JK CM asks youth to countenance challenges bravely

 Srinagar, October 17(Scoop News) –   Describing inculcation of futuristic approach and attitude in youth as themantra of success and progress, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Wednesday asked the passed out students from Kashmir University to utilize the joyous occasion of receiving degrees as a platform to soar high and achieve new highs.

            In his address to the students of Kashmir University at the special award ceremony of Annual Convocation-2012, Omar Abdullah told them to girdle their loins and face challenges of a new world, they are entering, with capacity and calibre.

            The Chief Minister told the passed out boys and girls that they are entering into a world which is full of challenges and complexity advising them not to be daunted or distressed by the uncertainty and unrecognizable challenges. “You are on the cusp and verge of entering a world which stands redefined and unrecognizable from what your parents and forebears knew and experienced”, he said asking them not to be faze by this situation instead brace themselves to tackle difficulties and challenges.

            “Success and progress in this world is contingent upon delving into the unknown, culling opportunity from where none apparently exists, exploring new vistas and a certain restlessness and inquisitiveness. In combination with intellectual capabilities which your education has imbued you with, imbibing these qualities and making these as the sine qua non in your life, would equip you with skills to take on this world”, he elaborated.

            “Armed with these qualities and skills, you can then pick and choose from your quivers and armoury the best darts and arrows to throw at the challenges that you will face”, the Chief Minister said and added that the world demands initiative and entrepreneurial zest and verve from youth. He said that the days when a university education would command a premium for passed out student in the job markets guaranteeing jobs, are gone.

            “The nature of the relationship between labour markets, the markets and the absorptive capacity of the State has changed. The commanding heights of the economy held, at one point in time by the State have now given way to a combination of markets and the State. This structural transformation means that the State is no longer the repository of jobs. It plays an ancillary, supporting and enabling role. This meshes with the nature of the world we live in. The answer to this challenge is individual initiative and entrepreneurial verve. Equipped with knowledge, you, as the future productive members of the society, should come up with what is the currency of this word – ‘ideas’. The state will nurture and incubate the best of these”, he maintained.

            The Chief Minister said, “the nature of the ideas and ideational premises that are relevant are the ones that throw into relief the problems of society in the realms of economics, culture, society, politics, business and offer creative and innovative solutions to these. And knowledge centres of this world are universities, schools of learning and research centres of excellence. Its lingua franca is bits, bytes and zeros. The nesting place of this world is imagination and the crucible of ideas and their force is both the real world and the world of cyberspace, networks and linkages between these”.

            Asking the students to concentrate on future with pragmatic approach, the Chief Minister told them that future matters for them significantly and their gaze must be fixed on it. “Inculcating this futuristic approach and attitude is the mantra of success and progress in this world”, he added.

            “This approach, however, should always and eternally be tempered with prudence, humility and recognition of your duty towards your society and the world. This means using your new skills and knowledge to work toward public good and better the human condition. The nature of the contemporary world makes it eminently possible to expand your horizons and position yourself in a way that enables you to work towards global public good. Your arena should be global. We, after all, live in a networked and interconnected world where problems from remote part of the world get amplified and affect all. The remedy and antidote to this is, to take recourse to a cliché, to think global and act local. This approach will make you cosmopolitan citizens of a cosmopolitan world where the fault lines that divide the world-nationalism, ethnicity, race and religion- no longer should be a factor in your considerations”, he added.

            “This should be the essence and gravamen of your approach to the world. Your education has now given you the tools to live a life of dignity and sufficiency. This, however, should not be your end goal. The end game that you should have in mind is constant improvement of society and the world. It is this approach that will take you from the mundane and the prosaic to the heights of greatness. I expect nothing short of this from you”, he told the students.