New Delhi, December 12 (IANS). Vivekananda Education Society (VES) on Friday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Mumbai, under which a Center of Excellence (CoE) for Sindhi language, heritage and cultural studies will be established.
A special Vivekananda Education Society Sindhi Research and Development Center (SRDC) will also be included under this CoE.
This initiative is aimed at preserving and promoting the Sindhi language, culture and heritage as well as strengthening the institutional collaboration between VES and the University of Mumbai.
The proposed center will be set up in a new building with an area of 12,000 square feet and is in line with the broader mission of the Government of India to promote Sindhi languages.
The Center will work towards promoting heritage language education and research through educational programmes, research initiatives and community engagement.
“This is a historic achievement for the Sindhis and a long-awaited opportunity to preserve their language and literature,” said Advocate Rajesh Gehani, VES Secretary.
According to Gehani, this center will be helpful in linguistic analysis and study, digitization of manuscripts, converting and translating Sindhi text into digital format in Arabic and Devanagari, converting Sindhi books into audiobooks, creating audio-visual educational and research materials and recording and preserving oral traditions.
He said, “This center will support documentation of Sindhi culture, traditions and heritage, archival and preservation activities, organization of academic conferences, seminars and workshops, and educational and training programmes. This model can be implemented in other states of India as well, as the Sindhi community is present across the country.”
Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, Prof. Ravindra Kulkarni said that Sindhi language carries its own rich cultural heritage and tradition, which needs to be passed on to the new generations with proper educational and research support.
“This initiative is not just an expansion of infrastructure, but a strong step towards the preservation of linguistic heritage,” he said. Kulkarni is confident that the department will develop into a national and international center for research and cultural outreach.
This historic partnership is an important step towards elevating, preserving and promoting the Sindhi language and its rich cultural heritage.
–IANS
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