New Delhi, August 30: Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has underlined the crucial role of universities in strengthening democracy, saying educational institutions must foster free thinking, constructive dissent and respect for constitutional values.

Addressing graduating students at National Law University Delhi, Justice Bhuyan said universities should go beyond merely transferring knowledge from one generation to another. They must encourage students to think independently, question established ideas and engage with opinions different from their own.

He said the foundations of a democratic society that respects liberty, diversity and individual dignity should be laid on university campuses.

According to Justice Bhuyan, students should not accept an idea simply because it is familiar, has been followed for years or has been endorsed by someone in authority. Instead, universities should provide an environment where students can critically examine ideas and raise difficult questions without fear, even when the answers may be uncomfortable.

The judge said such an approach is particularly important for students pursuing legal education. He observed that the study of law cannot be confined to textbooks and classrooms, as legal disputes frequently involve conflicts between competing rights and freedoms.

Legal professionals, he said, must be able to balance competing claims while examining the exercise of state and other forms of power against individual liberty and constitutional principles.

Justice Bhuyan stressed that even long-established legal positions may have to be reconsidered if they fail to withstand constitutional scrutiny. Therefore, law students must develop the ability to question, analyse and critically examine established positions instead of merely memorising legal rules.

Linking free thinking with the functioning of constitutional democracy, Justice Bhuyan said the ability to live with disagreement is far more than an expression of tolerance or social courtesy. It is a fundamental requirement of a liberal constitutional democracy in which people holding different beliefs and opinions must be able to coexist with equal dignity.

He said universities have a special responsibility in this regard because they bring together young people from diverse social, cultural and intellectual backgrounds.

A university, he said, should provide a space where established ideas can be examined and challenged, while differences are addressed through reason, dialogue and debate rather than hostility.

Justice Bhuyan also cautioned against viewing disagreement as inherently threatening. Exposure to differing perspectives, he said, can help students gain a deeper understanding of the law, the Constitution and the society in which they will eventually work.

He urged students to engage seriously with opposing viewpoints instead of treating disagreement as something that must be suppressed.

Justice Bhuyan further said that liberty, equality and respect for diversity cannot remain confined to constitutional provisions. These principles must become part of the culture of institutions as well as society.

Universities, he said, are an appropriate place to begin this process by teaching young people to listen to different perspectives, question assumptions, raise difficult issues and disagree without hostility.

A healthy democracy, Justice Bhuyan said, ultimately depends on institutions that provide people with the freedom to think differently, challenge established positions and express their views.