Writer Suresh G. Amonkar said on Wednesday that India would become a superpower in the next 50 years not by having weapons of mass destruction but owing to its immense knowledge potential.
He was speaking after receiving the Dr. T.M.A. Pai Best Konkani Book Award, instituted by the Dr. T.M.A. Pai Foundation, for his book Rosall Konkani Jnaneshwari , here.
Other awards
Chief Hydrographer to Government of India Vice-Admiral B.R. Rao received the “Distinguished Achievement Award” while writer Tukaram R. Shet received the “Appreciation Award” for his book Dhartarecho Sparsh on the occasion.
Mr. Amonkar said that the best educational institutions in India were no less than the top educational institutions in the United States of America or the United Kingdom. Knowledge was power and only the country that controlled knowledge would rule the world. This was true of the U.S. at present, he said.
‘Respect languages'
Indian people should learn to respect their languages. Only when a child was proficient in the mother tongue that he or she could learn other languages easily, Mr. Amonkar said.
The Dr. T.M.A. Pai Foundation had been giving awards for Konkani books written in Devanagari and Kannada scripts. It should also institute an award to encourage translation of Konkani books written in Kannada script to Devanagari and vice versa, Mr. Amonkar added.
In his acceptance speech, Vice-Admiral Rao said that as technology was developing at a rapid pace, there was a demand for talented people in all fields, including the armed forces. Parents should not prevent their children from joining the armed forces, he said. The armed forces provided a good life. After the Sixth Pay Commission, even people serving the armed forces were getting good pay, he added.
President of the foundation T. Mohandas Pai, Chancellor of Manipal University Ramdas M. Pai, trustees of the foundation Ashok Pai and M.V. Kamath, and administrative officer of the Academy of General Education H. Shantharam were present on the occasion.
