14 Dec 2012|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida
"Democracy without education is hypocrisy without limitation”, avers Mr. Ram Jethmalani- Senior Advocate while accepting Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) during “Convocation 2012” at Amity University
The three day Convocation at Amity University concluded today with over 3,549 graduands from 49 Institutions of Noida and Lucknow Campus receiving their Degrees, Diplomas, Awards and Medals. In total over 10, 000 students graduated from Amity this year during the three day Convocation ceremony
During the ceremony, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & Senior Advocate and Dr Naresh Trehan- Chairman, Medanta Medicity were awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees (Honoris Causa) in Law and Science respectively by Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity Group, Dr. (Mrs.) Amita Chauhan- Chairperson, Amity International Schools, Mr. Atul Chauhan, Mr. Aseem Chauhan- Chancellor, Amity University, Rajasthan, Maj Gen K J Singh- Group Vice Chancellor, Amity Universities and Mr. D V Singh- Visitor, Amity University.
Dr. B Shukla- Acting Vice Chancellor, Amity University appraised the gathering with the brief annual report of the University highlighting the achievements of the faculty members and students, expansion plans of Amity Group, scholarships awarded during the year, accreditation received by the University and various MoUs’ signed by the University
Delivering a very inspirational speech and congratulating the graduands, Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity Group narrated interested anecdotes to drive home the importance of hard work, determination, courage, persistence, behavioral science, positive attitude and faith in God for becoming successful in personal and professional life. He motivated the graduands to welcome the adversities in life since they bring human beings closer to the God and make them realize the importance of God.
Expressing his gratitude while accepting the Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) in Law, veteran Lawyer and member of Parliament, Mr. Ram Jethmalani opined that honors received in educational institutions are more important than honors received anywhere else in public life. “It has been rightly said that democracy without education is hypocrisy without limitation. Amity is the great temple of Indian democracy by training the future democrats who shall be the in charge of the affairs of the country. 21st century seems to be the century in which everything is going wrong but there is a faint glimmer of hope which is provided by the shinning faces of youth who are, today, the inheritors of whatever we can leave to them and whatever they can achieve by exploiting the concealed legacies”, remarked Mr. Jethmalani. Quoting the prediction of the great Swami Vivekananda, Mr. Jethmalani said, “ I am convinced that the destiny of India is bright, it will send forth what it produces in its own belly to the world outside and the entire world shall enrich itself with sharing the wisdom of India. India’s religion is that of high character and when it will mix with all other religions of the world, it will produce a reconciliation of all the warring philosophies and warring religions of the world. India shall be the global Spiritual Leader”. He called upon the graduands to bring forth the fruition of the great prediction of Swami Vivekananda with their noble deeds. Hinting at the communal rifts and agitations that rock the Nation in the name of religion, Mr. Jethmalani stressed that religion, throughout the history of mankind, has not really been up to the fulfillment of the purpose for which it was created. “It has to be put in the right perspective and understood properly. The Constitution of India has given us the best gift in the form of “Secularism”, a secular society. Every politician these days uses this word but no politician has understood the “S” of Secularism; for them it is word of political abuse. The core of India’s Secularism is to lead a life which is guided by reason and logic and be inspired by love and compassion. Make as many people ‘Happy’ as you can, which is the biggest religion”, opined Mr. Jethmalani
Giving his acceptance speech, Dr Naresh Trehan- Chairman, Medanta Medicity expressed “Indian brains are the best in the world and Indian engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs are very successful across the globe because we have a functioning system that allows us to excel. But at the same time, we spend our lives trying to destroy those blessings by thinking crookedly and not being able to function in the environment which is conducive to take the Nation to next step.” Pointing to the lack of ingenuity and R& D in the field of medical science in India, Dr. Trehan said, “Today, we are very proud of the fact that we are very good copycats blindly aping the West without taking into stock its feasibility in Indian context including the treatment that is given to patients abroad. We all know that 90% of the Indians will never be able to afford the kind of medicine we, as doctors, are practicing. There is not enough money in the world today to deliver treatment to every Indian since we have a huge burden of disease and the need of the hour is to discover the new and affordable medicines. Indian Traditional Medicine including Ayurveda, Unani and Homoepathy has to be revived and combined with modern medicines in an effort to create a fusion which would be genetically more oriented to Indian gene pool, which would be economically viable and affordable. Dr. Trehan expressed his hope that India will herald a new era of medicine in the future and the world would enrich itself with that revolution. The present generation of scientists and researchers, unlike the older generation, already has a base of research from where they can lead. He advised the graduands to free themselves from the yoke of traditional thinking since the knowledge does not only reside in West. He called upon them to think creative and out of the box to realize their own hidden talents.
Also, present during the occasion was Dr. Michael J. Wargovich- Professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, Director, Cancer Chemoprevention Program, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
60 Gold Medals, 56 Silver Medals and 28 Bronze medals were awarded to the graduands who were ranked First, Second and Third in Academic Performance in their respective Institutes.
During the occasion, 6 graduands were given “ Best All Round Student Awards” including Ms. Devina Malhotra- Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication, Amity School of Communication, Ms. Deepika Sati- Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication, Amity School of Communication, Lucknow; Mr. Ashutosh Sarkhel- Bachelor of Science (Hotel Management), Amity School of Hospitality; Ms. Neha Agahari- Bachelor of Education, Amity Institute of Education; Ms. Fizza Ehtisham- Bachelor of Education, Amity Institute of Education, Lucknow and Devi Prasad Patel- Bachelor of Laws (Honours) – Integrated, Amity Law School, Noida
24 graduands who exemplified the best in human and traditional values were felicitated with “SHRI BALJIT SHASTRI AWARD” including Mr. Monish Dhawan- Bachelor of Architecture, Amity School of Architecture & Planning; Mr. Abhimanyu Kak- Master of Journalism and Mass Communication, Amity School of Communication;Ms. Divyasha Sharma-Bachelor of Fine Arts Specialization in Applied Arts, Amity School of Fine Arts; Ms. Priyanshi Tiwari- Bachelor of Science - Fashion Design and Technology, Amity School of Fashion Technology; Ms. Shreya Mehta-Bachelor of Arts (Honours) – English, Amity Institute of English Studies and Research and others.
During the Day, Amity University Online also held its Virtual Convocation for Pan- African Countries which simultaneously was transmitted to 17 global centres in Botswana, Ghana, Malawi; Mauritius; Sierra Leone; Cameroon, Rwanda, Somalia, Lesotho, Niger, Sudan, Liberia, Drcongo, Gabon, Uganda, Gambia, Madagascar, Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia. Over 871 graduands of Class of 2012 of PAN African e-Network Project received UG/PG Degrees and Diplomas in the area of International Business, Financial Management, Investment Analysis, Business Management and Information Technology.