After nearly 4 hours, he said Vinay I will give you credit. After all you have spent three years. However, all I want to tell you is that at MIT, we teach you "Physics" not "History of Physics". Simply put in one line he virtually destroyed three years of my learning.

It does not end here. After 25 years, we at Delhi University are now teaching what I nickname, the "ancient history of Physics". Almost nothing has changed. If we really sit back and think, even in Sciences, Finance or Computers we really are teaching history. We cannot teach in Schools and Universities just how equations and formulas are derived. To be truly globally competitive, we have to focus on application. We have to be on line. Lest us learn from History not live in History.

We have to change our mind set, our attitude. Education must not be in the narrow confines of text learning alone. Education must transform an individual into an integrated person" contributing to the upliftment of society.

In the name of secularism, we have destroyed the teaching of our religious philosophy. We have destroyed the teaching of human values. Every management technique must of necessity encompass this in the overall curriculum. Finally, we must remember that it is a people game. It is always people, people and people. It is people who will make the system work. It is people who will ultimately bring about the results. Therefore, inculcating in all our people a sense of pride, a feeling of belonging a feeling of security, a means of identifying themselves closely with the vision and goals of the management and the leadership, is what will bring about the sea change that will successfully lead us into the 21st Century.

All of us are moving into a very exciting world where, as they say, change is the only constant. I am sure with this right attitude, we will come out winners.

In closing , I would like to say that we must encompass, the Philosophy of " The ability to dream the Will to do" We must constantly adapt, innovate and learn from all including in foreign friends while retaining intact our human values and our human face. Let our Vedanta Philosophy which was stood the test of time continue to be our guru & guide. We are the people who have enshrined the ideas of independence introspection, innovation and creativity in our religious philosophy. Let us apply it to our daily lives to uplift ourselves to a higher state of being.

In the end, a quote from our Vedas it is so beautifully stated:

ASATHO MAA SAD GA MAYA
TAMSO MA JOTHIR GA MAYA MRITYU MA
AMRITAM GA MAYA

From the unreal lead me to the real.
From darkness lead me into light.
From death lead me to immortality.

I am confident that in the three year that we will be here with us, we shall together be able to reach the goals we set for ourselves.

Thank you and good luck.

VINAY RAI