The President today unveiled the statue of Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore in the historic University of Lausanne in Switzerland. An MoU was also signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the University of Lausanne. It established the Rabindra Nath Tagore Chair on Indian studies here.

This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev and the Chair established today, commemorates this.

Speaking on the occasion, Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil said that Gurudev saw education and learning as vehicles for appreciating rich aspects of other cultures while respecting one’s own culture. The establishment of Tagore Chair is a pioneer venture which begins with the teaching of Hindi.

Mrs. Patil said, this will add a bit of India to the rich palette which the University of Lausanne, one of the leading centres of learning in Europe, offers. Rabindra Nath Tagore wrote, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our lives in harmony with all existence”.

Smt. Patil hoped that students of institutions such as University of Lausanne, with their education and intellectual capacity, can contribute much to the world by living in harmony with each other and the world.