CJI: Amazed at GenY’s capacity to address enormous challenges

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Sunday said he is amazed at the capacity of the younger generation to rise to the occasion and address the enormous challenges of the present time, also advising youth to learn from failures.

The CJI appealed to younger people not to get swayed by unrealistic expectations and stressed that life is a “marathon and not a 100metre sprint”.

Virtually addressing the graduating students at the 72nd annual convocation of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara, Justice Chandrachud said of the 346 gold medals this year, the university awarded 336 to women, which he called “truly a sign of changing times in our nation”.

Calling the current period a “unique time in our history”, Justice Chandrachud said technology has made people more connected than ever before, but it has also exposed them to their worst fears and anxieties. “We see new and unique professions emerging every day, people charting their own professional journey which does not comply with traditional yardsticks. This is an exciting time to be graduating. But I am aware these circumstances also give rise to unparalleled uncertainties and confusion,” he said.

The legal luminary told the students, “As much as you are fortunate to be living at a time when you are more exposed to ideas than ever before, you are also a unique generation which is made aware about the challenges of our time more than any generations before you.”

He said he was amazed at the capacity of the younger generation “to rise to the occasion and address the enormous challenges of our times”, and urged them to take their time, not get swayed by unrealistic expectations and learn from their failures. “One thing that our formal education does not prepare for us is how vital failure is to our growth. Our education system is designed for us to despise failure and have a paralysing fear of it. However, life is not meant to be free of failures,” he said.

Failures in life are designed to introspect and emerge as a better person, he said.