Renowned MP and author marks India Day
Renowned Indian politician, diplomat and writer Dr Shashi Tharoor will provide the keynote lecture for the University’s India Day celebrations.
Dr Tharoor will discuss India-UK relations at McEwan Hall on Monday 2 October – Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.
The event will be the fourth successive year that the University has marked India Day.
Dr Tharoor served as Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations from 1978 to 2007 and is an acclaimed award-winning author, having published 16 books.
He currently serves as Member of Indian Parliament. He is a member of the Congress Party and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs for the Government of India.
McEwan Hall lecture on India-UK relations
Dr Tharoor’s public lecture is expected to touch upon the shaping of India-UK relations by the British Raj. It has been organised by Edinburgh Global and the Edinburgh Futures Institute
The event will be followed by a short Q&A session, hosted by Professor JP Singh, Director of the Institute for International Cultural Relations.
The event will be held at McEwan Hall from 3 pm – 4.30 pm. The event is free but ticketed.
A short book signing of Dr Tharoor’s latest publication, Inglorious Empire, will take place from 4.30 - 5 pm.
Dr Tharoor public lecture tickets via Eventbrite
Workshop
A workshop will be held for the local business community and Edinburgh academics.
The theme of the workshop is ‘The state of Indian democracy - Multiculturalism and communal harmony’.
The workshop will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday 3 October. Registration for the event takes place from 9 am.
India
The University has been linked with India for nearly 250 years. Professor William Robertson, Edinburgh's Principal from 1762 to 1793 and a leading figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, wrote one of the earliest European texts to focus on India.
Edinburgh’s first Indian student graduated in 1876 and by the 1920s its Indian student population was greater than that of any other UK University.
The University’s India Institute and its India and South Asia Liaison Office in Mumbai seeks to extend the University’s relationship with India. It encourages research collaborations and academic exchanges.
Edinburgh has the largest cohort of Indian students in Scotland. More than 350 Indian students studied at Edinburgh in the last academic year.
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