In the wake of 9/11 attacks in the USA, the relations between the “Christian West” and the “Muslim World” took a nose-dive. Australia is among the few countries who made a concerted effort to win over the hearts and minds of the Muslims in their own country and elsewhere.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now on a visit to India, announced in New Delhi that the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, located at the University of South Australia, will step up its cooperation with Indian partners.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia, University of South Australia’s Pro Vice Chancellor, who accompanied Ms Gillard to India, said the new Centre’s research agenda goes far beyond religious differences. (Last year this distinguished scholar was appointed a UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies.) (See inset photo)
Professor Ahluwalia added: “We also want to build the Centre as a place of engagement, so that the work we do is accessible to governments and societies. This supports a guiding principle of the research Centre – to analyse effective rapprochement between Muslim and non-Muslim communities informed by principles of social justice and reconciliation.”
The Centre has already attracted $(Aus) 10 million in funding support from the Australian Government and the South Australian State Government. The Centre would offer 10 international PhD scholarships, worth more than $(Aus) 26, 000 each, plus relocation expenses.
He said: “I am hoping to welcome strong applications from India that can build long lasting bilateral research relationships between Australia and India in this vital area.”
Ms Julia Gillard said “faith and culture have been paramount in the development of India; one of the world’s largest and most linguistically and culturally diverse democracies. Holding the international launch of the Centre here in Delhi is appropriate because India is a nation that lives with difference on a grand scale and thrives.”
She added: “There is expertise here and in many countries across the Asian region that we can learn from. The goal is to build a worldwide community of outstanding scholars with a commitment to understanding and exploring the cultural and sociological factors that influence Muslim and non-Muslim relationships.
“The Centre would emphasise international engagement, with an international Advisory Board and a Council of Distinguished Scholars (including Indian representatives).” Former Australian PM Bob Hawke is an ex-officio member of the board.
The visit of Ms Gillard and Professor Ahluwalia is reiteration of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s policy of promoting multiculturalism and prioritizing partnership, in economic, cultural and other matters, with Asia-Pacific countries, especially India and China.
(Photo above, courtesy Graham Crouch, shows Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard with Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi (standing on the right), Secretary General, All India Imam Organisation in New Delhi on 2 September.)
Please click here to read my post written two years ago on a similar subject…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.