Inaugural Speech - Opening of Computer Lab for students !

Respected Principal,Teachers,Staff and ofcourse the students of New Horizon School! 

   Thank you so much for inviting me and giving me an opportunity to be a part of this event. I do believe that with the opening of this hitech computer lab for students, the school will be ushering a new chapter for itself. 

   With the advent of technology, our life has become so much dependant on IT. Hence, here comes the need for software education for our ever growing young population .......

A Very Good Morning to the Honorable Chief Guest and my Dear Rotarians!!

Firstly, I wish you all a very Happy Independence Day. We all know the reason for this get-together. We are gathered here to celebrate the 70th Independence day of our nation. First of all we will hoist our National Flag, then give a salute to all the heroic deeds of our freedom fighters. Today,I am feeling so proud to be an Indian citizen. It is indeed a great privilege for me to give a speech on this great day in front of you.

'Independence Day', this word instills in us a spirit of Patriotism and a Never say Die Attitude.We celebrate Independence day every year on the 15^th of August because India got freedom on the night of 14^th of August in 1947. Just after the independence of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of free India had given a speech on the Independence day in New Delhi. When people all over the world were sleeping, people in India were all awake to get freedom from the shackles of the British rule. Now, after Independence, India has gained the position of the largest democratic country in the world. Our country is known for Unity in Diversity.It has faced many incidents testing its secularism,however Indians have always answered it with their unity.

Due to the hard struggle of our freedom fighters we are now able to enjoy freedom and can breathe fresh air in our motherland . Getting freedom from the Britishers was really an impossible task our leaders and the people did with their continuous efforts. We can never forget their works as their names have been etched foreever in the pages of history. They would always be in our memories and remain a rich source of inspiration to all of us.

Who can forget the heroic deeds of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Mangal Pandey, Subhas Chandra Bose and many others? Who can forget the sacrifice of hundreds of people in the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy for the sake of freedom?Who can forget the great sacrifice made by Lala Lajpat Rai, who bore the fatal brunt of a baton on his head by a Britisher for the sake of Freedom which lead to his untimely demise?

Who can forget the cruelty and inhuman treatment inflicted upon our great leaders and several other patriots at the Andaman Jail also known as the cellular jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many notable dissidents such as Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar, among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for independence. The famous 'Kala Pani Sazaa' was the most dreadful of all punishment inflicted upon the Indians during the pre – independence period.

Quit India Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, Swadeshi Movement,Simon Go back movement after Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, the famous Dandi March lead by Gandhiji in a bid to make salt and prove to the World at large that we Indians were internally free and will not obey the Britishers,have all been so significant in the history potraying our struggle for Independence.

Thus,today is a very significant day for all Indians which we celebrate, remembering the sacrifices of our great Indian leaders who had given their lives for the freedom and prosperity of the country. Freedom of India was possible because of the cooperation, sacrifice and involvement of all the Indians. We should value and salute all the Indian citizens because they are the real national heroes. We should keep faith in secularism and never develop separatist attitude inorder to maintain the National Unity so that no one can ever apply the 'Divide and Rule' Principle and try to break the integrity of our Nation.

Let us take an oath today, an oath to remain united, an oath to uplift the society at large by mass education, an oath to respect our ladies, an oath to oust dirty practices such as those of Corruption,Dowry, Casteism,Child marriage,Gambling and Female Infanticide.I think, then only we can pay our real homage and respect to our great leaders and ancestors.Let us not waste the independence given to us by our great freedom fighters, let us make it worthwhile.

My friends,I feel the real freedom does not lies in disobeying and ignoring our elders,flashing expensive electronics gazettes,cruelty and ill-treatment of the ladies of our house but real independence lies in giving something back to the society where you are born. Do something for Our Dear nation albeit even if in a small way like planting more trees in your neighborhood, food distribution among the poor, free education to the needy,helping others in need and the likes. Then only, we can fulfill the vision of our great leaders.So, let us all make an endeavor to make India stand united forever so that we all can enjoy the sweet fruit of Freedom for years to come.

“Thousands laid down their lives, so that our Country could breathe this day... so let us never forget their sacrifice.”

Now,I would request all present over here to stand up while our National Anthem is being played.Thank you so much.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat !!

