Webinar on ‘Foundations of Indian Culture’ organised by Assam University

Dec. 6: Assam University, Silchar has come up with a unique year long one hundred and fifty hours lecture series on ‘Foundations of Indian Culture’. This is an initiative for reawakening the youth towards India’s cultural ideas and ideals. The online inaugural ceremony of the lecture series took place on 5 December, 2020. the webinar was organised by the Centre for Studies in Human Development (CSHD), Assam University, Silchar.

The webinar was conducted via google meet. The inaugural ceremony was graced by Prof. Dilip Chandra Nath Vice Chancellor of Assam University, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma- State Education Minister, Swami Atmapriyananda Maharaj- Pro- Chancellor of Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda University Kolkata, Dr. Sampadanananda Mishra- Director of Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry, Nivedita Bhide- All India Vice President of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, Diganta Biswa Sarma- Author & Translator along with hundreds of other participants.

The inaugural programme began at 7 PM on 5 December with the welcome address by Prof. Niranjan Roy, Coordinator of the Lecture Series. Prof. G. Ram, Director of Centre for Studies in Human Development (CSHD) spoke about the activities of the centre. This was followed by the inaugural speech, which was delivered by Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister of Education, Government of Assam.

It was then that the keynote address was delivered by Swami Atmapriyananda Maharaj, Pro-Chancellor of Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Kolkata. In a lucid yet scholastic note, he spoke about the rich cultural heritage of India. Taking a dig at the colonial legacy, Swami Atmapriyananda Maharaj said, “It is indeed unfortunate that till now we have not been able to come out of Macaulay’s thought process ingrained during the colonial regime. Youths in India feel ashamed to learn the rich Sanskrit language, whereas people from the West come hear and learn it.”

Guest of Honour, Dr. Sampadanananda Mishra, Director of Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry and Nivedita Bhide- All India Vice President of Vivekananda Kendra also spoke on the topic during their speech. Prof. Gopalji Mishra, Director of CSHD also shared his views during the occasion. The Presidential address was delivered by Prof. Dilip Chandra Nath, Vice Chancellor of Assam University. Dr. Pradosh Kiran Nath, Registrar in-charge of the varsity delivered the vote of thanks. All dignitaries were introduced in the webinar by Dr. Debotosh Chakraborty, Treasurer of CSHD.