Mr. Vice Chancellor, Dean Lawrence, Dean Karamanian, Dean Khan, Members of Faculty, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am thrilled and excited and I am most honored to be with you today. I am proud to be an alumnus of this remarkable institution. I want to thank all of you for what you do for this university.
Let me say few words about our Vice Chancellor. I admire his leadership and his vision. He is passionate, committed, and determined to succeed. He is the true voice of Aligarh. He is an anchor of security and stability. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder with the Vice Chancellor for the ideals we share and the vision and values we cherish.
I want to sincerely thank Dean Lawrence and Dean Karamanian for coming to AMU. I remain enormously grateful to them for their continued commitment and support of AMU. I am glad a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between AMU and GWU has been signed. As a result of this MOU, I envision a broad range of activities including conferences, student scholarship, visiting fellows, lecture series, and exchange program and other areas of common interests between AMU and GWU.
I see an exciting future built on the strengths and successes of two remarkable institutions. I am deeply committed to build and maintain relationship between AMU and GWU. I believe impact of this relationship will be felt for many years to come.
All of you know Faisal Sherwani. He is a student at GWU law school. Faisal’s admission to GWU can be attributed in part to a renewed confidence in the both university. This remarkable talented young man is doing extremely well in pursuing his degree. All of you have just as much potential to develop and achieve your fullest potential as Faisal had but you have to focus on the possibilities not problems.
I would like to say few words about AMU. This university is a true treasure. This university’s success as a center of knowledge and progress and hope and opportunity serves as a beacon for the entire world. I admire the splendid beauty of this university. I care deeply and love this institution. No turning of seasons can diminish the greatness of this university. My days at Aligarh were best part of my life. This university gave me strength and courage and has taught me the dignity of hard work. I still cherish those memories and nourish those thoughts.
I am proud to be standing here with fellow Aligarians. And looking at you to-day, I have never felt so blessed. All of us are linked by common goals. All of us are bonded by common bonds and all of us are threaded by common threads. All of us owe a sense of gratitude to AMU. All of us share a common destiny, a common hope, a common aspirations and a common dream. All things are possible when we work together, when we sacrifice together, struggle together, learn from one another, listen to each other, give dignity and respect to each other. All things are possible when we set aside our differences to work for common goals.
My own personal journey from Aligarh to America should resonate well with all of you. It reaffirms the notion that if you aim high and if you work hard, you should be able to achieve your dream. It is that promise that has always set this university apart-that through hard work and sacrifice each of you can pursue your individual dreams. This university was founded on the premise that if you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it. For AMU no hope has been too large and no dream has been too far out of reach.
All of you have role and responsibility to shape this country’s future. You should not be frightened of future, but you should shape your future. You should remain focused on the brighter horizon even when you endure storm. Remember as long as we believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.
Let me conclude with a personal observation – the relationship between AMU and GWU hold greater promise for partnership. But together they can build on the solid foundation that already exists, and build even stronger partnership that will serve interest of both universities.
Let us carry the torch handed over to us by the founder of this university, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Let us keep his memory alive. Let us keep the light burning. Let us commit ourselves to ensure that his dream shall never die.
Thank you for giving me opportunity to speak with you today. Thank you for your time. I wish all of you continued success in the future. I am confident you will achieve your goals. I am sure you will rise to the challenge.
God bless you.