India and Kuwait Team Up to Teach Hindi at Gulf University
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait have signed an agreement to establish the ICCR’s Chair of Indian Studies for teaching Hindi at GUST. Ambassador of India to Kuwait, Dr. Adarsh Swaika, and GUST President, Professor Bassam Alameddine, signed the MoU.
Under this agreement, ICCR will appoint an expert Indian academician to teach Hindi at GUST for up to three years. This is ICCR’s first Chair of Indian Studies in Kuwait, marking a significant step in promoting the Hindi language and India-related studies in the country.
In addition, a weekly Hindi radio broadcast was launched on Kuwait National Radio in April 2024, highlighting the importance of the Hindi language in Kuwait and recognizing the contributions of the large Indian community there.
Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages globally, with over 600 million speakers. It is spoken by large Indian communities in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Nepal, and Trinidad and Tobago. The United Nations has also recognized Hindi’s cultural impact by launching Hindi social media accounts and a Hindi website for UN News in 2018.
A similar chair was recently established in Oman in December 2023, making it the first of its kind in the Gulf region.
Doubts Revealed
ICCR -: ICCR stands for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. It is an organization in India that works to promote Indian culture and strengthen cultural ties with other countries.
Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) -: GUST is a university in Kuwait. It offers various courses and programs in science, technology, and other fields.
MoU -: MoU stands for Memorandum of Understanding. It is a formal agreement between two or more parties to work together on a specific project or initiative.
Ambassador -: An ambassador is a person who represents their country in another country. In this case, Dr. Adarsh Swaika is the Ambassador of India to Kuwait.
Hindi -: Hindi is one of the official languages of India. It is widely spoken in India and by Indian communities around the world.
Indian diaspora -: Indian diaspora refers to people of Indian origin who live outside India. In Kuwait, there is a significant number of people who have roots in India.
