Knowledge gives ultimate power: Advani

By Sunny Sebastian

AJMER, DEC. 4. The Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, has asked the youth to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in knowledge and technology. ``The changes taking place all around are mind- boggling. The last decade of the 20th century have been specially amazing,'' he said addressing the concluding function of the celebrations marking the completion of 125 years of Mayo College here over the week-end.

India as a nation suffered from several drawbacks and taking recourse in the glorious past was not the solution, Mr. Advani said. The country lagged behind in education while in the field of sports this nation of 100 crore people was happy to get at least a bronze. Institutions like Mayo College should shed their elitism and strive to excel in sports and technology, he said.

Mr. Advani, who addressed the large gathering of students, parents and ex-students of the school, which till Independence used to be the preserve of the aristocracy told them that he was deliberately speaking in Hindi. ``My mother tongue is Sindhi, my medium of education was English but I thought I should speak to you in Hindi which is the national language,'' he said. ``We are not against English. We are against Anglicisation,''he noted.

Mr. Advani remembered Karachi, his birthplace, for the second time during the day while referring to his school, St. Patrick's, which he had visited after becoming a Minister in the Morarji Desai Cabinet. Earlier at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti here, he had mentioned the great Sufi traditions of Karachi. When he went back to his native city he had looked for only two places - the house he lived in and the school he studied in.

Mr. Advani noted to drive home the importance of schools. The emphasis was on knowledge, he told the students.

The superpowers of today had not always been so powerful. He mentioned Alwin Tofler's book Power Shift, to stress that knowledge was the ultimate power. Information technology and Internet were taking over many areas of life and those first to acquaint with the latest technology would win the world.

In a lighter vein Mr. Advani recollected the excitement the media had shown when he first used his electronic diary to record addresses 15 years ago. ``Even a photo of mine using the diary appeared in Mumbai newspapers,'' he quipped.

Mr. Advani revealed that a request from his Cabinet colleague, Mr. Jaswant Singh, an ex-student of Mayo College, had made him attend the annual function.

A galaxy of ex-students, among whom are many rulers of former Rajputana, were present.

The former MP and erstwhile ruler of Jodhpur, Mr. Gaj Singh, former ruler of Kota, Maharao Brijraj Singh - who is also the chairman of the Board of Governors of Mayo College - shared the dais with Mr. Dijvijay Singh of Uniara on the occasion.

Among the audience was also the Dowager Lady Egremont, the great- granddaughter of the Earl of Mayo, who founded the institution in 1875. Starting with Thakur Chaman Singh, a student of the 1935 batch, ex-students above 75 years of age were among those felicitated on the occasion, besides students who had excelled in various areas of academic and extra-curricular activities.

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