A group of 22 scholars from various universities in Thailand have come to Mysuru as part of Thailand-India Academic Exchange and the visit has been organised by the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University (IAS-CU) and the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), through an NCRT-funded scheme ‘Developing National and International Asian Studies Network’.
The Thai team consists of researchers and professors in the field of Asian studies, and their expertise include international relations, economics, public policy, public health, media and communications, social sciences and humanities.
The visit aims to establish a future network of scholars from Thailand and India through organising joint seminars and academic interactions. The group looks forward to strengthening the ‘people-to-people’ connectivity between Thailand and India, and with the people of Karnataka.
The Thai scholars attended the two-day conference on “Tagore’s Vision for Asia: Human Solidarity Beyond Nationalism” that began at the Vignana Bhavan in Manasagangotri.
The Departments of Social Work, Economics, Journalism and Mass Communication and Biochemistry, University of Mysuru in collaboration with The Sustainability Platform (TSP)-Asia organised the conference where the scholars from India and Thailand will deliberate on the topic and also on other subjects.
Prof. Chandan Gowda, Professor, Ramakrishna Hegde Chair, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru; Dr. Jirayudh Sinthuphan, Director, South Asian Studies Centre and Deputy Director, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University; Prof. Lawrence Surendra of TSP-Asia; Prof. Prem Kumar from the Department of Economics, Dr Jyothi H.P. from the Department of Social Work, Prof. Sapna M.S. from the Journalism Department were present at the inaugural session.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Jyothi said that the academic collaboration between India and Thailand will help to exchange knowledge and expertise and result in more collaborative research works. The scholars can establish a deeper association, paving way for studies in various areas, she said, while recalling the visit of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to Mysuru.
In his address, Prof. Gowda said Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore shaped the character of the freedom movement, and he spoke on the freedom movement in West Bengal, and in Mysuru.
He spoke about the literary resurgence and the birth of modern Kannada literature, and recounted the reforms that came in post-Independent India. He explained about Karnataka’s literary heritage and folk literature, particularly of Malai Mahadeshwara Kavya from Chamarajnagar. There is a big following to the folk epics of the land as people turn up in large numbers to listen to the narrations in fairs and other platforms, he added.
Benefits of the programme
Giving an overview of the programme, Dr. Sinthuphan said the academic exchange will help understand the common things the two countries share. “I call this kinship not friendship as the countries are culturally related. We are here to strengthen this relationship.”
He said the scholars need to discuss the challenges of the 21st century.
Prof. Lawrence Surendra gave an outline of the group sessions at the conference.
There were group sessions on social development and public health; language, culture and politics; communication, media and politics and a plenary session besides a report on Thailand-India cooperation.
The visiting scholars who are interested in knowing the history, culture and traditions will be visiting Mysuru palace, the century-old Devaraja Market, and other interesting places in Mysuru like ORI before they leave Mysuru.
