Her Royal Highness Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck graced the 31st Annual Convocation of the National Law School of India University at Bengaluru in India, yesterday. Her Royal Highness is in India on a four-day visit at the invitation of the Government of India.
Her Royal Highness graced the convocation as the chief guest. The National Law School of India University or NLSIU is a public law school.
The convocation ceremony was attended by the Chief Justice of India, Justices of the Supreme Court of India and Judges of the High Court of India, Chairperson of the Bar Council of India and its members, ministers and officials of the State Government of Karnataka and other dignitaries from India’s legal fraternity.
As the chief guest, Her Royal Highness also addressed around two thousand guests.
In the Convocation Address, Her Royal Highness highlighted the important role legal professionals can play as “social engineers” in society and urged the graduating students to live by the values of Justice, Service and Wisdom in their professional lives.
“His Majesty, my father, the fourth King believed that as people need good doctors when they are sick, they need justice when they are wronged. To ensure a just equitable and sustainable society he introduced the visionary framework of Gross National Happiness or GNH.”
“Guided by GNH, our Majesties the Kings have demonstrated that justice, service, and wisdom are not mere ideals but pillars that sustain a harmonious nation. Their profound service and commitment to justice are what makes them the true “social engineers” of Bhutan.”
Her Royal Highness also congratulated the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) for the historic Chandrayan-3 soft landing, taking India to the moon.
The National Law School of India University is considered a torchbearer in legal education in India and one of the partner universities of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law.
“I would also like to take this opportunity today to offer my congratulations to ISRO and to India for the absolutely historic soft landing on the lunar south pole. It was an amazing event to watch and we celebrate it together with you.”
Her Royal Highness also held an interactive session with the students.
Her Royal Highness and the Chief Justice of India also inaugurated the University’s new library yesterday.
During the visit, Her Royal Highness met senior officials of the Government of India and the Judiciary and representatives of leading law firms and companies in India.
Devika Pradhan
