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Sonia to deliver Oxford lecture

By Hasan Suroor

OXFORD NOV 23. In a gesture not previously shown to an Indian leader, the prestigious Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies has invited the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, to deliver its annual Commonwealth lecture here on November 29, in which she is expected to echo some of the current social and political tensions in India.

Though the theme, ``Conflict and Co-existence in Our Age'', has a global sweep, Oxford's India-watchers said they were keen to hear what she might have to say about India where, one academic noted, there appeared to be ``more conflict than co-existence''.

However, Dr Farhan Ahmad Nizami, director of the centre, sought to play down the Indian ``connection'' and insisted that there were no political implications behind the decision to invite Mrs. Gandhi for a lecture series which, in the past, has been delivered by such outstanding international figures as the former South African president, Nelson Mandela, the U.N. secretary general, Kofi Annan, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon.

He told The Hindu that Mrs. Gandhi was chosen by a body of independent Oxford academics and their only remit was to nominate a leading ``public figure'' whose views were likely to contribute to a better understanding of contemporary global issues.

``I am delighted that we would have a distinguished Indian public figure speak to an international audience,'' he said, adding that he expected a ``very large'' audience comprising leading British academics, politicians and diplomats.

This would be the first time ever that a political leader from the Indian sub-continent would be delivering the lecture, which is organised in cooperation with the Commonwealth Secretariat, on themes that have a bearing on contemporary Muslim societies.

Organisers believed that a leader from India, with its large Muslim population, could offer an interesting perspective.

Dr. Nizami said ``diversity and co-existence'' had been the strength of Indian society, despite attempts to ``create a past that never existed''.

He said there were ``pressures'' from certain groups, but there was also ``resistance''.

He firmly believed that there was ``no alternative'' to communal co-existence in India.

The centre, which is an ``associated'' institution of the Oxford University, was set up in 1985 to encourage a more informed understanding of Islam, not simply in relation to Muslim societies, but globally. It has active interaction with south Asia, including India, and its most ambitious projects include an atlas of social and intellectual history of Muslims in south Asia.

The centre is expecting the noted historian, Prof. Mushirul Hasan, early next year for a research project on the history of Islam in India as a Ford Foundation fellow.

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