AIIS is awarded the 2008 Taraknath Das Foundation Award

AIIS is awarded the 2008 Taraknath Das Foundation Award

The American Institute of Indian Studies has been awarded the 2008 Tarknath Das Foundation Award for the AIIS contribution to “understanding between India and America.” AIIS President Ralph W. Nicholas accepted the award at a ceremony at a reception at Barnard College in New York on May 9. Taraknath Das Director Leonard Gordon and President Rachel Fell McDermott presented the award, which was attended by a number of former AIIS fellows

Taraknath Das came to the United States as a poor student around 1905 from Calcutta. He started his foundation in the 1930s out of his concern with the difficulties of Indian students abroad. Among other endeavors, the foundation funds India-related activities at various universities in the United States, supports the Taraknath Das Research Centre at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, and awards grants to small non-profit organizations in India which are working for justice and equality. Furthermore, for more than twenty years the Taraknath Das Foundation has been giving an award to a person or institution that has contributed to understanding between India and America.