Love for Motherland is the sign of a true patriot: Maninderjeet Singh Bitta
Pune, 27 Feb : “This country is not run by the politicians only. As responsible citizen, wherever you go, you should remember your motherland. The sense of patriotism should be imbibed in the students through their education itself. Maharashtra has done a remarkable work in this direction and the nation is following it now,” said Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, the chairman of the All India Anti-Terrorism Front (AIATF).
Mr. Bitta was speaking in the city as the special guest of the 6th Convocation Ceremony of the Pune Institute of Business Administration (PIBM) at the Bhugaon campus. Students of the batch 2013-2015 were conferred with their degrees during the ceremony. Former Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr. Donwa Dethwelson Lapang was the chief guest at the occasion while Mr. Zulfi Ali Bhutto, Business Head (Social Enterprise), Google; Mr. Shashank Jagirdar, Director HR, DHL Supply Chain India Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Shrikant Borhade, Assistant VP and Branch Head, Axis Bank; Mr. Satish Nadiger, MD and CEO, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Viren Joshi, CEO and President, Sigma Electric Manufacturing Corporations and PIBM’s Executive Director Mr. Raman Preet were among the other dignitaries present on the occasion.
Calling the students to serve their country and always try to think about their motherland, Bitta said, “We set so many goals in our lives but we forgot to think of taking India’s name to new heights. We exist because of our nation; it gives us our identity. The politicians alone do not run this country. The responsibility to run this country rests on you. You may go to any sphere of life but try to serve the Mother India to the maximum”.
Bitta, called Living Martyr because of many attacks he faced while fighting the terrorism, cited examples of martyrs like Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He also recounted his own experiences inspiring the students with patriotic thoughts.
Later talking to mediapersons, Bitta said that freedom of expression did not include planning against India and indulging in the disrupting activities. “Is this India or a dharmshala,” he asked angrily.
Bitta was all praise for the PIBM after his first visit to the campus. He said, “The students appeared to me very enthusiastic and disciplined. They are getting good education as well. Every person has his or her own career to follow but the important thing is how you serve your nation,” adding “Every state in India has a glorious history but the soil in Maharashtra has something special in it. Whenever I come here, I am filled with the enthusiasm and inspiration. This is the land of Shivaji and anyone born here or coming here from outside follows the same trait”.
In his address, Dr. Lapang praised the leadership of PIBM’s Executive Director Mr. Raman Preet saying he was a great man in a small structure and likened him with Napoleon. He said, “Hats off to the PIBM which has provided a new model. Unemployment is the chronic problem nagging the nation today and PIBM has done great service to the nation by addressing this problem”. Dr. Lapang gave the mantra of ‘Presentability, Dependability and Humility’ to the students and motivated them to achieve their dreams.
Speaking about the PIBM, Mr. Raman Preet said, “The vision of the PIBM is that every student passing out from the institute must contribute to the economy of India by becoming a business leader either by joining to lead a company or becoming a successful entrepreneur creating employment.” He said that PIBM stayed off doing things the mainstream way and it assimilated new practices for the benefit of the students.
PIBM has two courses – Masters of Business Administration and Post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration – with 120 students each.
