Billionaire Tech Entrepreneur and philanthropist Shiv Nadar advised the students of Tamil Nadu to learn Hindi saying that it will be immensely useful to them in the future and stand them in good stead in their professional career, The Hindu reported.

Shiv Nadar, Founder and Chairman of HCL, was addressing the students of St Joseph’s College Higher Secondary School at Tiruchirappalli on Monday (4 February) as part of the 175th anniversary celebrations of the institution.

He is an alumnus of the school. He subsequently graduated from American College, Madurai and later went on to earn a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG college of Technology, Coimbatore.

Acknowledging that his view may be a controversial (Tamil Nadu that often witnessed agitation against Hindi), Nadar sought to remind the students that India was a large country and significant section of the population in the country understood the language.

He added that, “Hindi language is spoken not just in Indian states. It is understood by people in different countries as Indians are everywhere. This would help you when you go to other countries.”

He also underscored that knowledge of Hindi that he learnt at school enabled his competitive presence in the IT field beyond Tamil Nadu.

Nadar also lavished praise on the school, where he studied for four years, for supporting people from different faiths.

Nadar credited spirit of competition and self-confidence that he imbibed at the school in helping him build HCL as a tech powerhouse that currently employs 1.29 lakh employees belonging to 75 different nationalities, with geographic presence in at least 55 countries and clocking an annual turnover of Rs 54,000 crore.

Nadar has never failed to acknowledge that his meteoric success story was thanks to the education and scholarships that he received during his early years. He has consistently advocated that access to quality education is the most potent tool of transformation.

In 1994, he established the philanthropic - Shiv Nadar Foundation that has so far established six institutions covering the entire spectrum of education. As of 2018, Nadar has reportedly invested close to $800 million through the Foundation, impacting over 25,000 students directly.

A nostalgic Nadar recalled the discipline enforced by Rev Fr Ehrhart, Rev Fr Marudanayagam and other priests in the school campus.

Nadar thanked his old friends, who had turned up for the function and recalled that his friendships in the campus transcended barriers of religion and caste.

He lauded the school, where he studied for four years, for supporting people from different faiths.

Nadar was bestowed with the Global educationist Award from the school during the occasion.