From left: Fr Felix Raj (principal of the college), Fr Provincial George Pattery, governor Devanand Konwar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Rector Fr George Ponodath and Fr Jerome Francis (principal of the school) at the closing ceremony of St Xavier’s 150 years celebrations on the Park Street campus on Saturday. Picture by Pabitra Das

The Prime Minister on Saturday lauded St Xavier’s Calcutta for providing “progressive all-round education” to the rich and the poor, cutting across all faiths.

“I am honoured to be in these august environs that have produced many great sons of India,” Manmohan Singh said at the closing ceremony of the 150-years celebration at St Xavier’s.

“The Christian fathers helped those they taught to become well-rounded and cultured human beings. Their students were given the great gift of rational thought. This I think is the most important reason why St Xavier’s has sent forth to the world so many outstanding citizens of India who have become leaders in their respective fields. India does not need blind faith. We need rational thinking and a scientific temper to counter dogmas and ideologies,” stressed the Prime Minister.

Thousands comprising Christian fathers, teachers, students and alumni of St Xavier’s Collegium had converged on the Park Street campus on Saturday afternoon. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, governor Devanand Konwar, Fr Provincial George Pattery, Rector Fr George Ponodath, Fr Felix Raj (principal of the college) and Fr Jerome Francis (principal of the school) were on the dais.

Singh paid homage to the Jesuit fathers who “familiarised themselves” with Indian languages and customs. “I have been told by some alumni of St Xavier’s that they were taught by Belgian Jesuit priests who were erudite not only in European culture but also in Sanskrit and Bengali.”

The painting by Paresh Maity, celebrating the Jesuit spirit of Rabindranath Tagore, presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by alumnus Aveek Sarkar on behalf of St Xavier’s

He referred to the luminaries the institution has produced, such as J.C. Bose and “Gurudev” Rabindranath Tagore, and “another very distinguished old boy of St Xavier’s and a great son of India”, Jyoti Basu. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him (Basu). We wish him a speedy recovery,” the Prime Minister said.

On behalf of St Xavier’s — “its students, its teachers and the reverend fathers” — Aveek Sarkar presented “a part of the school’s history” to the Prime Minister. The Xavier’s old boy referred to Singh as “India’s first Jesuit Prime Minister” because “he has fought against the grain of accepted knowledge and conventional wisdom”.

The gift was a painting by Paresh Maity capturing Tagore’s moving piece about his teacher (during his brief stint as a student in Xavier’s about 100 years ago), a Spanish priest called Father Peneranda. The work, apart from being an arresting visual beauty, celebrates the Jesuit spirit of Tagore.

Praising Xavier’s for its “inclusive approach” to education, Singh highlighted his government’s attempt to ensure universal access to education for achieving inclusive growth. “I wish to see every child in our country becoming literate over the next decade. We must aim for 100 per cent literacy across India,” he stressed.

Singh hoped that “children in future” did not have to endure what he had gone through — “walk miles to go to school”.

The chief minister expressed the hope that the proposed second campus of the college, set to come up off the Bypass, would start functioning soon.

Highlighting the Jesuit philosophy, Father Ponodath said: “Education for us is not a profession, it’s a vocation…. It’s a prayer. Students are not just numbers, but precious gifts given to us.”

The spirit of the institution’s motto Nihil Ultra (Nothing Beyond) was exemplified by a choir comprising school and college kids singing “Seemar majhe aseem tumi”, orchestrated by alumnus Debojyoti Mishra.