University boosts ties with India

EDINBURGH University has entered into a new partnership which it is hoped will strengthen cultural ties between Scotland and India.

The university will create a chair of contemporary Indian studies as part of its collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. It is hoped the appointment of an Indian professor will lead to the creation of a centre for contemporary Indian studies in Edinburgh.

Sir Timothy O’Shea, the university’s principal, said: “Our efforts show that the University of Edinburgh is committed to working with Indian partners and institutions.”

Former Edinburgh scholars with Indian links include William Robertson, who wrote one of the earliest European texts on Indian commerce and culture, and Victor Kiernan, who translated the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mohammed Iqbal.

The agreement is the latest link to be forged between Edinburgh University and India.

Earlier this year, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi to collaborate together. It also opened a liaison office in Mumbai, to improve collaboration with its partners in Indian education, business and government.