Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called upon the youth to take a vow to put an end to social evils such as discrimination based on gender and caste, and disrespect to women. He said they should lead the nation towards equality. Mr Naidu was delivering the 16th Convocation address of the Symbiosis International University in Pune today.

Expressing concern over the erosion of values in the society, especially in the context of the recent atrocities against women, the Vice President opined that a mere bill or an Act was not sufficient to act as a deterrent to crimes against women. He stressed the need for a change of mindset in people to arrest such tendencies and incidents.

Mr Naidu urged educational institutions, teachers, and parents to teach children about the Indian culture that propounds values such as respecting women, gurus and elders. The Vice President congratulated Dr Tessy Thomas, a distinguished scientist and Javed Akhtar, a renowned poet, lyricist and screenwriter on receiving Doctorate of Literature from the University during the Convocation today.