Global scholars to discuss Tagore's role as India's envoy

As part of the observances of the 152nd birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) is organizing an international conference on Rabindranath Tagore - Envoy of India: His Vision of India and the World.

The conference will be held over two days, May 9-10 at Sapru House here. The outcome of this conference will be included in a commemorative volume on Tagore's travels and his vision of India and the world, work on which was initiated by ICWA during the celebrations of his 150th birth anniversary year.

"It will offer the opportunity to improve our understanding of Tagore's contemporary relevance," the ICWA said in a press release. "This will include an exploration of his travels to countries ranging from Japan to Argentina and the extent to which he succeeded in creating an enduring legacy. It will also demonstrate the extent to which Tagore's journeys to around 30 countries influenced his views of the "Universal Man" (he espoused) and the world as a whole."

"It also hopes to illuminate the influence of his ideas upon our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the evolution and continuing ethos of Indian foreign policy. This is an aspect of Tagore which has not yet been significantly explored," it said.

The conference will have four main themes: Tagore's Travels to Europe; Tagore's Tours to the Americas; Tagore's Voyages to Asia and Africa; and Tagore's Travels: Influence on the Ethos of Indian Foreign Policy.

Some of the renowned Tagore scholars from overseas who will participate in this conference include Prof Sugata Bose (US), Prof Kathleen M. O'Connell (Canada), Dr. Sergei Dmitriyevich Serebriany (Russia), Dr Kalyan Kundu (Britain), Prof Stefano Beggiora( Italy), Prof Gustavo Canzobre (Argentina), Dr. Dimitrios Vassiladis (Greece), Professor Andreas L. Katonis (Greece), Mrs Ghada Ahmed Nabil Mahmoud Mostafa,(Egypt), Prof Imtiaz Ahmed (Bangladesh), Alimur Rahman Khan (Bangladesh), and Ehsan Aghaabbaslou (Iran).