Murmu receives honorary doctorate in Romania, highlights education and shared ties

Bucharest,UPDATED: Jul 24, 2026 22:12 IST

President Droupadi Murmu was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Romania during her state visit to the country. The Doctor Honoris Causa is the university's highest academic distinction and is awarded to eminent personalities for exceptional contributions to academia, public service and international cooperation.

In her acceptance speech, Murmu said she was deeply honoured by the recognition and underlined the role of education in shaping her life. She also spoke about the long-standing cultural and educational links between India and Romania, and urged students to pair knowledge with values, ethics and compassion.

Murmu, who arrived in Romania on Thursday on a state visit, said, "I extend my sincere gratitude to the Rector, the Senate and the entire university community for this recognition, which I accept with humility on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians, as a reflection of the enduring friendship between the peoples of India and Romania."

She said education had been the single most transformative force in her own life. "I was born in a small village, in a family with very limited means. I was the first girl from my village to go to college. That experience taught me, more powerfully than any textbook, that education is the great equaliser, it does not ask where you were born, only how far you are willing to travel," she said.

The President said she had also worked as a teacher in India and had seen how education could change lives. "I had the privilege of working as a teacher for some time in India and saw first-hand how a single classroom, however modest, can change the course of a family's future, and in time, of a whole community's," she said. "This conviction has stayed with me throughout my years of public service that education is not merely a means of individual advancement, but the surest foundation of a just and inclusive society."

Speaking about the present moment, Murmu said universities had a greater responsibility as the world was being reshaped by new technologies. "Today, as the world is being reshaped by artificial intelligence, digital technologies and other rapid scientific advances, universities like this have even greater responsibility to ensure that knowledge is guided by wisdom, ethics and compassion," she said.

Murmu also referred to the cultural links between India and Romania. "India and Romania may be geographically distant, but our civilisations have long spoken to one another, often through our poets before our diplomats," she said. Referring to Rabindranath Tagore's visit to the city, she said, "Almost exactly a century ago, in November 1926, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore came to this very city and addressed an overflowing hall at the Theatre of Bucharest on the unity of the human spirit." She added that Tagore was moved by how deeply the people of this land understood the Indian way of thinking.

She also mentioned Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu, saying, "Your own national poet, Mihai Eminescu, studied the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita during his student years, and these learnings deeply influenced his writing." Murmu said this reflected a shared civilisational instinct. "This shared civilisational instinct is what the ancient Indian phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- the world is one family - seeks to express, and it is the principle that guides India's engagement with the world today: cooperation in place of competition, dialogue in place of discord, and a shared responsibility for our common future," she said.

Education, she said, had remained one of the strongest pillars of the partnership between the two countries. "For decades, Romanian universities have welcomed Indian students, particularly in medicine, engineering and technology," she said. Addressing students and faculty members, Murmu said, "Success is measured not only by professional achievement, but also by the values you uphold and the positive differences you make in the lives of others." She added, "May you remain curious in your pursuit of knowledge, confident in your abilities and compassionate in your actions, using your talents to build bridges across cultures and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous world."

Professor Gheorghe Hurduzeu, President of the Senate of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, said the decision to confer the title followed a proposal by the university's Council for Administration and its unanimous approval by the Senate. "Through this gesture, our academic community expresses its deep appreciation for a figure whose life journey has become, for the entire world, a testament to the power of education to transform destinies," he said. The ceremony underlined both the academic honour conferred on Murmu and the broader friendship between India and Romania that she highlighted in her address.

With PTI Inputs

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