NIT Durgapur to host Puri Shankaracharya for motivational speech

Durgapur: NIT Durgapur has invited Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Maharaj to deliver a motivational speech on Thursday, Sept 11. The Shankaracharya will also preside over a "darshan and diksha" event. The programme schedule was released by NIT director Arvind Choubey on Monday.Speaking to reporters, Choubey said: "On Sept 10 and 11, Shankaracharya Ji from Puri will be on the NIT campus. He is scheduled to deliver a motivational speech for our children (NIT students). We hope our faculty, students and guests gain from this (speech)."The NIT director went on to say, "NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 has a section on Indian knowledge systems. It is incumbent on all directors to implement NEP. As a part of that, this motivational speech aims to reinvigorate among students our ancient culture and beliefs."A slide outlining the programme details showed that the Shankaracharya will speak on "Yuva Shakti and Bharatiya Gyan Parampara" on Sept 10 and lead the "darshan and diksha" programme on Sept 10 and 11.When reporters asked the NIT director why a secular institution, with students of all faiths, was hosting the head of a religious institution, he said, "It (the event) has nothing to do with religion. We would like instead to invite all students to hear him out."Asked if the "diksha" programme would be held on the NIT campus, Choubey said, "This programme schedule has come from them (the Puri Shankaracharya's office). We are not aware where it will be held."When reporters asked Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh for his reactions on NIT Durgapur hosting such an event, he said, "We (Trinamool) will not make any political statements on this. There are issues of personal faith. Science and religion are very complex and it's not always proper to drag politics into them.""Like there are scientists who believe only in science, there are also scientists who believe in a higher power. It is a fact of life that there are times doctors say medical science cannot do anything, pray to your God. So, we will not comment on this," he added.BJP Durgapur West MLA Lakshman Chandra Ghorui said, "Only NIT can decide whom they invite. People who only accord importance to a certain community will see this in a different perspective."