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The India Center Hosts Emerging Artist Festival
The second annual Emerging Artist Festival, hosted in partnership between the Asian Cultural Association and the India Center at UCF, took place November 12, 2021 at the downtown UCF campus. The festival featured a short film competition with entries submitted by filmmakers from the United States and India. The goal of the festival is to […]
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The India Center Celebrates Diwali
Diwali, or the festival of lights, is celebrated to symbolize the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. It is celebrated by various faiths, including most Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists around the world, over a period of 1 to 5 days. Many families decorate their homes and places […]
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India Center Welcomes Intern
UCF Junior Kassidy Menk is the Fall 2021 India Center Intern in cooperation with UCF’s Global Perspectives and International Initiatives (GPII). Menk, a Burnett Honors College student and Sigma Alpha Pi Leadership Honor Society Member, is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. On being the India Intern, Menk states: “I am honored to have […]
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Future of U.S. and India Relations Focus of Recent Talk
BY: KASSIDY MENK The India Center hosted Milan Vaishnav, Ph.D., director and senior fellow of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in a virtual discussion titled “Crucial Partners: The Future of U.S. – India Relations” on October 15, 2021. Nikola Mirilovic, Ph.D., associate professor in UCF’s School of Politics, Security, […]
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Students Find Friendships, Culture In Indian Student Association
Students hunting for a deeper understanding of Indian culture can find it in the Indian Student Association (ISA). Established as a non-profit in 1995, the ISA promotes the goals of preserving and spreading the cultures and practices of India. Some of the avenues for this include hosting events celebrating traditional Indian holidays like Garba, Diwali […]
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India Center Welcomes New Director of Public Affairs
The India Center has witnessed exciting changes just this past month, and is delighted to introduce Leila Chacko, the India Center’s Director of Public Affairs. Leila is the India Center’s first full-time staff member and you can find her in the India Center’s new office (Chemistry 117). An Orlando native and licensed attorney, Leila brings […]
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Faculty Film Shot in India Makes its World Premiere at Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
A documentary film about efforts to enhance education for the children of India’s sweeper communities will make its world premiere this month at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Lisa Mills, Ph.D., associate professor of Film in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, wrote and directed Son of a Sweeper. The 30 minute film […]
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Virtual Film Festival Offers Exposure for Emerging Artists
The Inaugural Emerging Artist Film Festival, hosted in partnership between the Asian Cultural Association and the UCF India Center, took place in September, 2020, and featured short films from around the world. The goal of the festival was to give emerging artists a platform to showcase their work, without any restrictions or guidelines for submissions […]
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‘Politics of Security’ Focus of Virtual India Center Conference
The India Center hosted a conference on “The Politics of Security in India: Progress and Challenges” during the month of October. The conference took place virtually as a series of three panels that featured international experts from academia and think tanks to discuss international, domestic and human security issues in India. Security constitutes a […]
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Indian American Business Association Proves Valuable Ally to India Center
Community partners play a pivotal role in advancing the mission of the India Center at UCF, including the Indian-American Business Association and Chamber (IABA). IABA President Prashant “Peter” Patel said expanding public knowledge and scholarship of India are just two of the shared goals between his organization and the India Center. More recently, though, IABA’s […]
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Indian Viewpoints on Conflict Resolution Focus of Two New Books
The enduring legacy of non-violent conflict resolution championed by two prominent Indian thinkers is the focus of two new books by Adjunct Professor Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. The first is titled “Gandhi and the World,” and it explores the question: “Is it possible to generate Gandhian optimism in nonviolent methods to address conflicts in the […]
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Indian Visitors Stranded By Pandemic Find Ally In India Center Partner
A community thrives off unity. This is the philosophy lived by Kannan Srinivasan ’96 MS, CEO of Global KTech and an affiliate of the UCF India Center. When the global pandemic left Indian citizens stranded in Florida, Srinivasan did not hesitate to help them return home safely. “We had multiple organizations and wonderful leaders from […]
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Omelia Dhanraj Named Spring 2020 India Fellow
Omelia Dhanraj is the Spring 2020 India Fellow for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives. She is a senior at the University of Central Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in human services. Dhanraj is a member of the Burnett Honors College and a tutor for Orange County Public […]
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India Center names senior as Fall 2019 India Fellow
Senior Monica Foster is the Fall 2019 India Fellow for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives (GPII), in cooperation with the India Center. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, with a minor in Religion and Cultural Studies, as well as Creative Writing. Foster is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor […]
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Film Screening Launches Diversity Studies Track
The UCF India Center, in conjunction with the Interdisciplinary Studies Program (Diversity Studies), the College of Undergraduate Studies and the Asian Cultural Association (ACA), was pleased to host the opening film of the ACA’s 25th Annual South Asian Film Festival. The film, Girija: A Life Time in Music, explores the career of renowned vocalist Girija […]
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Seema Shekhawat Joins India Center as a Fellow
