BENGALURU: Bangalore University (BU) on Tuesday held its 58th convocation, where former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath were conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.
Accepting the degree, Deve Gowda spoke about how he never thought he would receive a doctorate in his 90s. Fighting for water rights and water treaties became his passion, which sustained him in politics, he said. “I want it to be my legacy. When people think of me many years after I am gone, I want them to think of me as a person who fought for the water rights of his people, to the best of his ability,” Gowda said.
He also spoke about how he self-learned aspects of river basin planning, irrigation, agriculture and the rural economy, while he had no training in any of these fields. The former PM thanked his parents and said, “My father wanted me to be educated. We were poor but he struggled and sent me to school and a polytechnic college in Hassan. They tied me to this land to work for my people.”
Somanath, who couldn’t attend the convocation, through a recorded message said, “Our work in ISRO is focused on space technology that will benefit the common man, and exploration of space which will inspire young minds in the nation.” He added that he accepts the doctorate on behalf of “every scientist, engineer, technician and worker of ISRO who make the country proud through their exceptional work on different missions”.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar and co-founder of Zerodha Nikhil Kamath, who was the chief guest, congratulated students for their hard-earned medals and inspired them for their future endeavours.
Girls outshine boys
Of the total 299 gold medals given to 147 students, 93 were bagged by girls. At the undergraduate (UG) level, 33 girls received gold medals and at the postgraduate (PG) level, 60 girls were conferred medals for their exceptional academic performance.
Two girls in PG courses, Shwetha Udaya Kumara Muragoda from Government First Grade College, and Vinutha J from Oxford College of Science and Arts, received eight medals each -- the highest for the year. In UG, Deekshitha R Nayak, ASC Degree College, secured five gold medals along with five cash prizes, being the only student to receive the largest cash prize.
The students were given a 1.3-gm gold medal embossed on a 20gm silver coin. A total of 28,871 students were eligible to get their degrees, with 15,057 girls in UG and PG courses and 107 who successfully completed their PhDs.