Prime Minister Narendra Modi presides over the 125th-anniversary celebrations at The Scindia School
New Delhi: Known as India’s most prestigious boys’ residential boarding school, The Scindia School, celebrated 125 years of its glorious legacy on Saturday 21st October. Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi graced the Founder’s Day event and lauded the school on their invaluable contribution in shaping India’s education narrative. He released a postal stamp of the school to commemorate the remarkable milestone as well as laid the foundations for a new, state of the art Multipurpose Sports Complex. This was followed by him planting a sapling, a symbol of the school’s commitment to continue to nurture and transform young boys into resilient, intelligent, and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.
Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi shared his thoughts on this commendable milestone and said, “Coming to Gwalior is always a wonderful experience. I congratulate the school on achieving this commendable milestone. Each student of The Scindia School should dream big and achieve big as we work to build more opportunities for our youth to achieve their full potential. Every student of The Scindia School should strive to make India proud and a Viksit Bharat, be it in the professional world or any other place.” He also asked the students for the following nine promises– to run an awareness campaign for water security; create awareness about digital payments; strive to make Gwalior the cleanest city in India; promote Made in India products and adapt the approach for vocal for local; explore India and travel within the country before heading out to foreign nations; create awareness about natural farming among regional farmers; inculcate millets in daily diets; make sports, yoga or any form of fitness an integral part of lifestyle; and lastly handhold at least one poor family.
Built atop a historical fort, the Scindia School, was established as The Sardar School in 1897 by the visionary HH Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia I. The school continues to pride in its unique value-based education model. While mindfulness and sustainability have only recently made whispers across global education corridors, The Scindia School has entrenched these values within the daily practices of every Scindian. Education is not limited to the classrooms, with children imbibing important lessons in resilience, integrity, and compassion as they navigate their way from dorms to classrooms.
The Scindia School, known as the school of transformation, has raised many independent thinkers who have gone on to create their own unique success stories across the world. This reflects in the illustrious alumni network, The Scindia Old Boys’ Association (SOBA), whose members arrived in large numbers to celebrate a grand milestone for their alma-mater. The Founder’s Day event celebrating 125 years of excellence in education witnessed the presence of India’s leadership including Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mangubhai Patel, Governor of Madhya Pradesh as well as Union Minsters, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar and Jitendra Singh. The event was also attended by the school’s illustrious Board, students, faculty, and parents.
Union Civil Aviation Minister, His Highness, Mr. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, who is also the president of the Board of Governors of the school, shared his thoughts and stated, “This is a momentous occasion for the school. Sometimes, it only takes a moment to create history and today is that moment for The Scindia School as the honourable Prime Minister of India graces us with his presence on this distinct milestone. It signals the beginning of a new chapter in the school’s history as we honour all that has been achieved in the past 125 years. The school was created with the vision to combine our ‘Sanskaar’ and ‘Sanskriti’ with innovation and that continues to be the school’s guiding mantra. There cannot be a better time than this for our students and the nation’s youth to explore their potential. Today, under the guidance of the honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, India has not only made our flag fly high across the world, but even on the moon. After presiding over the G20 Summit, we have proved to the world that when India grows, the world grows. This has happened only under the able leadership of our beloved Prime Minister.”
The celebration included a breath-taking performance by the students, based on the school’s iconic ‘Astachal. Directed by the immensely popular, Sumeet Nagdev, the performance brought alive the most cherished daily practice of every Scindian; to spend a few moments reflecting over their day’s actions and thoughts, while watching the sun set behind the picturesque Aravalli serving as the horizon. The students also performed a special celebratory song, penned to mark this important occasion, and were accompanied by the school’s extremely prestigious Brass Band.
On this momentous occasion, Mr. Ajay Singh, Principal of The Scindia School, shared his thoughts and said, “Achieving 125 years of excellence in education is no small feat. This is a very proud moment for the school and every Scindian. The school was established with a vision to raise young leaders with the wealth of knowledge as well as a very strong moral compass. Over the years, while the school has evolved to offer the best in global education. technology and facilities to its students, there has been an equal emphasis to keep them grounded with a sense of belonging to our Indian roots. The school’s value-based education system continues to be the gold standard for imparting holistic education. While we honour our past and celebrate the present, we are equally excited to build the next 125 years and take the school to new heights of glory and success.”
The Scindia School celebrated its 125th anniversary on this Founder’s Day, 21st October 2023 with much excitement and grandeur at the school campus, atop the stunning fort in the city of Gwalior.