An educated woman is the key to a prosperous India

It is my great fortune that I am a member of one of the largest education systems in the world and, since I am a part of that family, I get the opportunity to attend convocation ceremonies of several educational institutions. I see a clear trend where our daughters are delivering the best performances and results in every field.

Be it in degrees or the number of gold medalists, our daughters constitute 60 per cent of that list. In many cases, this figure might also go up to 70-75 per cent. I see this as a very positive sign. The developed and advanced countries in the world have reached their heights of glory by giving proper respect to the women in their countries.

The whole world is going to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8.

Underlining the importance of women in nation-building and development processes, and viewing men and women as equal, Swami Vivekananda had said, "The country that does not respect its women is a country that will never prosper."

As per our nation's history, the Vedas have clearly stated that all organisms have the same soul; by that logic, there should not be any discrimination between women and men.

I have always believed that the entire life of a man is dependent on, and revolves around, a woman. The success of every man is dependent on a woman.

Anyway, if you look at it, when a baby comes into this world, till its adolescence, it is most connected to its mother and sees her as the first guru.

This is the reason why women's education is extremely important in this country. In order to make our society cultured and traditional it is not just useful, but also mandatory to educate women.

For the creation of a decent, advanced and superior society, it is essential for its people to be educated, and women are not just an important cog in the wheel, but also an integral pre-requisite.

The way each and every cell comes together to create the human body, in the same manner, every small unit of each family comes together to build the society.

The source of energy for every individual, and the centre-point of every family, is a woman. If a woman is educated, then two families are educated, and when every family is educated, the whole country is educated.

This is the very reason why the great philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau had said, "Give me a hundred ideal mothers, and I will give you an ideal nation."

(The author is Human Resource Development Minister, Government of India)