Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of IT company Infosys, has proposed grant of Rs 9.13 crore for Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) for five years to strengthen research activities in Orientology, the study of Ancient cultures of the Asian subcontinent.
Under the agreement signed with BORI, Infosys Foundation has proposed a grant of Rs 9.13 crore that will be utilised to train scholars in Orientology and prepare a bibliography of relevant academic texts in the field, Infosys Foundation said in a statement.
"The study of ancient texts holds great importance in society today as it forms a means to better understand both our past as well as our present. Our partnership with the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute aims to support the field of Orientology through the provision of the necessary tools and resources," Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty said in the statement.
The discovery and preservation of these texts will ensure that Indological research continues to grow and thrive as an academic field in our country, she said.
The grant will also help to create a centralised information cell through descriptive cataloguing of manuscripts, collection and publishing of inscriptions and outlining the history of the collected information, enabled by a team of specialists, the statement said.
A pro-maratha outfit had vandalised BORI in 2004 after a foreign author James Laine in his controversial book on Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji cited name of some researchers at the institute for helping him in writing the book.
The Infosys Foundation will establish two chairs at the institute, The Infosys Foundation Chair of Orientology and the Karnataka Chair of Orientology, for eminent scholars of Orientology, the statement said.
Two visiting scholars renowned in any area of Orientology will also be invited for a term of two to six months, as part of this grant, and will be known as Infosys scholars.
Through this grant, the institute will appoint four visiting fellows for visits of one week to one month, who will be referred to as 'Infosys Fellows', and also make provisions for two principal investigators, six research assistants, one helper and one design artist for various activities that will be conducted by the institute.
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