The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jain Education Institutes Support (JEIS), a Delhi-based not-for-profit trust, to promote academic studies of Jainism. As part of this MoU, BHU will receive a donation of £105,000 to establish Bhagwan Shreyasnath Jain Study Fund.
BHU vice-chancellor Prof Sudhir K Jain has formed a four-member programme committee to implement the MoU. The committee is chaired by Prof Mukul Raj Mehta, department of philosophy, faculty of arts, while Prof Ashok Kumar Jain and Prof Pradyumn Shah Singh, department of Jain-Bauddha Darshan, faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan (SVDV), have been named members of the committee. Dr Anand Kumar Jain, department of Jain-Bauddha Darshan, faculty of SVDV, will be the member secretary of the committee.
The VC said that the JEIS fund is a significant step in varsity’s endeavor to raise philanthropic funds to support the scholarly work by our students and faculty members. It will also give a fillip to the efforts of taking ancient Indian knowledge systems to a larger audience.
The Fund will promote and support study and research in the field of Jainism. It will enable the scholars of Jain philosophy at BHU (both faculty members and PhD students) to effectively communicate to a wider international audience. The academic work on Jain philosophy under the initiative is proposed to be having an emphasis on English as a medium of communication to have a wider reach for an international audience.
Sharmila Jain Oswal, a representative of the donors, said that the focus of the study will be on applied Jainism and its relevance in today’s world by taking a multidisciplinary approach.
