The Hindu : New Delhi News : Jamia joins hands with Iran

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Jamia joins hands with Iran

Staff Reporter

To set up a Centre for Iranology

NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia here had a high-profile visitor this past week. Iranian Vice-President Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei visited the university to sign a memorandum of understanding for setting up a Centre for Iranology at the Academy of Third World Studies on the campus.

The MoU was signed by Jamia and the Research Institute for Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organisation of Iran. The agreement has been drawn up to establish, equip and support the centre for conducting an independent or joint educational and research projects as well as facilitate exchanges of students and teachers.

The new centre will also assist Ph.D. scholars in their research into topics related to India-Iran relations as well as encourage scholars from Jamia to choose topics of research related to Iran. It will also hold workshops and seminars on topics related to Indo-Iranian society, culture, tourism, history and literature.

Reciprocating the gesture, the visiting Vice-President announced the setting up of a Centre for Indology at Tehran to be funded by the Iranian government.

Speaking at the function, Mr. Mashaei quoted extensively from the Sufi-poet Maulana Rumi and spoke on the need for people to know each other.

Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan referred to the ancient civilisational contact between the two countries and “the need to meaningfully translate this relationship in the present times into tangible social and economic terms”.

The Iranian dignitary’s visit coincided with the launch of the Indo-Iran Cultural Week during which he inaugurated an exhibition of Persian manuscripts and rare books housed in the University library.

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