Lokesh Chandra appointed ICCR chief

Eminent scholar Lokesh Chandra has been appointed as the new president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Chandra, who was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006, succeeded Karan Singh, a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha (RS), who demitted office of the ICCR president on August 18.

An official press release said that Chandra had been appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee as the 17th chief of ICCR from October 27 for a period of three years.Chandra, a former RS member, is currently Director of  International Academy of Indian Culture, a premier  institution for research on Asian cultures.

He has held several prestigious positions in the past, including chairman of Indian Council for Historical Research and vice president of the ICCR. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1986.

Chandra, now 87, has to his credit over 596 works and text editions, including classics like Tibetan Sanskrit Dictionary, Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Buddhist Iconography of Tibet, and his Dictionary of Buddhist Art in about 20 volumes.  He has travelled widely all over Europe, Asia and Russia.