Kolkata, March 23 West Bengal Governor R N Ravi said on Monday that India will become the world leader in science, research, and intellectual property in 2047, and that Bengal, with its rich cultural and spiritual heritage, will play a significant role in that.
Addressing the Convocation of Calcutta University here, Ravi said that for 2,000 years, India held the number one position in the world in knowledge, research, medicine, and culture, but since the 19th century, it has fallen behind other countries.
"Throughout the centuries, we were a thriving civilization. When America and England did not exist, India was the powerhouse for a period of 2,000 years," he said.
Predicting that by August 15, 2047, India would again occupy the top spot in the world, Ravi told the graduating students and research scholars, "On that day, ask yourselves what I did for this country, had I been part of its journey."
"Our country is now at the cusp of transformation, and this university, with its rich legacy, has a role to play in this journey," he said, adding that the transformative journey began in the past 12 years, after India had lagged behind other nations in the early 20th century.
He asked Calcutta University to align itself with this journey.
Referring to Bengal, Ravi described it as the land of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, who wrote the national song "Vande Mataram," and the land of Rabindranath Tagore, who gifted us the national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana."
"Bengal is the land of Swami Vivekananda, whose address in Chicago dispelled the wrong notion about Bharat in the West and made the world aware of its rich spiritual and historical heritage," Ravi, the Chancellor of the state university, said.
He recalled that Rishi Aurobindo had talked about Bharat regaining its past status and preeminence after Independence.
"Rishi Aurobindo had said when we become independent, we have to play our role as a beacon of knowledge and awakening in the world again," he said, recalling luminaries of Bengal like Aurobindo were concerned about the ill effects of World War and the destruction at Hiroshima.
Asking those students who were not directly related to the field of AI, he called upon them to align themselves with this rapidly emerging field, as India is now leading the world in robotics and machine learning and related fields.
"Bharat has to be stronger, Bharat has to be self-reliant, and your role is important in that," he said.
Highlighting how India led the world in practicing yoga, Ravi asked the students to practice yoga every day "to be healthy."
"Make yoga an integral part of your life. See, I have been practicing yoga for decades," he said.
The University of Calcutta held its convocation after six years, at its College Street campus.
Around 1,100 research scholars who completed their doctoral studies between 2024 and 2026 received their degrees at the event.
The keynote address was delivered by Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Suman Chakraborty.
The university conferred honorary degrees on noted scientist Vijay Pandurang Bhatkar (DSc), educationist Ranajit Das (DLitt), and former vice-chancellor of Christ University, Father Thomas Chatamparampil (DLitt).