Tezpur: Tezpur University celebrated its 33rd Foundation Day at the KBR Auditorium with a ceremonial programme that began with flag hoisting by Prof. Amarendra Kumar Das, Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university. In his welcome address, Prof. Das urged all stakeholders to work collectively to strengthen the university ecosystem, placing renewed emphasis on innovation and measurable outcomes such as startups and economic value creation. Highlighting transparency, fairness, punctuality and dialogue, he called upon the campus community to actively participate in the university’s development.
Delivering the Foundation Day Oration on “Free Thinking and Scientific Temperament,” eminent scientist, author and science communicator Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami stressed that universities must remain spaces of free thinking, guided by reason and rooted in knowledge. He noted that free thinking requires a strong base of learning and that knowledge should ultimately evolve into wisdom, enabling sound judgement and appropriate choices.
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Dr. Goswami illustrated the challenge of communicating new ideas through an anecdote involving Nobel laureate Niels Bohr and his brother Harald Bohr, emphasising why universities must persist with innovation and discovery despite resistance. Referring to Galileo, he highlighted the courage and discipline required for free inquiry and observed that meaningful research needs time for reflection, as even a single breakthrough idea can benefit society.
On scientific temperament, he underlined the importance of evidence and testability, stating that claims must be accepted or rejected only through logic and proof. Addressing students, he encouraged independent thinking, tolerance, environmental responsibility, respect, gratitude and thoughtful life choices. Quoting Albert Einstein, he inspired students to strive for the seemingly impossible. The programme concluded with a cultural performance and a vote of thanks by Prof. Vijay Kumar Nath, Chairperson of the Organising Committee.
