Indian Ambassador to Ireland Launches Trinity Indian Society
Posted on: 02 February 2009
The Trinity Indian Society was launched at an event on January 29th last, in Trinity College Dublin by the Indian Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency, P.S Raghavan. The Trinity Indian Society will comprise both staff and students at Trinity College and aims to develop cultural, social and educational links between India and Ireland. It will raise awareness of the rich history of India by creating a forum for members to experience Indian culture. For students arriving from India to study at Trinity, the society will provide a cultural ‘home away from home’ and will facilitate student integration into the broader Trinity student body. The society is open to all staff and students within TCD, and planned events will include celebrating Indian festivals, Indian cuisine nights, Indian films, and inviting leading cultural, social and political speakers to Trinity.
On the occasion of the launch of the Trinity Indian Society, TCD Provost, Dr John Hegarty, and the Indian Ambassador, His Excellency, P.S Raghavan, became the society’s first members. A founding member of the Trinity Indian Society, Shyam S. Sathyanarayana, is currently studying for a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering as part of the Erasmus Mundus programme.
Commenting on Trinity College’s links with India, TCD Provost, Dr Hegarty said:”Historically, Trinity has shared very strong links with India, for example the university offered a comprehensive programme of language study in all of the major Indian languages by the mid 19th century. Trinity also trained large numbers of doctors and engineers who played important roles in the Indian colonial services, including the geological survey of India and the medical services”.
“In recent times, Trinity has been actively engaged in developing exciting academic links with India. Students from all over India have experienced the richness of student life in Trinity and the rewards of studying in an environment of academic excellence. We currently have approximately 80 Indian students within our undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes, studying a range of disciplines across the sciences and humanities. Trinity is also actively engaged in developing strategic links with other prestigious third level institutions in India, to both further collaborative research projects and to facilitate the sharing of intellectual expertise.”
To conclude the evening’s celebrations there was a talk and screening by the noted Indian screenwriter Atul Tiwari on his film Bose: The Forgotten Hero, on the revolutionary Subhas Chandra Bose. The screening and talk was hosted by the TCD South Asia Initiative, which promotes the study of South Asia at Trinity.
