Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday cautioned citizens against compromising on nationalism, terming it “the ultimate betrayal to the nation”.

“Wherever anyone threatens the integrity of the nation, we must not tolerate it,” he asserted.

Highlighting that duty towards the nation must always be kept above self-interest and political interest, the Vice-President warned that a failure to do so would amount to an attack on India’s civilisational ethos spanning several millennia.

Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of Sainik School, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Dhankhar reminisced his own days as a student of Sainik School Chittorgarh, and underlined the impact of his Alma Mater in shaping his personal and professional journey.

“While my biological birth was at Kithana village, my real birth took place at Sainik School Chittorgarh,” he said.

Emphasising on the importance of education as an epicentre of transformative change, Dhankhar highlighted the power of education in giving individuals greater control over their lives, and in decimating inequities and cutting across malpractices in society at large.

Drawing attention to India’s distinct identity on the global stage today, the Vice-President recognised the contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in “leading the country on a path that the entire world recognizes”.

“Today’s India is not the same as it was ten years ago,” Dhankhar said. “Article 370, which the framers of the Constitution called temporary, was considered permanent by some. In this decade, it has been abolished. This is today’s India,” he said.

Conveying his appreciation at the establishment of the new Sainik School at Gorakhpur, the Vice-President expressed his conviction that the school would pave the way for the development of future generations. “It will set a benchmark for other states, and for the entire country to emulate,” Dhankhar elaborated.

Underscoring the significant strides made by the state of Uttar Pradesh in governance and in upholding the rule of law, the Vice-President noted, “The participation of Uttar Pradesh in the development wave sweeping the country is a major contribution to nation-building.”

Addressing the cadets, the Vice-President urged them to eliminate the fear of fear from their minds. Narrating how the success of Chandrayaan-3 was built on the lessons gleaned from Chandrayaan-2, Dhankhar said, “Failure is the foundation of success.”

The Vice-President and his wife Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar also planted saplings in the memory of their late mothers, Kesari Devi and Bhagwati Devi, at the premises of the newly inaugurated Sainik School Gorakhpur. They also inaugurated the shooting range on the premises.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath; Kamlesh Paswan, Minister of State, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India; Ravi Kishan Shukla, Member of Lok Sabha; Gulab Devi, Minister of State of Secondary Education,Government of Uttar Pradesh and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.