Tashkent: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies during his state visit to Uzbekistan, where he interacted with Indologists, academics and students engaged in the study of India.
The visit highlighted the deep-rooted cultural, academic and civilisational connections between India and Uzbekistan, with particular emphasis on the role of young people, researchers and scholars in strengthening these longstanding ties.
The Mahatma Gandhi Centre serves as an important academic platform for promoting the study of India’s history, culture, languages, literature and traditions in Uzbekistan. It is part of Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies’ wider academic engagement with South Asian studies.
The university has a particularly long association with Hindi language and Indian studies. Hindi has been taught at the institution since 1947, contributing over the decades to the development of Uzbek scholarship on Indian languages, literature and culture.
During his interaction, Prime Minister Modi engaged with students and Indologists, reflecting on the growing interest in India among Uzbek youth and the importance of academic exchanges in bringing the two societies closer.
The Prime Minister’s visit to the centre also underscored India’s commitment to expanding educational, cultural and people-to-people exchanges with Uzbekistan. It comes at a time when both countries are working to broaden their relationship across multiple fields, while giving greater importance to their shared historical and civilisational heritage.
The visit therefore reinforced that the India-Uzbekistan partnership extends beyond diplomacy and economics, with universities, scholars and young people playing an increasingly important role in shaping the relationship.