Ninth convocation ceremony of divyang varsity held

Arindam Ghosh l TNNJhansi: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh paid obeisance to spiritual guru Rambhadracharya, apologising for his physical absence in the convocation ceremony. While greeting the students who secured medals, Singh said that Chitrakoot is the centre of culture, heritage and spirituality. He advised the students to enhance their academics in future.The ninth convocation ceremony of Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Divyang State University was held on the university campus on Monday in Chitrakoot.Singh, who was earlier scheduled to attend the convocation but had to change it later, addressed the gathering virtually and extended his good wishes to the graduates and university fraternity, assuring continued support for the institution’s development.The chief guest of the event, minister of state (independent charge) for divyangjan empowerment and backward class welfare, Narendra Kashyap talked of full govt support for the university’s future growth, including infrastructure development, new centres and NAAC-related assistance.Presiding over the ceremony, Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya described the university as a symbol of India’s rich knowledge tradition and emphasised that education should inspire service to humanity, society and the nation.Earlier, vice chancellor Prof Shishir Kumar Pandey welcomed the dignitaries. He termed the convocation historic and said the university, after attaining recognition from the state govt, has emerged as acentre of attraction for differently-abled students not only from Bundelkhand but from across the country. Highlighting the university’s achievements in recent years, he spoke about the rise in student enrollment, the introduction of new courses and the institution’s steady academic expansion.A total of 2,417 degrees, 141 gold medals, six chancellor medals and 39 doctoral degrees were awarded during the convocation, which took place after seven years.During the ceremony, IAS officer and paralympic silver medallist Suhas LY and Chitrakoot division commissioner Ajit Kumar were conferred with honorary DLitt degrees for their contributions to disabilityempowerment, sports and public administration.On this occasion, the university’s research journal Samanubhuti was also released along with books authored by lifelong chancellor Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya, including works on the Ramcharitmanas and Sanskrit literature.