The foundation of the Hindu University was laid by Lord Hardinge on the
4th February 1916. "Many striking addresses were delivered on the
occasion. Professor J.C. Bose in his masterly address went to the root
of the matter and pointed in an inspiring manner what should be done to
make the Hindu University worthy of its name. He deprecated a repetition
of the Universities of the West." He said:--
In tracing the characteristic phenomenon of life from simple beginnings
in that vast region which may be called unvoiced, as exemplified in the
world of plants, to its highest expression in the animal kingdom, one is
repeatedly struck by the one dominant fact that in order to maintain an
organism at the height of its efficiency something more than a
mechanical perfection of its structure is necessary. Every living
organism, in order to maintain its life and growth, must be in free
communion with all the forces of the Universe about it.