Dr Mikaela Chase Named To Wisconsin–Madison s Śrī Anantnāth Chair In Jain Studies indiawest.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from indiawest.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jainism spreads at colleges amid calls for ‘decolonisation’
When retired gastroenterologist and Jain devotee Jasvant Modi sought to spread knowledge of the faith, Cerritos College in Norwalk, South California seemed like the perfect fit. He and his wife Meera, along with donors Harshad and Raksha Shah, last month pledged US$1 million to fund an endowed scholar of Jain studies at the community college in the United States, writes Nina Agrawal for
Los Angeles Times.
They are among a small but dedicated group of American Jain donors who are seeking to expand US awareness of the ancient belief system of Jainism and its teachings beyond an estimated 5 million to 10 million mainly Indian followers. And they think academia is the best place to do so, especially at a time of increasing calls to move away from Eurocentric perspectives in education.
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Cerritos College in Norwalk where the majority of students are Latino and the first in their families to attend college is a stone’s throw from Southern California’s famed “Little India,” a stretch of clothing and jewelry shops, groceries and restaurants in Artesia.
Not far away, in Buena Park, the temple at the Jain Center of Southern California draws legions of followers of Jainism, a little-known, millennia-old Indian religious and philosophical tradition.
So when retired gastroenterologist and Jain devotee Jasvant Modi sought to spread knowledge of the faith, Cerritos College seemed like the perfect fit. He and his wife Meera, along with donors Harshad and Raksha Shah, last month pledged $1 million to fund an endowed scholar of Jain Studies at the community college.
Cerritos College Receives Historic $1M Commitment for Endowed Jain Scholar
First community college to boast Jain Thought Leadership
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NORWALK, Calif., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/
Today, the Cerritos College Foundation announced it received a one-million-dollar gift commitment to establish the
Bhagavan Kunthunath Endowed Scholar of Jain Thought Leadership. This is the first-known Endowed Jain Scholar at a United States community college. Thanks to the generosity of donors Drs. Jasvant and Meera Modi and Harshad and Raksha Shah, the endowment will further thought leadership on nonviolence, the environment, historical contributions, spirituality, meditation, food, and culture.
The Foundation named
Cerritos College Receives Historic $1M Commitment for Endowed Jain Scholar prnewswire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prnewswire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.