RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat inaugurated Chhatra Shakti Bhavan, the new ABVP office building in Bhopal on March 28. The inauguration was performed amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns and bursting of firecrackers. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ABVP national president Dr Milind Marathe, national general secretary Shri Umesh Sharma and some other ABVP leaders were also present on the occasion.
The newly inaugurated office is situated in Jawahar Chowk and is a state-of-the-art office. The building comprises of a basement and three other floors. Senior ABVP leader Shri Vishnu Dutt Sharma explained various features of the new office. These include a library, a book bank, a computer centre for economically deprived students as well as training centres and modules for persons occupying organisational posts. Additionally, there will be a 24 hour student helpline at the Chhatra Shakti Bhavan.
In his speech Shri Mohan Bhagwat said knowledge is the bedrock upon which any form of power can subsist. He also identified patriotism, discipline and social service as chief ingredients for progress and nation building. Importantly, he also stressed the importance of education based on values and ethics. He explained that qualifications and degrees have no meaning unless the students have acquired a firm set of values. He advised the ABVP to use the resources in Chhatra Shakti Bhavan to earnestly and sincerely help every student who walks past its doors.
Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was attending and speaking at the inauguration of the Chhatra Shakti Bhavan not as Chief Minister of the State but as a member of the ABVP. He recalled his memories as an ABVP activist and told the gathering of students that offices of power and authority are temporary but the work done by the karyakartas is permanent. He also described the schemes undertaken by his Government to ensure access to quality education to students and heavily criticised the growing trend of commercialisation of education.
By Adhitya Srinivasan
