Victoria welcomes senior Indian historian
Professor Mukherjee is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor of History at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, India. Her research specialisation is the history of modern India, with special emphasis on science, healthcare and issues of gender. She will be at Victoria until October teaching History of Modern India.
The ICCR Chair was established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Auckland in May between Victoria and the ICCR in the presence of the President of India, His Excellency Mr Pranab Mukherjee. Under the MoU, a senior Indian academic will visit Victoria University every year to teach an undergraduate course on modern Indian history and culture, and give a public lecture.
Victoria University hosts the New Zealand India Research Institute, established in 2012 to foster collaborative research on India by scholars at New Zealand universities. The Institute also promotes academic and cultural exchange with India and advises on India-related policy research.
Professor Jennifer Windsor, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Victoria’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, says it is a great honour to have Professor Mukherjee at Victoria University.
“She is an outstanding scholar and Victoria students are privileged to have an opportunity to learn about India directly from a senior Indian historian.
“Our close connection with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations will enhance academic relationships between Victoria and Indian universities, creating opportunities for greater exchanges of ideas, staff and students.
“It also continues to strengthen the work being done by the New Zealand India Research Institute and further builds Victoria’s links and place in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Professor Mukherjee has published extensively on modern Indian history, including the book Situating Tagore’s Environmentalism and editing Gandhian Views on Education.Her new book Gender, Medicine and Society in Colonial India: Women’s Healthcare in Bengal, c.1800-1947 is being published by Oxford University Press.
The MoU between Victoria and the ICCR will continue until 2019.