Abby Epstein – News Writer
By becoming a part of a program called India Corner, Southern has brought a slice of Indian culture to campus.
India Corner is a program that donates books and artifacts to school’s libraries on the culture of India.
“The partnership is not about X number of books, it’s a symbol and a concrete step towards actually saying we are one,” said Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, Manohar Singh.
The India Corner was created to further motivate studies and student’s curiosity on India.
“Any book on India establishes a connection to India, we are a 5,000-yearold civilization,” said Deputy Consul General of the Consulate of India Shatrughna Sinha. “We are a rising country, so I’m sure there are lots of interests among students here.”
Sinha said he is very happy with the number of students who came out to the inauguration and believes his program and the university are “on the cusp of a beautiful partnership.”
President Joe Bertolino said he hopes the India Corner will be the first of many displays at Southern.
“We strive to be a culturally rich institution,” said Bertolino. “So my hope is that we can provide our students with some opportunities to engage in substantive discussions about cultures.”
Many students said they believe having the India Corner is a good thing because it brings even more diversity to campus.
“I’m an immigrant here so when I noticed Southern was representing my culture here it made me very proud as a student,” said physics and education major Benson Rodrigues, a junior.
“I think it’s cool that they brought in their culture because coming to Southern I really wanted more diversity and I wanted to learn about culture and with them bringing this in, it exposes me to more,” said communication major Christopher Wilson, a sophomore.
India Corner has been established in nine different universities within the last 18 months. Singh reached out to Sinha about adding the India Corner to Hilton C. Buley Library.
“We told him we would be very happy to have the India Corner at Southern Connecticut State University,” said Sinha.
During the inauguration for India Corner, artifacts and books were on display that and will become a part of collection.
“I thought it was wonderful that they came down and made this donation,” said psychology major Chloe Weston, a junior, “and we’ll get to see the permanent collection which I’m excited about.” The permanent collection is located downstairs in the basement of the library. The India Corner currently includes 60 books and many different artifacts.
“We would like to intensify this engagement, we will add more volumes to the books we have donated, and we would like to invite Southern Connecticut to our consulate to attend events and engage in talks,” said Sinha.
On top of more books and visiting the consulate in New York, Sinha said he would like to eventually look at doing an international exchange program where students from India will come to Southern.
“Books are the connection to the world,” said Sinha, “they widen horizons, they establish connections with people.”
Photo Credit: Izzy Manzo
