Srinagar, September 27
President Pranab Mukherjee has urged the youth of the state to contribute towards the emergence of a new dawn leaving behind the “dark days of violence and conflict”.

Admitting that “there are grievances”, the President said many important issues of the state needed deft handling and speedy resolution.

President Pranab Mukherjee (C) with Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra (L) and CM Omar Abdullah during a function at Kashmir University. Photo: Amin War

He held that the Centre and the state government were “determined and duty bound to ensure that every Kashmiri lives with dignity having equal rights and equal opportunities”.

He exhorted the Jammu and Kashmir youth to lead the way in building a new future for India.

“Let it set an example to the rest of India and the world by showing how the entire region can be transformed into a zone of peace, stability and prosperity,” Pranab said in his address at the 18th convocation of the University of Kashmir on its Hazratbal campus here today.

The event held at the Convocation Complex of Kashmir University was also attended by Governor and Chancellor NN Vohra, Chief Minister and Pro-Chancellor Omar Abdullah, Minister for Higher Education Abdul Ghani Malik, Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad, faculty members and the recipients.

Tight security arrangements in and around the university were made in view of the President’s visit amid a shutdown call by separatists.

“No problems are ever resolved by violence. It only aggravates the pain and the hurt on every side. The healing process must be nurtured with love, compassion and patience,” the President said.

The institutions of higher education, with their emphasis on sound value systems and character building, could play an effective role in developing a greater sense of responsibility and a rational approach to all issues, he added.

Pranab told the youth not to lose “any more time” as India of tomorrow “offers enormous opportunities for the youth of Kashmir if they only seize them”.

“The contributions of young Kashmiris are critical for India’s advancement to progress,” he asserted.

The President said the state should regain its historical role as a center of learning, a place frequented by saints and religious scholars, a land known for its diversity and harmony, a fulcrum of trade and commerce with the neighbours.

The President called upon the youth to take the lead in forging the country’s future in the fields of business, industry, trade, education and culture.

He expressed the hope that India’s young people would build a strong and powerful nation — “a nation that is politically mature and economically strong”.