News

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a relaxing and peaceful summer and found somewhere with a bit of sun in which to bask.

The second OCHS Shivdasani Conference – Thinking Inside the Box: The Concept of a Category in Indian Philosophy – will be held at Somerville College, Oxford on 10–11 October.

A two-week international Workshop on Manuscriptology and Sanskritic Text Editing is being organised by Jadavpur University, Kolkata; the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies; Indira Gandhi National Centre for The Arts, National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi: and Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan.

The workshop will take place from 10–22 August 2009 at at Jadavpur University.

National Hindu leaders have pledged to work together to create long-term plans for environmental protection and education which have the potential to reach every Hindu living in the UK. Ideas considered include a Hindu benchmark for a range of products and services, endorsement for ethically sourced food, and advocating sustainable lifestyles. These plans will be developed and implemented over the next nine years – a timeframe chosen to encourage long-term planning.

Journal of Hindu Studies launches second issue

The Journal of Hindu Studies, a joint publication between the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Oxford University Press, launched its second issue in April. The publication of this Journal is a significant step in the Centre's progress. It and the OCHS-Routledge Hindu Studies series go far in fulfilling the Centre's role as a leading source of academic publishing.

Last month saw the arrival of a new member of staff at the OCHS. Well known to many at the Centre, Gateen Patel is working as an intern for a six-month period. Gateen has been friends with the Centre since 2001 when he arrived in Oxford to study at Oxford Brookes University. Since then he has gone on to complete an MA at King’s College, London, and spent time traveling in India.

May 2 sees the launch of "The Vedas and Upanishads" the second of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies online courses. Enrolments and more information are now available at www.ochs.org.uk/external/courses

The continued growth of the OCHS has seen an increasing number of students engaged in Hindu studies at Oxford. The support offered to such students is essential for the academic integrity and objective representation of the Hindu tradition to both scholars and the public. We are happy to announce several scholarships awarded to students of the OCHS. These scholarships provide an opportunity for students to travel and pursue their research and they make a big difference to their morale and material needs.

The scholarships awarded are as follows:

The Friends of the OCHS (FOCHS) Leicester launched a new fund-raising campaign for the OCHS at their third event - a lecture by Dr Nick Sutton of the OCHS Continuing Education Department on Divinity in Hindu Culture.

The Leicester FOCHS was formed  by a group of CED alumni who wanted to see the work of the OCHS continue and thrive. This enables the OCHS to contribute back to the Hindu Communites who have so generously supported it.

In February the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is launching its Online Education Course ‘Understanding Hindu Identity’.

Since 2003, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies has taught extramural courses throughout the UK as part of its commitment to bring the fruits of Oxford scholarship in Hinduism to a broad audience. Since then the courses have been taught dozens of times in Leicester, London, Birmingham, and Oxford.