The ‘Bangabandhu Chair’ in the Delhi University is another step to nurture the cultural commonalities between India and Bangladesh by means of academic institutions.
“I am sure that this very important innovation catalyzes further sharing of knowledge and understanding, future growth of ties among institutions and a more common face of work, I hope that we find the distinguished occupant for the chair at the earliest.” Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said after the launching of the Chair on Monday.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Delhi University created a new epoch in the history of shared cultural collaboration by establishing ‘Bangabandhu Chair’ through a MoU.
This is the outcome of one of the understandings reached during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Bangladesh in March 2021.
Bangabandhu Chair will focus on better understanding of developments in Bangladesh, one of India's most important neighbors, positioned at the strategic intersection of our 'Neighborhood First' and 'Act East' policies.
This step will reinforce exchanges in the field of academics, art and culture between the two countries.
“We will be doing a lot but we wanted to start with an important country and what more could be important than Bangladesh particularly this year when we are celebrating 50th anniversary of the Independence of Bangladesh, 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” said Dinesh K. Patnaik, Director General, ICCR.
"It is a historical moment to host this first-ever Bangabandhu chair, who was an ideal hero for all of us and was a symbol of liberty, democracy, and freedom," said Prof PC Joshi, Acting VC, University of Delhi.
“We will work closely with ICCR and Delhi University to ensure that all sides are satisfied with the selection of candidates that we hope to find.” said Vikram Doraiswami, High Commission of India Dhaka.
“This chair is the celebration of commonality in our world view, we stand for peace, fraternity, and equal respect to all belief systems," said Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President ICCR.
This Chair is an important step keeping in mind the consistent economic growth and its rapidly growing socio-economic standards.
The MoU signed on Monday is for the duration of five academic years.
ICCR has set up various Chairs on different Indian studies across the world and for the first time ever a foreign Chair will be established at Delhi University.
The Chair will be occupied by a foreign Visiting Professor or subject expert on Bangladesh preferably a person of Bangladeshi origin focusing on the Indo-Bangladesh common cultural heritage and subjects like Anthropology, Buddhist Studies, Geography, History, Modern Indian Languages (including Bangla), Music and Fine Arts, Political Science, International Relations, and Sociology.
It will teach as per the academic requirements of the University and will also help in guiding and mentoring of research students. It will also take part in other activities of the University relating to seminars, conferences, faculty interaction etc. and public lectures.
