Silchar, Feb. 18: The Canadian government is understood to be “eager” to sponsor Northeast-specific research on such diverse topics as information technology, biotechnology, ecology and urban development. The Canadian high commissioner to India, Peter Sutherland, told The Telegraph here yesterday that his country would be glad to help institutes of higher education or NGOs working in the northeastern states to conduct research that would ultimately benefit the people of the region.
He said funds for cultural and academic exchange between India and Canada would be disbursed through the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and the Indian Association for Canadian Studies.
The high commissioner promised to ensure that more scholarships for higher studies in Canadian universities are offered to the students from the Northeast. As many as 2,000 scholarships were granted by Canadian universities to Indian students last year, he said.
Sutherland had visited this south Assam town to inaugurate a two-day orientation programme on Canadian studies at the Assam Central University.
He also opened a Centre for Canadian Studies, which will function under the university’s department of English. There are 21 such centres in the country, but only one in the Northeast.
Subhash Saha, vice-chancellor of Assam University, hoped the new centre would enhance the institution’s reputation.
A galaxy of scholars, including Om Kamra, vice-president of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Chandra Mohan, president of the Indian Association for Canadian Studies, and Harish Narang, a professor of Canadian literature at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, attended the inaugural function.
The high commissioner was accompanied by his wife.
The Silchar Municipality held a reception for the couple at a local hotel.