Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi said on Friday that those advocating federalism must understand that India is not a ‘contractual union, but an organic one, unlike the United States.
Ravi was speaking at the South Zone Vice-Chancellors’ meet here on Friday.
The Governor said that looking at the country through the colonial prism did not help eradicate poverty, but promoted religious imbalances.
He said India that was Bharat was like body parts, each different in shape and functioning but which couldn’t function outside the body. He also said that universities as places for knowledge dissemination must ensure that they help in the dissemination of such knowledge that is useful for the society.
The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the universities in the state, said that he had a chance to learn about 30,000 doctoral theses, and while some were extremely good with a lot of information, many were on a ‘leader or his ideology’.
He said this showed that the researcher had pursued a Ph.D for the sake of a degree.
Ravi said that while it could be politically correct to do such research, the universities must not lose sight of national or societal interests.