India
studies come to Cal State Long Beach
By
Doris Aldana
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Yudanandan Center, which is also known as the Center for Indian studies,
was funded by husband and wife team Uka and Nalini Solanki. The center has
given Cal State Long Beach students the opportunity to expand their knowledge
and understanding of India.
Uka Solanki, president and CEO of Big Savor Foods, Inc, and his wife Nalini,
donated $75,000 to the Yudandan Center.
The Center is named after Mrs. Solanki’s ancestor Yan-udandan Yaday,
who devoted his life to promoting education in northern India during the nineteenth
century.
The Solankis have been acknowledged for their generosity and their compassionate
acts worldwide. They have supported schooling and medical causes throughout
the United States and India.
They later raised the gift of $75,000 to $500,000. The Yadunandan center will
officially be inaugurated on Oct. 8. The grandson of Mohandas Ghandi, Rajmohan
Gandhi, will give a lecture that day.
Arnold Kaminksy, a professor of Asian studies and history and director of the
center, said one of their goals was to have students be more aware of other
cultures and worldwide issues.
The center is committed to the study of India’s cultures, citizens and
its past. The center will offer a variety of disciplines, including humanities,
education, arts and social sciences. Kaminsky described it as being “the
first of its kind,” and that “it was a way to build bridges with
the large and diverse Indian American community in Southern California.”
Its programs, which include lectures, seminars, scholarships and exhibitions,
will help to carry education on India beyond the California border.
For example, Kaminsky said, “CSULB is in the process of discussing faculty
and student exchange programs with several universities in India. Beyond
this, students are interested in studying in India — and we have sent
some over already.”
He said he “ha[s] a list of programs for students to review.”
The Yadunandan Center will supply instructional equipment and information on
India to elementary and secondary schools throughout the state of California.
Twenty CSULB faculty members have worked in concert to make available a fresh
curriculum on India for CSULB and conducted workshops for K-12 educators. The
center is also looking into obtaining possible partnerships with Indian universities.
Kaminsky proudly talked about “the hiring of a social science faculty
members dedicated to modern India, and a movement to make CSULB a storehouse
for Indian films.”
He also described how the center will offer counsel to a board in the Indian
government, dedicated to planning liberal arts education.
The center is located in Kaminsky’s office, FO3 336. It is open to anyone
who has any interest in learning about India.
The center has benefited him on a personal level, “As a professional
historian who specializes in India,“establishment of the Yadunandan Center
for India Studies is, of course, something special,” he said. “It
brings“focus to many of the activities in which we engage as faculty — bringing
new information and ideas about the Indian subcontinent to students, colleagues,
teachers and the community.”
It is clear the Yadunandan Center is providing students with the chance to
connect with India’s culture, and it gives them the opportunity to see
how India is social and political issues shape their own lives.
The center is beginning to be well known through out the campus.
Karla Guillen is a liberal studies major who plans on becoming an elementary
school teacher. She had never heard of the center before but, feels the center
will be of great benefit to students who are planning to go into the field
of education.
“It is important to be informed of the community around us, especially
when we plan on being educators in a diverse community,” she said.
Aurora Pimentel, who is also going in to the field of education said,”“ It
is definitely a great addition to the university, I personally understand the
importance of understanding the cultures around us.”
Kaminsky invites all who are interested to visit him in his office for more”information
about the center. The center is with out a doubt welcomed addition to our campus.
Students who are interested in these programs should contact him at (562) 985-5279. |
