The launch of a coffee table book rounded off the rich tributes to the late Unesco goodwill ambassador Madanjeet Singh during the birth anniversary celebrations of the diplomat hosted by the Pondicherry University recently.
Apart from 10 Years and Beyond featuring the contributions of the ambassador, two more books, Borders in South Asia: States, Communities and People and Rethinking Regionalism in South Asia were released during the celebrations jointly held by the Unesco Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asia Regional Cooperation and Centre for South Asian Studies, Pondicherry University.
Delivering the fourth memorial lecture, Dasho Dorji Khandu, MP, National Council of Bhutan and South Asia Federation alumnus, highlighted the role of young parliamentarians in regional cooperation and the nation’s progress.
He stressed the importance of preserving the world’s water resources and taking rapid action for dealing with climate change.
Gurmeet Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University, spoke about Madanjeet Singh’s vision and his exemplary ideas regarding regional cooperation in South Asia and his prescient views regarding cold war politics.
Madam France Marquet, trustee South Asia Foundation, underscored the significance of celebrating the birth anniversary of Ambassador Madan Jeet Singh with lecture series in the last four years.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, chairman, SAF India chapter, pointed to the relevance of the core ideas of Madanjeet Singh for a greater and unified South Asia going forward.
A Subramanyam Raju, head, UMISARC and Centre for South Asian Studies, touched on the life and works of the goodwill ambassador and the background for establishing the UMISARC.
The Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asia Regional Cooperation (MISARC) was established in 2008 and renamed as UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asia Regional Cooperation (UMISARC) in 2010.
The ambassador had established South Asia Foundation (SAF) Chapters in all eight countries to promote cooperation in South Asia. Through SAF-India Chapter, 118 students had benefited fellowships to pursue their post graduation in South Asian Studies and 10 batches have completed and 11th batch was under way, he said.
Venkata Raghottam, dean of School of Social Sciences, spoke.