Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday urged students to embrace Hindi, adopt swadeshi (locally made products), and uphold the principle of Antyodaya—uplifting the most marginalized—to contribute to a developed India by 2047. Speaking at the annual day and prize distribution ceremony of Delhi University’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) College, Gupta emphasized the importance of cultural pride and patriotism in shaping the nation’s future. She also assured that her government would address funding challenges to ensure the institution’s growth, tackling past issues like delayed salaries for faculty.

Gupta criticized the previous administration’s education model, which she said left teachers unpaid for months, and pledged that no college work would stall due to financial constraints. “This college has struggled a lot in the past,” she noted, committing to robust support for DDU’s development. She encouraged students to take pride in their roots, stating, “Our future will only be secure when we accept our present with pride,” and urged them to value Hindi and their education, whether from government schools or elsewhere.

Paying tribute to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, the college’s namesake, Gupta highlighted his philosophy of Antyodaya as a guiding force for inclusive development, a principle she said Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to follow. “To run a country with such diversity was not easy, but personalities like him made it possible,” she remarked. Gupta stressed that academic excellence must be paired with patriotism, adding, “The most important thing is the country.”

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In a Hindi post on X, Gupta congratulated DDU’s newly elected student union and noted her government’s swift action in resolving salary and infrastructure issues across Delhi University colleges. She called on youth to drive innovation and embrace swadeshi to build a self-reliant India by 2047. The event, attended by MLA Sandeep Sahrawat, college faculty, and Delhi University dignitaries, underscored the role of education in fostering national pride and progress.

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