Guwahati: On the occasion of its 121st Foundation Day, the oldest premiere educational institution in Northeast India, Cotton University, erstwhile Cotton College, organized a celebratory virtual meet at 3 pm here today.
The event flagged off with a welcome address by the Registrar, Prof. Diganta Kumar Das followed by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Bhabesh Chandra Goswami’s inaugural speech which laid out a fact sheet of the university’s current programmes, plans and prospects.
A short video clip highlighting the hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s personal connect with the institution and his emotions as a former Cottonian was then played during the event. Also his Twitter handle quotes on the occasion were read out by Dr Sangeeta Barthakur who anchored the programme.
Dr. Ranoj Pegu, the Minister of Education, Assam chaired the virtual meeting as the Chief Guest. During his address, Dr. Pegu congratulated the entire Cotton fraternity and vehemently expressed his keenness in carrying forward the glory and heritage of the institution for the generations to come in his capacity as the Minister of Education.This was followed by the President of Cotton University Students’ Union (2019-20), Hirak Jyoti Patowary sharing his experiences as a Union body member and sincere feelings about the institution.
The prime attraction of the event was the ‘Foundation Day Lecture’ which was delivered by Prof. D.N. Buragohain, Professor Emeritus and Former Director IIT Guwahati. In his speech on the topic ‘Self-reliant India’, Buragohain observed how Indians were under confident but extremely gifted and bright. He urged that Indians must change their mindsets and develop integrity and honesty to be able to achieve perfection and move along the right direction.
In another significant event of the celebrations, two members of faculty, a research scholar and an alumni were commended for excellence in their fields and for being honoured with awards. Students who achieved laurels in academics, sports and cultural fields were also acknowledged.
The vote of thanks was offered by Abhilasha Neog, Assistant General Secretary, CUSU (2019-20). The programme was attended by a large number of faculty members, students, officers, non-teaching staff members, alumni members, retired faculty members, Executive Council members, Academic Council members and representatives from the media via online Zoom platform and official Facebook page of the University. The afternoon’s event came to a close with the playing of the state anthem.
