At the 1st Annual Inter-State (North Zone) Declamation Contest which was organized by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University at its Matrika Auditorium today the team comprising Ms. Shivika Thakur and Mr. Sahil Mehta of the Jammu University won the Silver Rolling Trophy which has been instituted by Governor N. N. Vohra. The topic of the Declamation Contest was “Ethics and Morality are no longer relevant in the Modern World”. 29 students from various universities and colleges of J&K and the neighbouring states participated in this Contest.The team comprising Ms.Afshan Farooq and Seerat Baji of Government College for Women Gandhi Nagar Jammu won the Best Team trophy. The 1st prize was won by Ms. Shivika Thakur of Jammu University; 2nd prize by Ms. Seerat Baji of GCW Gandhi Nagar; 3rd prize by Mr. Rajat Srivastava of NIT Srinagar; 1st Consolation Prize was given to Ms. Afshan Farooq of GCW Gandhinagar and 2nd Consolation Prize to Syed Rameen Zahra of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.
Governor N. N. Vohra, who was the Chief Guest, speaking on the occasion said that the objective behind instituting this Silver Rolling Trophy was to provide opportunities to the students of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir regions and the neighbouring Northern Zone States to meet and interact with each other. He added that the getting together of students at such competitions provides them an opportunity of getting to know each other and appreciate the views, feelings and sentiments of people from other areas and regions. He urged the Vice Chancellor SMVDU to ensure larger participation of students from the far off and rural areas of the State in the next Declamation Contest.The Governor referred to the topic of the debate and observed that there is crucial need for the students to imbibe ethical values, so that they can contribute towards the establishment of harmonious societies. Urging the students to channelize their energies and thought process towards building their futures and also towards nation building, he urged them to organize healthy debates on contemporary issues and focus on how their actions and thoughts could contribute to their betterment as well as the advancement of their families, the society and the country at large.
The Governor observed that students have to play an important role in the maintenance of societal harmony in our country and stressed the need for providing greater opportunities to the youth so that they are adequately equipped to successfully shoulder their future responsibilities of nation building.Referring to the Annual Inter-State (Northern Zone) Declamation Contest for the Silver Rolling Trophy, the Governor observed that the idea behind instituting the Trophy was to provide an opportunity to the students of each of the three regions of the State to compete against students from the Northern Zone States, to debate their views on topics which are relevant for the rapid socio-economic development, particularly in the context of the challenges faced by J&K State.
The Governor also inaugurated an independent TED Talk – TED x SMVDU and released a souvenir on the occasion of the 2nd National Case Study Conference (NCSC–2016). The website of SMVDU- Technology Business Incubation Centre (TBIC) was also launched by the Governor on the occasion. The Governor hoped that the SMVDU-TBIC would boost the research environment in the University.The Governor congratulated Prof. Sanjeev Jain, Vice Chancellor, and Dr. V.K Tripathi, Chairman Board of Cultural Activities for organizing the Declamation Contest and wished all the participants bright careers ahead.The participants were adjudged by a three member Jury comprising Mr. S.K Sharma, Member Public Service Commission, Mr. Anindya Goswami, IIIM Jammu, and Mr.Ashutosh Sharma, CEO, ICDRC.Earlier, the students of the University presented a captivating cultural programme highlighting the cultural heritage of the State.