India grants US univ $1.5 mn to establish Vivekananda Chair

India will provide USD 1.5 million grant to the prestigious University of Chicago to establish a Vivekananda Chair for Indian studies, as part of initiatives to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the 19th century luminary. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard between Dean of University of Chicago (UOC) Martha Roth and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Sanjiv Mittal in presence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Under the MoU, India will provide a grant of USD 1.5 million to UOC for the Vivekananda Chair to honour his life and legacy and to facilitate exchange of research scholars from/to India. [caption id=“attachment_196827” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”] [/caption] US Ambassador to India Nirupama Rao spoke on the opening of University of Chicago Center in New Delhi this year under the mutual partnership of the two countries. Mukherjee was here to celebrate the new Indian Ministry of Culture Vivekananda Visiting Professorship at the University. Martha Roth, Dean of the Humanities and the Chauncey S Boucher Professor of Assyriology; and Dipesh Chakrabarty, the Lawrence A Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor in History and South Asian Languages and Civilizations also spoke about Swami Vivekananda’s contribution to religious freedom that opened doors of religious tolerance between East and West. Also present was Chicago Consul General of India Mukta Dutta Tomar. University students also performed dance and music at the event. The University also did a live webcast of the event that could be viewed from “UChicago Live” tab of the UChicago Facebook page. PTI