Awantipora, Nov 7: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole on Monday said there is “no need to look at religion, science and technology separately”. He was addressing the 17th Foundation Day of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) here at Awantipora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
“Islamic University” is a name, while “Science and Technology” is the core of IUST, Pole said. “Normally, we look at religion and science & technology as two separate things.”
Elaborating, the Div Com said, “When we look at our past, many Reshi-Munis were basically research scholars. Religion was an inseparable part of their tradition. It was British rulers here who called for keeping religion aside. If science & technology are not regulated by religion, it has a tendency to cause immense destruction as we witness nowadays. And when the research is done for the sake of research unregulated by religion, it will be of no use for society.”
“So, there is no need to look at science & technology and research separately. IUST, living by its name, is doing a great job,” Pole said. “Completing 17 years is a major milestone for IUST during which it had to strive hard in building physical infrastructure as well as benefitting society.”
The Div Com said that IUST holds 23 patents which, through industry, can help in addressing many issues. “By commercialisation of these 23 patents and their use by industry, many issues can be addressed,” he said.
Pole also assured the university officials that the administration is committed to addressing their land-related issues. He suggested adopting a triple strategy – fight, forgo and find out – for mitigating the land-related issues.
“I went through the case files multiple times. One issue related to land is in the Supreme Court which you need to FIGHT; the second case has been rejected by the High Court which you need to FORGO, and the third one is in process and you need to FIND OUT how much important it is to acquire that piece of land for the varsity. Through this strategy, the issues related to private land acquisition can be mitigated,” he explained.
He said that the administration has provided a few patches of land to the varsity in the past and assured that they will provide some more patches of government land to the university.
“ADC Awantipora has already identified some patches of land and the administration is committed to fulfill the demands of the varsity,” Pole said.
The Divisional Commissioner also urged the university officials to undertake research to design such equipment which will help farmers in thrashing walnuts from tall standing trees so that precious lives can be saved. He said that around 25 people lose their lives in accidental deaths after falling from high walnut trees in Kashmir every year.
