New Delhi, 26 September 2026: In its Centenary Year, Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi, brought together young voices from across the country for an evening centred on ideas, argument and the responsibilities of citizenship at the 3rd Edition of the Shri Arun Jaitley Memorial Debate (SAJMD). Held under the theme “From Legacy to Leadership: Debating India’s Next Century”, the event brought SRCC’s hundred-year intellectual legacy into conversation with the aspirations and questions of a new generation.
The Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, addressed students and the SRCC community at the award ceremony and spoke of the vital role of questioning, dialogue and informed debate in a democracy. He emphasised that questions must be asked where required, not to disrupt but to develop, and called upon students to continuously upgrade their knowledge and skills in a rapidly changing world.
Addressing the young audience, the Vice President urged students to “challenge yourself and you will become the nation builder” and called upon them to “aim for progress with purpose.” His address placed the spirit of the Shri Arun Jaitley Memorial Debate within a larger national context: the capacity to question, reason, engage with different viewpoints and act with purpose is central to the making of responsible citizens and future leaders.
The occasion also resonated with SRCC’s own institutional journey. Shri Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman, SRCC Governing Body, situated the memorial within the College’s evolution from the vision of Sir Shri Ram in 1926 to an institution that continues to combine academic excellence with a larger sense of public purpose. The annual debate represents one of the traditions through which that intellectual legacy is carried forward among successive generations of students.
The event also drew upon the enduring bond between Shri Arun Jaitley and his alma mater. Recalling his association with the College, Principal Prof. Simrit Kaur spoke of the special place SRCC continued to hold in Shri Jaitley’s life. Shri Jaitley himself had described his time at SRCC as “three of the best years of my life”, reflecting the formative influence of the institution on his intellectual and public journey.
Recalling Shri Arun Jaitley’s personality and leadership, Principal Prof. Simrit Kaur described him through the very idea of a “LEADER”: L for learned and logical; E for eloquent; A for articulate; D for decorum and the ability to engage through disagreement; E for empowered and effective executor; and R for reform-oriented and responsible. The formulation captured the breadth of Shri Jaitley’s legacy, bringing together intellectual depth, eloquence, clarity of expression, dignity in disagreement, the ability to translate ideas into action, and a commitment to reform and responsibility.
Smt. Sangeeta Jaitley, wife of Late Shri Arun Jaitley, also recalled the significance of those years and the enduring affection with which Shri Jaitley remembered his alma mater.
She also shared a personal recollection of his enduring connection with SRCC. Recalling one of his visits back to the College, she spoke of how he would look at the institution and imagine the changes he could make to improve it. She also recalled how deeply he valued his three years at SRCC and how debating had been an integral part of his student life. According to her recollection, his success in debate competitions was such that he would often earn prize money through competitions and therefore did not need to ask his family for pocket money during his college years. These recollections gave the Memorial Debate a significance beyond an annual competition: they connected the students debating at SRCC with the young student who once occupied its classrooms and whose journey from the College went on to public life.
The connection was particularly resonant in SRCC’s Centenary Year. As the College completes a hundred years, the Memorial Debate brought together three moments in a single conversation: the institution’s legacy, Arun Jaitley’s formative years at SRCC, and the young voices now debating the India of the next century.
The scale of the third edition reflected the growing reach of the platform. The English competition saw the participation of 91 teams, comprising 182 participants, while the Hindi competition witnessed 41 teams, with 82 participants. Together, the two competitions created a vibrant bilingual forum in which young debaters engaged with questions of contemporary India through argument, evidence and dialogue.
The event celebrated the enduring association of Shri Arun Jaitley with the culture of debate, public life and intellectual engagement. A distinguished debater, lawyer and parliamentarian, Shri Jaitley represented a tradition in which argument was not merely a contest of positions but a means of engaging with public policy, constitutional questions and the larger concerns of society. The Memorial Debate seeks to carry forward that tradition by giving young people a serious forum in which ideas can be tested through reasoned argument.
The Vice President’s address also connected naturally with the larger purpose of the institution. In an era in which information is available instantly, students must develop the ability to think deeply, question intelligently and distinguish between information and considered opinion. The evening therefore went beyond the competitive format of a debate to foreground the skills of critical thinking, listening, articulation and intellectual responsibility.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi, Prof. Yogesh Singh, spoke of the importance of developing students who can move beyond the mere accumulation of information towards thoughtful and informed opinion. His memorable observation that “instant noodles achhe lagte hain, opinions nahi” captured the larger spirit of the evening: meaningful opinions require time, thought, engagement and reflection.
The significance of the evening was heightened by SRCC’s Centenary Year. A hundred years of the College represent not merely a history to be commemorated, but a continuing responsibility to prepare young people for the future. The theme “From Legacy to Leadership: Debating India’s Next Century” therefore became a bridge between the institution’s past and the possibilities before its students.
The 3rd Shri Arun Jaitley Memorial Debate brought together this legacy through a national, multi-stage and bilingual debating platform. The competition provided students with an opportunity to engage rigorously with contemporary questions while developing the intellectual confidence to articulate, defend and reconsider their positions.
The competitive rounds culminated in the recognition of the winners and runners-up. The English winners, Mr. Sahastrajit Pranshu Sinha and Ms. Srishti Sanjay of Shri Ram College of Commerce, and the Hindi winners, Ms. Arya Dixit and Ms. Krishna Pathak of Lady Shri Ram College, were recognised for their winning performances. The English runners-up, Mr. Keshavaditya Sharma and Mr. Akshat Vir Singh Mehta of Hindu College, and the Hindi runners-up, Mr. Naivedya Shekhar Singh and Mr. Aditya Mishra of Hansraj College, were also recognised. The competition carried a total prize pool of ₹2.5 lakh.
The Vice President presented the awards to the winners and recognised the students whose performances distinguished them through the various stages of the competition.
The programme also witnessed a pledge against drug abuse, taken as a collective commitment by the University of Delhi and Shri Ram College of Commerce towards promoting a healthy, responsible and substance-free environment for young people. The pledge reinforced the larger message of the evening that education and leadership are inseparable from social responsibility, personal discipline and a commitment to the well-being of society.
The 3rd Shri Arun Jaitley Memorial Debate thus became a fitting Centenary-year moment for SRCC: a celebration of an illustrious legacy, a platform for the questions of young India and a conversation about the responsibilities of the future. From the three years that Arun Jaitley remembered as among the best of his life to the young participants who gathered at SRCC today, the debate reflected a continuing institutional tradition: to encourage young minds to question, think deeply, engage with difference and lead with purpose.
