The Inter Instituitional L.N.Birla National Debate

Speech is a gift granted only to man. To sharpen the intellect and develop communication skills, classical systems of education laid much emphasis on the art of debating. Complex issues were clarified and resolved through argument and ratiocination and a consensus reached via debate and deliberation. Unfortunately this fine art has suffered a set-back in recent years because of a sudden spurt in trivial activities in schools and colleges in the country which threaten to subvert the more serious and learned pursuits of academia. 

The objective of the management and faculty of Birla High School, Kolkata, in hosting a national debate each year was therefore two-fold. The interest generated by an inter-institutional competition of national import, we believed, would go a long way in reviving and reactivating this intellectual exercise and it would also be an apt vehicle for paying just tribute to our late founder, Sri L. N. Birla. A visionary and a philanthropist, Sri L.N.Birla in 1941 set up Hindi High School, (now named Birla High School), which aimed at imparting to its students an education that combined the best of the modern and the traditional. The school motto, “Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya”, best exemplifies the dynamics of this vision. The annual debate consequently, is one of our most prominent mission statements.

The overwhelming response to the invitation to our first debate bore witness to the fact that young people were looking for a platform for arising their views on contemporary issues. This inspired the school management to open up the debate to other cities and regions, and today the inter-institutional L.N. Birla National debate which had a relatively humble beginning in 1994, is hosted in 12 cities across the country. Thus what began as a local debate soon spread to other regions and from the year 2007 zones were created to streamline the debate and give it a pan Indian identity. The debate will now feature in four zones, east, west, north and south.

The success of the debate is a validation of our commitment to the youth of India – a commitment to create leaders who can agree to disagree with wit and urbanity in a manner befitting the citizens of the world’s largest democracy.

The broadening of our parameters also enabled us to share our vision of nation-building with other academicians and eminent personalities from across the country. The debate has revealed, time and again, that given the appropriate platform, India is capable of producing confident and articulate young men and women who can argue critically and courteously on issues affecting the social, political, cultural, economic, scientific, ethical and spiritual development of this nation. The speakers, past and present, are the pathfinders, and the inter-institutional L.N. Birla debate the touchstone, for developing the desired oratorical skills.