The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the 14th Convocation of Manipur University today (April 29, 2014) at Canchipur.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Manipur is a beautiful state that has excelled nationally and internationally in the fields of art, culture and sports. India is proud of the achievements made by the young men and women of Manipur and looks forward to them bringing more glory to our country in the future. It is important that all people, especially, the youth of Manipur recognize that economy and society can flourish only in an atmosphere free from violence. No problem is ever resolved by violence. Violence only aggravates the pain and the hurt on every side. He called upon the youth of Manipur to join hands with the youth of the rest of the country in forging the future of our nation.

The President said India is today a nation on the move. In every field of activity – be it business, industry, trade, education or culture, our billion plus people are marching vigorously forward led by the ideas, enterprise and energy of our predominantly young population. The emerging India offers enormous opportunities for the youth of Manipur. He appealed to the youth of Manipur ‘Let the dark days of violence and conflict be left behind. Let a new dawn emerge. Let us move ahead with faith in our collective future’. He assured that the Government of India and the State Government of Manipur are determined and duty bound to ensure that every Manipuri lives with dignity and has equal rights and opportunities.

The President congratulated the people of Manipur for the successful and peaceful conduct of elections. He called upon people to celebrate the fact that India is the largest democracy in the world though sometime noisy.

The President said that he was happy to know that the Manipur University Students Union which was disbanded in 2009 is now being revived from the next academic session. He said he is sure that it will play an important and constructive role in improving the welfare of students of this University.

The President said that it is unfortunate that the capital city of Delhi had some time back witnessed certain tragic incidents of attacks on young people from the north-east. We must ensure that the pluralistic character of our nation and the thread of India’s unity, which is the collective pride of all Indians, are not weakened by such unacceptable events. He was happy that both the Central Government and the Delhi Government have taken firm action, by not only apprehending and punishing the accused but also putting in place measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The President also congratulated Shri Rishang Keishing, who has been conferred the Doctor of Law; and Shri L. Birendrakumar Singh, who has been conferred the Doctor of Literature on the occasion.