RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.408
TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2021
INITIATIVES BY ICCR ON INDIAN DEMOCRACY
408. SHRI RAKESH SINHA:
Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Prime Minister emphasised that Indian democracy is the oldest in the world and this historical fact needs to be a part of western discourse, if so, whether the ICCR has taken steps to initiate this discourse in the western academic institutions and intellectual world;
(b) if not, whether ICCR will use its resources and opportunities to initiate discourse in the western academic about ancient Indian democracy; and
(c) whether it will mobilise domestic intellectual resources to dialogue with academics of the western world to make them aware of ancient Indian republics?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN])
(a) to (c) As part of its mandate to promote Indian Culture and to create mutual understanding, ICCR conducts intellectual and academic Seminars and Conferences on various topics including the topic of "Democracy”. ICCR also encourages scholars to look into this issue through its institutionalized Distinguished Indologist Awards and World Sanskrit Award. Many of the academic Chairs of Indian studies set up in foreign Universities also teach and discuss democracy in India, including its ancient heritage and its democratic traditions. ICCR is also continuing its "Delivering Democracy” lectures.
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