Indian Council for Cultural Relations' 70th Foundation Day celebrated in the Netherlands

The 70th Foundation Day of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was marked in the Netherlands with a discussion between leading cultural personalities of the country and the Indian envoy here.

The ICCR was founded in 1950 by India's first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad with the objective of fostering and strengthening cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and the world, and to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people.

"The 70th Foundation Day was marked in the Netherlands on April 9, 2020 by the Indian Embassy and the Gandhi Centre (an institution established by the ICCR) with an online discussion by Ambassador Venu Rajamony with leading cultural personalities of the Netherlands," the statement issued by the Indian embassy here said on Friday.

The Gandhi Centre' was established in The Hague by the ICCR in 2011 and serves as the cultural wing of the Embassy of India.

The ICCR offers scholarships in art, culture, music, dance, ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homeopathy to international students for study at undergraduate/postgraduate levels and for pursuing research at Indian universities.

The ICCR further awards junior and senior research fellowships to international scholars specialising in Indian studies in the fields of culture and social sciences, the statement said.

A large number of Dutch nationals have availed of these scholarships over the years, it added.

In a message issued in New Delhi on the occasion, ICCR President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, ICCR is all about cultivating an enlightened understanding of Indian culture and when the entire Global community is facing an unprecedented challenge, feeling lonely and disconnected, the message of Indian philosophy i.e. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or the world is a family has become more relevant than anytime in the past".

He said even in this lockdown situation, ICCR is conducting e-tutorials in yoga, classical dances and even Hindi and Sanskrit.

"We are working with a show must go on spirit'. A global art competition on the theme of facing the challenge of COVID-19 unitedly has already been announced and through many such programmes we will rise to the occasion," Sahasrabuddhe said.