50th anniversary of AIIS marked.
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By American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Rao honored eminent scholars of India Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph at an event at her residence here May 23.
The Rudolphs, Emeritus Professors in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, have more than 50 years of associations with India, Rao noted. Felicitating the two scholars, praised the “exceptional contributions” made by them “to the study and understanding of India.”
The two have co-authored eight books on India and South Asia, the latest being Postmodern Gandhi and Other Essays: Gandhi in the World and at Home, which was published in 2006.
The event, attended by around hundred guests, also marked the fiftieth anniversary of the American Institute of Indian Studies, which promotes the advancement of knowledge about India in the United States.
The Rudolphs are former research fellows of AIIS, which is headquartered at University of Chicago.
At the event, Rama Deva, a co-chair of AIIS Board of Advisors, announced an endowment gift to support the institute’s Center for Art and Archeology in Gurgaon, Haryana.
Another highlight of the evening was a lecture by University of Iowa professor and AIIS president Philip Lutgendorf on the cultural history of tea in India. In the lecture, titled “Chai Why? The Making of the Indian National Drink,” Lutgendorf detailed the cultural milieu in which tea, which was once considered the drink of the elite, attained its current status.
The event was first in the Embassy of India’s “Understanding India Series.”