Pioneering effort on promoting India-US academic and intellectual exchanges

A hugely pioneering initiative is underway to promote much needed academic and intellectual exchanges between the world’s oldest democracy and its largest one.

But first a bit of context. While India sends thousands of its citizens to the US for study and legal immigration, the traffic from the other side to India is not even a trickle. This leads to critical gaps in understanding each other’s country, society, politics and economy.

There are a variety of substantive reasons for this, but that is no reason to do nothing. Enter Asha Jadeja Motwani ( AJM), the venture capitalist and angel investor who has undertaken scores of philanthropic efforts.

Asha Jadeja Motwani’s latest venture is a ground-breaking one and promises to be a game changer in academic and think tank circles. With a generous donation she has established the Jadeja Motwani Institute for American Studies ( MJIAS) which will be housed in one of India’s top and leading private Universities, namely, the O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat.

The MJIAS has a fundamental mandate to promote academic, policy and intellectual exchanges between the US and India with a view to fostering greater understanding and knowledge between our two great countries.

After all, India’s relationship with the US has been described as the most consequential one for the twenty first century.

If this is true, there is a critical need for scholarship on both sides. It is a matter of irony that while a number of Indian Universities have centres of study devoted to Russia, China, ASEAN and Africa, very few of them have substantive centres devoted to the study of the US.

This is where Asha Jadeja Motwani’s initiative promises to be a paradigm shift.

As part of the vision of Asha Jadeja Motwani, the first batch of some 13 Motwani Fellows are already here at the O.P. Jindal Global University spending a full month experiencing, studying and absorbing India. For many of these scholars, the visit is the first to India. When they do return back to their homes in the US, they will automatically become India’s brand Ambassadors in the broadest sense of the term.

The MJIAS has a number of other initiatives in mind. One of them will be an online degree in MA in American Studies which will be launched in September this year.

The courses relating to American Foreign Policy, Society and Polity, will be taken by Professors either trained in the US or those that have

demonstrable expertise in American affairs. The online course will be open to all scholars around the world.

Asha Jadeja Motwani’s vision is to create a solid body of Indian expertise in the US and an equally sound body of American expertise in India. The importance of this exercise undertaken by Asha Jadeja Motwani cannot be overstated.

At a time when the world is facing unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty and economic headwinds, the role of leading democracies such as the US and India is indispensable to keep the world peaceful and prosperous. The initiatives proposed by Asha Jadeja Motwani are long term and meant to leave a lasting legacy.

Motwani has also invested her efforts in terms of resources at other leading Universities in the US to create Motwani Scholars.

As part of this effort, the O.P. Jindal Global University will receive three Motwani Scholars from University of California in San Diego from February to May this year. They will again undergo an India Immersion Course at the University, benefiting from interactions with scholars and think tanks in India.

Asha Jadeja Motwani deserves a lot of credit and praise for undertaking academic and scholarly initiatives, which will then create an intellectual ballast that will keep the US-India ties in good stead.

Ambassador Dr Mohan Kumar is the Director General of the Motwani Jadeja Institute for American Studies and the Dean/ Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University. He is also the former Indian Ambassador to France and Bahrain