INDIAN minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched a new academic chair to promote research into the life and philosophy of Sri Guru Nanak at the University of Birmingham.
The Indian civil aviation minister announced the project during the University of Birmingham India Institute’s annual guest lecture on Friday (1).
Puri spoke on 'The contemporary relevance of Sri Guru Nanak’s message of inter-faith harmony' during the occasion.
An academic expert will hold the Sri Guru Nanak chair and work closely with relevant parts of the university, including the Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues.
Working with the university’s India office in New Delhi, the chair will engage with partners and communities in India.
They will also seek major funding opportunities to advance research into the Guru’s life and teaching.
Hardeep Singh Puri
The Indian minister said: “The University of Birmingham is most suitable for the chair given the strength of its academic offering, its close connections to the vibrant Sikh community, the larger British Indian community of the UK, and its history and continuing commitment to India.
“Equally, the city of Birmingham, in the heart of the United Kingdom, with its rich and diverse religious heritage, and its diverse population, is an ideal place for the chair to be located.”
Ruchi Ghanashyam
High Commissioner of India to UK Ruchi Ghanashyam congratulated the British-Indian community for its partnership on various projects to celebrate the auspicious occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak.
“This is a great opportunity for that eternal message of the revered first Sikh Guru to be shared with the British community and the larger world community,” she said.
University of Birmingham Chancellor Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea said: “...we believe this chair will help further deepen and strengthen links between our academic community and the Indian diaspora.”
The University of Birmingham specialises particularly in the field of interreligious relations, religion and development, religion and politics, and religion and peacebuilding.
The university's relationship with India is a long one, beginning in 1909 with the first cohort of Indian students arriving in Birmingham to study for degrees in mining and commerce. Since then, the university has provided education to around 2,000 outstanding Indian students.
Birmingham was the first UK university to establish a lectureship in Sikh studies and is the only Russell Group university to have a programme (MSc in Sikh Studies) in this field.
Given its rich history and connections to India, the university launched its India Institute in 2018.
