On a winter morning in Dhanbad, history seemed to pause and listen. As IIT (ISM) Dhanbad marked 100 years of shaping India’s mining, geology and earth sciences ecosystem, the institution welcomed a voice deeply intertwined with the story of modern India’s infrastructure and energy journey — Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group.

“It is not every day that one is invited to speak at the 100th anniversary of any institute,” Mr Adani said, pausing to acknowledge the moment’s gravity. “And when that celebration belongs to IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, it is far more than an invitation. It is a once‑in‑a‑lifetime historic opportunity.”

Standing on a campus that has produced generations of India’s custodians of coal, minerals and core industries, he reflected on the institution’s extraordinary origins. “I find it staggering that over a century ago, even under the weight of the British flag, the Indian National Congress recommended the setting up of this institution to meet Bharat’s urgent need for mining and geology experts,” he said.

That decision, he noted, revealed a profound foresight — an understanding that national destiny is inseparable from mastery over natural resources.

“अगर भारत को अपनी तक़दीर संवारनी है, तो उसे अपनी धरती की ताकत को सिझना होगा,” Mr Adani said, drawing spontaneous applause. Translating the thought, he added, “A nation cannot rise to greatness unless she first masters the language of the earth under her feet.”

The centenary, he reminded the audience, was not merely a moment of remembrance. “This celebration is not just an opportunity to reflect on where you have come from,” he said. “It is also a moment to define where you must go — and to chart the future that must be created.”

Turning to the global landscape, Mr Adani struck a sobering note. The world, he warned, is entering a period of profound disruption. “The age of collaborative global trade and supply chains is collapsing,” he observed. “Nations once bound by strong alliances are retreating into the shadows of self‑preservation.”

From rare earths and semiconductors to tariffs and fractured trade treaties, he said, economic conflict has become the new normal rather than the exception. In this shifting order, India’s ability to secure energy, minerals and technological sovereignty will define its future strength.

Addressing students directly, Mr Adani underlined their responsibility in this new era. “You are not just students of mining or geology. You are future architects of Bharat’s resilience,” he said. “The choices you make, the innovations you pursue, and the ethics you uphold will determine how secure and self‑reliant our nation becomes.”

As the address drew to a close, one message stood out clearly — that IIT (ISM) Dhanbad’s next century must be as bold and consequential as its first. Born from a national vision during colonial rule, the institution now stands at the centre of India’s quest for energy security, sustainability and strategic autonomy.

A hundred years after its founding, the ground beneath IIT (ISM) Dhanbad still carries the weight of history. But, as Mr Adani reminded the gathering, it is the future above that ground — shaped by today’s students — that will ultimately define Bharat’s destiny.

As his remarks deepened, Mr Adani widened the lens to the world beyond the campus, warning that global institutions once seen as stabilising forces are being reshaped by self-interest. “Even the most prominent global institutions — NATO, the WTO and the UN — are being forced to reconsider their established frameworks and rules of engagement,” he said, describing a world where alliances are increasingly transactional rather than enduring.

In this changing order, he argued, sovereignty has acquired a sharper, more urgent meaning. “Sovereignty is the ability to govern oneself without external influence and control,” he told the audience, outlining what he called the two pillars of national independence. “First, master the resources below our feet… Second, master the energy that fuels our rise.”

Drawing from India’s civilisational memory, he reminded students that these ideas were not new. “Our ancient Vedas articulated these truths long before modern geopolitics discovered them,” he said, adding, “Sovereignty belongs to those who command their earth — and those who command their earth, command their energy.”

History, he cautioned, offers stark lessons. Recounting the rise and destruction of Nalanda, once the world’s greatest seat of learning, Mr Adani said its burning was not merely an act of physical destruction but an assault on India’s intellectual confidence. “His true target was our civilisational confidence and our ability to think independently,” he said, linking that rupture to later colonial strategies where, “Where Khilji used fire, the British used curriculum.”

That context, he explained, is vital in understanding today’s battles — particularly the battle for narrative. “No geopolitical alliance is permanent. Every alliance is conditional and transactional,” he said, warning that influence eventually turns into power, and power seeks to control the story.