CHENNAI: I am happy to come back to my hometown Chennai,” said Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor Prof Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit, while delivering the Graduation Day address at MOP Vaishnav College for Women on Friday, where she was invited as the chief guest.
For its 27th Graduation Day ceremony, the college distributed certificates to 1,332 undergraduate and postgraduate students of various departments. Other dignitaries at the event included Lalitha Balakrishnan, principal, MD Srinivas, chairperson of the board of governors, and Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, secretary of the board of governors.
Earlier in the evening, a 20-minute video was screened of life inside MOP Vaishnav College, the various courses, activities, facilities and its various humanitarian interventions. Later on, Lalitha honoured the vice-chancellor with a bouquet.
Upon taking the dais, Prof Shantishree began by mentioning her special bond with Lalitha, who was her senior at Rosary Matriculation Higher Secondary School. Congratulating the new graduates, she said, “From now, you’ll be leaving the protected environments of your college into the world outside, which is exciting, challenging and also ruthless.” From what she saw of the video, she said, she was confident that the college had prepared them for the challenges that lay ahead. “Let me tell you, young girls, you’re performing much better than the boys, that I think boys would need reservations now.”
The vice-chancellor went into the country’s past and how it could provide inspiration for young women. “I hope you will look at things from an Indic perspective. According to me, Draupadi is the first feminist, Sita — the first single mother, Kannagi the first citizen activist, and Manimegalai a great poet. This is a civilisation that celebrates women, and hence, the West needn’t give us lessons in it,” she added.
She also paid tribute to the education system in Tamil Nadu, which she remarked as being one of the best in India and made her what she was. “In a country that is still patriarchal and has a lot of challenges for young women, where people still feel women are educated for marriage and not for a career, I believe you will make a paradigm shift,” she said.
The dissolution of the ceremony was handled by governing board secretary Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, and controller of examinations KC Sumangala Devi delivered the vote of thanks.