SPEECH ON LITERACY

“Literacy is one of the greatest gifts a person can receive because, nobody can take this gift from you”. As quoted by one of an intellectual.

A very Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, well I feel in today's perspective, literacy does not mean about the writing and reading capabilities only. It has gained a much broader meaning. It aims to guide people towards awareness and the change which is needed in order to achieve a better way of living. A systematic change for a better world can be achieved only when we are aware,conscious of our abilities or in other words we are literate.

However conventionally, the word 'literacy' means an ability to read and write. In a civilized society, every citizen should learn how to read and write. If not, he is called an illiterate person. An illiterate person has to face many practical difficulties in life.

As he is unable to read or write, he cannot read a letter addressed to him by his near and dear ones. He cannot calculate his own income and expenses, nor can keep his own accounts. Morally and psychologically, he feels insecure and weak, and hence suffers from an inferiority complex.

Moreover,Job opportunities are denied to an illiterate person.Therefore, every person in the society should try to become literate.

The Indian Government is trying to do a lot in the field of spreading education through its Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan, nevertheless a lot is still to be achieved. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi believes that India can progress only if all its people are educated.

Development of a Nation strongly depends upon the masses.Education alone can remove the impediment and make a Nation self -reliant.Educated masses makes a strong Nation

Earlier, the education system in India was very bad in which only the fortunate people were given good education in schools however low cast people were not allowed to enter to the school. As such this system created a big gap between the literate and illiterate people of the society. According to the survey in 2008, it was found that almost 28% of the world’s illiterate people are from India alone. India still has almost 45,000 villages without a primary school.

Friends, I personally feel that education need not be spread formally but informally as well. Many channels of communication has opened up through which education can be spread like the social media sites comprising facebook,twitter,linkedin and online through emailing, through telephone, whatsapp et al. I feel when the question arises with respect to transfer of Knowledge or Gyan, we can adopt any one of these or its combination and help in spreading education.

Furthermore,you also must be equally aware of the online system of education which is gaining prominence in India. So friends, in keeping with the objective of the Rotary Club that is enhancement and progress of our community. Let us all make an endeavor and do our part by spreading education and eradicating illiteracy.I would also like to sincerely request the ladies herein to make a sincere effort towards educating other ladies and girls of their neighborhood . It is firmly believed that behind every successful man is a woman.Hence, our ladies should be equally aware and educated.

Our very own historical scripts proves beyond doubt that behind many historic events, the leading ladies were behind it.I would like to mention the immense contribution of few ladies in making a strong India. Behind Ashoka the great, his mother Dharma was there. Shivaji's mother jijabai was his source of inspiration. Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, who took upon herself the task to oust the British forces.There are many more examples.

So it is very important that our ladies are equally educated and literate. I firmly believe that educated ladies makes a better housewife, a better mother and a better person professionally. With the advent of modernization, it is the need of hour that our ladies are educated which will ultimately empower them and make them self-reliant.

Last but not the least, let us all take a bold inspiration from a young girl, Malala Yousafzai, an education campaigner, who is globally known and we all should learn from her fight for the right to have education. Her never say die attitude demonstrates to the World at large that education is so very important. It is your basic right.She fought the dreaded Taliban millitants single handedly for her right to have education.Her extraordinary example is the most convincing demonstration of the importance of fighting and winning this struggle; moreover,it shows why this is such a worthy cause.

So friends, let us all fulfill the dream and vision of our great leaders which said “Padhega Bharat toh Badhega Bharat”.

Let us all fructify the great vission of Rotary Club in spreading education and eradicating illetracy.

Thank you so much!

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let us all welcome our Project 'Asha Kiran' intiated by our very own Club Rotary.Well, this Project as its name signifies means Ray of Hope. The hope is infact an endeavor by us to bring back the school dropouts back to school.

There are many reasons why children are forced to drop out from school such as lack of financial assistance from their home, non-cooperation and support from family members especially with regard to girl child, major illness of near and dear ones prompting them to leave their education midway,lack of basic facilities such as toilets within the school premises. These and many other reasons forces children to drop out from school.

Hence, our Project Asha Kiran firmly believes that through our endeavors we can bring back the school dropouts back to school.

