India to set up cultural centres

The government, to project India’s cultural prowess, has opened two cultural centres within a week in Bangkok and Tokyo and is in the process of setting up similar centres in Washington and Paris. More such centres will come up in the next three months in Dhaka, Jakarta and Abu Dhabi, says Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) director-general Virendra Gupta.

The number of overseas cultural centres opened by the ICCR will go up to 40 in the next two years from 24 now in 21 countries. All SAARC nations will have such centres, keeping in view the importance of bilateral relations between them and India.

“We already have such centre’s in Nepal and Sri Lanka and the one in Dhaka will open soon. The ICCR has identified a property in Bhutan and made a proposal to Myanmar where the government is very supportive to the idea of having such a centre. We have a great desire to set up a cultural centre in Pakistan in the medium term,” says Gupta.

The centre in Washington is part of further improving the strategic partnership India has with the US, and will also cater to the Indian diaspora there. The centre will help the ICCR plan a major festival with the Kennedy Centre in the future.