It is my happy privilege to write a short message for the website of St. Francis College, this magnificent citadel of knowledge and education in our beloved Lucknow, the city of Nawabs. We live in a world of amazingly fast, instant and high-speed exchange of information and knowledge. What happens in a particular place can be and is often instantly known all over the world. For students of St. Francis too, past and present as well as the many well wishers of this great and noble institution, the quick and immediate access to the College website can bring their beloved St. Francis closer to their hearts wherever they might be in this beautiful world.

As I was taking a walk on the grounds of our College, I came across several slogans pasted on the notice board outside the Principal’s Office. There were several but a few caught my eye and can well be the guiding paths to our students, thousands of them, who have and will be passing through the portals of this great institution. Some of these were “Discipline is a guidance”, “Discipline is the defining fire by which talents become ability”, “Discipline is a bridge between goals and accomplishments” and a humorous one “Discipline is like spinach, we may not care for it ourselves but feel sure it would be good for everybody else”.

“The highest result of education is tolerance” said the world-famous Helen Keller (1880-1968), who lived her life to the full in spite of being hearing-impaired and visually-challenged. To a very large extent, I believe, St. Francis College has done precisely this during its more than 125 years of existence. In a country of several major world religions, hundreds of ethnicities, languages, cultures, tribes, creeds and colours, may St. Francis continue to be truly a beacon of education leading to authentic tolerance, absolute need of today’s India, thereby forming its students towards becoming future citizens with character, conscience, competence, commitment and compassion in our beloved country. Jai Hind!