In keeping with the ultimate vision of Rotary which believes in creating a better community and an enhanced lifestyle. It is the need of the hour, that we do not leave any stone unturned to spread literacy among children.

In the recent decades though India has made significant progress on access to schooling and enrollment rates in primary education but dropout rates and low levels of learning remain challenges for the state and central government. As the U.S. has a longer history of public education than India there are opportunities for India to learn from the successes and failures in the American education system and to collaborate in tackling shared challenges, such as the best use of technology in primary education.

Nevertheless, Primary school enrollment in India has been a success story, largely due to various programs and drives to increase enrollment even in remote areas. With enrollment reaching at least 96 percent since 2009, and girls making up 56 percent of new students between 2007 and 2013, it is clear that many problems of access to schooling have been addressed. Improvements to infrastructure have been a priority to achieve this and India now has 1.4 million schools and 7.7 million teachers so that 98 percent of habitations have a primary school (class I-V) within one kilometer and 92 percent have an upper primary school (class VI-VIII) within a three-kilometer walking distance.

Despite these improvements, keeping children in school through graduation is still an issue and dropout rates continue to be high. Nationally, 29 percent of children drop out before completing five years of primary school, and 43 percent before finishing upper primary school. High school completion is only 42 percent. This lands India among the top five nations for out-of-school children of primary school age, with 1.4 million (6 to 11 year olds) not attending school. In many ways, schools are not equipped to handle the full population – there is a teacher shortage of 6,89,000 teachers in primary schools, only 53 percent of schools have functional girls’ toilets and 74 percent have access to drinking water.

Additionally, the quality of learning is a major issue and reports show that children are not achieving class-appropriate learning levels. According to Pratham’s Annual Status of Education 2013 report, close to 78 percent of children in Standard III and about 50 percent of children in Standard V cannot yet read Standard II texts. Arithmetic is also a cause for concern as only 26 percent students in Standard V can do a division problem. Without immediate and urgent help, these children cannot effectively progress in the education system, and so improving the quality of learning in schools is the next big challenge for both the state and central governments.

Rotary believes in the philosophy that every child should receive primary education as we work in the concept – that no child should be left behind.Rotary's empowering educational initiatives includes- Technology based affordable high quality education at affordable rate. Free tuition fees for children of daily wage earners.Scholarship in the form of reduced tuition fee for meritorious students from disadvantaged background.

Furthermore, Rotary also aims to provide hygienic midday meal service to government schools in its bid to boost kids to join schools and continue their schooling. Well, our project Asha Kiran which categorically means ray of hope also aims to spread literacy in many other ways.But first and foremost it aims in reducing the dropout rate of the kids from schools which happen due to many reasons.

Further, it also aims to educate the girl child as Rotary firmly believes that development of a Nation is directly linked to education of the ladies.As educated ladies become effective mothers, wives and working professionals as well. Project Asha Kiran's aim is to prevent girl dropout rate from schools.There are still many places in India where girl education is not entertained as many people still believe there is no point in educating a girl child as inevitably they go to a different household after marriage or rather their main chore includes only housework. Such stereotyped thinking has to be abolished for a developing Nation like India.

We can especially retain and prevent the girls from dropping out of school if we construct and maintain hygienic toilets with running water for them within the school premises. Through our Project, we will certainly help in addressing this major problem concerning the girls.

We through our Project Asha Kiran, would like to spread education and eradicate illiteracy by firstly reducing the school dropout rate.As it's a fact that education can spread only when there are receivers of education, I hope Iam right??

So let us all unite together and work towards spreading literacy and doing our level best to prevent the droput rate from our schools.

Through our Club Rotary let us fulfill the vision of our great leaders which says 'Padhega India toh Badhega India'.

Thank you so much!!e believes every child deserves primary education as we work in the concept – No child should be left behindmpowering educational initiative includes:Technology based affordable high quality education in rural areas at minimal cost, Free Tuition fees for children of daily wage workers, Scholarships in the form of reduced tuition for children from disadvantaged background. People believes every child deserves primary education as we work in the concept – No child should be left behind.at minimal cost, Free Tuition fees for children of daily wage workers, Scholarships in the form of reduced tuition for children from disadvantaged background.