The India Center welcomes Seema Shekhawat, Ph.D., as a Fellow. Shekhawat is a social scientist with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Jammu in India. Her doctoral work focused on the intersection of gender, conflict and displacement in Kashmir. Her research and teaching interests include conflict, peace and gender, and […]
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$1 Million Gift Brings India Center Endowed Chair Closer to Reality
An endowed chair position for UCF’s India Center continues its march toward reality with a new $1 million pledge. The pledge comes from Raj Toleti, ‘93MS, and family, including his wife, Aparna Toleti, ‘95MS, and brings the total for the fund to $2 million of a $5 million goal. Their generous commitment to the success […]
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India Center Fellow Delivers Talk On Role of Women In Combat
BY SEEMA SHEKHAWAT, India Center Fellow On September 17, 2019, I delivered a talk at UCF’s Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE), on “Female Combatants: Victim or Victimizers.” It was an exciting experience speaking on a topic close to my heart in front of about 400 people. I have been researching these relatively less focused issues […]
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Growing International Impact Focus Of New Global Perspectives Chief
Developing UCF’s place in the world is David Dumke’s mission. And Dumke is well-suited to the task. Since 2012, Dumke has led the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research and Studies. Now Dumke is taking on his next task: leading the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives. The leadership post was held […]
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Nicholson Students Spotlight Indian Caste System in New Documentary
BY LISA MILLS, PH.D. A non-governmental organization (NGO) that fights caste discrimination with education is the subject of a new documentary directed by Lisa Mills, Ph.D., associate professor of film in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. The NGO, Movement for Scavenger Community (MSC), was founded by Vimal Kumar, a doctoral candidate at the […]
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New Photo Exhibit Captures Indian Festivals in Florida
A new photo exhibit opening this week in the John C. Hitt Library opens a window into the connection between Indian festivals and Central Florida. The more than 30 photos, commissioned by the Asian Cultural Association (ACA), follow more than a year of Indian festivals, including Holi, the Festival of Colors, and Navratri Garba. The […]
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UCF History Instructor Explores the Cinema of West Bengal
BY DAVID MORTON Last summer I embarked on an extraordinary journey into India’s remarkable cinematic past and present. As a passionate enthusiast for international cinema, I was presented with an extraordinary opportunity to go behind the scenes to study one of India’s oldest and internationally prestigious motion picture industries. While many westerners may have at […]
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Guest Speaker Explains India’s Election Year Political Climate
The 2019 Indian elections, which will be the largest exercise in democracy in world history, look increasingly competitive. While the incumbent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remains personally popular, his Bharatiya Janata Party is facing an unexpectedly robust challenge from the Congress Party and its coalition partners. Max Rodenbeck, South Asia bureau chief of The Economist, […]
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Global Perspective’s John Bersia Pushed for International Awareness
BY GENE KRUCKEMYER ’73 John C. Bersia ’77, director of UCF’s Global Perspectives Office, a professor of international issues, and a Pulitzer Prize recipient while an editorial writer at the Orlando Sentinel, died Thursday of metastatic cancer. He was 62. Bersia started working at UCF in 2001, later became a special assistant to the president […]
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Veteran Policymaker To Discuss Growing U.S.-India Relationship
Former Deputy Secretary of State Manpreet Singh Anand will visit the University of Central Florida as a guest of the India Center. Singh will participate in a series of events for students, faculty and members of the community. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, he will give a talk title: “Examining the U.S.-India Relationship: Growth, Opportunities & […]
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India Center Visits Smart City Champions
A UCF delegation led by Michael Johnson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Sciences, and interim director of the India Center, recently completed an intense, 8-day visit to the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The delegation, which included individuals from the College of Sciences, College of Engineering, and the Office of Research, met with […]
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Cultural Traditions of India: Music and Art
by Madison Kjosa This past Wednesday, Nov. 14, the Burnett Honors College was swathed in the sights and sounds of India during “Cultural Traditions of India: Music and Art” as part of UCF’s International Education Week (IEW). Described by UCF Global, IEW is a “joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department […]
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Lady Bikers, Street Dogs and Kolkata Featured in New Films from UCF Students
By ROBERT WELLS Lady bikers, street dogs and visceral sights and sounds from a city nearly 10,000 miles away are showcased in new documentaries completed by UCF film students while they spent a few weeks in Kolkata, India. The documentaries will make their UCF debut at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Burnett Honors College as part […]
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Study Links Ethnic Violence and Natural Disasters in India
Didara Nurmanova, a Ph.D. candidate in the Security Studies program in the Political Science Department, is conducting a study on the links between natural disasters and ethnic conflict in India. In June 2013, India was hit by the North India floods, described as the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. The floods resulting […]
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Tactics For Resolving Kashmir Conflict Focus of Book
Longstanding disputes between countries are not solved overnight. But there are ways to mitigate the violence during the transitional period. That’s the focus of a book by Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D., entitled “Conflict Management in Kashmir: State-People Relations and Peace,” published by Cambridge University Press. Mahapatra, an adjunct professor in the Political Science department, […]