New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said the research work of numerous bright young scholars gets lost in "red-tapism" and asked the heads of higher education institutions to ensure that it does not happen.
Addressing the inaugural session of a three-day national conference of research scholars at the SGT University in Gurugram, Bhagwat asked the higher education institution (HEI) heads and faculty members to give innovation an "open space" on campuses and encourage students to think outside the box.
"Youths have the ability to think out of the box. But they should get the (right) environment. The innovations of many good innovative youth are not appreciated. No one looks at their research. It disappears somewhere in red-tapism... This should not happen," the RSS chief said.
"The government must be making all efforts from its side. It is doing so. But, we should look into this. All vice-chancellors are here... Out-of-the-box thinking should not be ignored," he added.
The conference 'Vision for Viksit Bharat--VIVIBHA 2024' has been organised by the RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal to foster research culture among the youth by integrating India's cultural heritage with modern methodologies.
Asking the vice-chancellors to give innovation and research an open space on their campus, Bhagwat said, "Questions of resources come later. It is all about intentions."
"Whatever major research work has been done to date, it did not happen because there was large equipment in the laboratories. It happened because the researchers had enthusiasm... Encourage out-of-box thinking, do not reject them instantly," he said.
Bhagwat said such things should be done in universities and other higher education institutions.
"There are rules, that's fine. But the system should not be a limitation. Knowledge should be a means to advance... Our teachers have to bring this environment to our universities," he said.
"Let our youth come forward. Give them a helping hand. Let this happen. Let there be an experiment. And let us set an example before the world by making India number one in all its capabilities," Bhagwat added.
The RSS chief said education is a must for development but it should be Bharat-centric.
Bhagwat said unlike the West, the 'Bharatiya' idea of development is holistic and works in synergy with nature, and called for undertaking research work for development keeping this in mind.
"Several experiments for development were done over the past 2,000 years. They progressed and took over the world but turned out to be a failure," he said.
"With development, environmental problems came up. There is still a debate on whether to do development or protect the environment as if one of the two needs to be chosen," he said, adding, "Human lives will progress only when both go together."
The RSS chief said India was the world leader in all fields from the 1st century AD till the 16th century.
"We had discovered many things. We stopped and hence, we declined," he added.
During this period, however, India presented various examples before the world which showed development can be done without harming nature, he said.
"Let's talk about agriculture. Agriculture has been going on in India for 1,000 years, but the problem of land becoming barren, and air and water becoming poisonous never arose. When agriculture came from there (outside India), all this happened in no time," Bhagwat said.
Talking about the "four pillars of dharma", the RSS chief said austerity in one's life purifies 'chitta' (mind).
"If we suffer, we can understand the suffering of others. Sometimes people say, especially in election rallies, 'I have suffered poverty and I know your suffering.' Don't know if they know. But this happens... And that is why if someone is suffering, we do not think of stealing the bread from them," he added.