The Indian Panorama

Tag: AAPI QLI

  • Recipients of Hofstra University’s 2024 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize Announced

    Recipients of Hofstra University’s 2024 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize Announced

    NEW YORK (TIP): Dr. Thea Gomelauri and the Oxford Interfaith Forum and the United Religions Initiative and its founder Rt. Rev. William Swing have been awarded the 2024 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize, awarded by Hofstra University in collaboration with the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Charitable Foundation.

    The $50,000 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize, divided between the two organizations, is bestowed biannually upon an individual or organization for their significant work in promoting interfaith understanding. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place April 22, 2025, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY.

    “The Guru Nanak Prize embodies Hofstra University’s mission to foster global understanding while preparing students to thrive in the complexity of our interconnected world,” said Dr. Eva Badowska, dean of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “At a time when peaceful collaboration, civil discourse, and cultural awareness are essential to addressing profound global challenges, this prize honors the principles of peace, interfaith dialogue, and selfless service that resonate deeply with the University’s values. It reminds us that education is not just about knowledge – it’s about inspiring action and shaping a better future for all.”

    Dr. Julie Byrne, Hofstra University’s Monsignor Thomas Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies and chair of the Department of Religion, said of this year’s honorees, “The committee was deeply impressed by the complementary work done by these two stellar interfaith organizations: the United Religions Initiative that concentrates on grassroots networks of communities, and the Oxford Interfaith Forum that brings together scholars for the sharing and production of new knowledge about religions and their interactions. Community-based and scholarly approaches are both needed to advance understanding and acknowledgment of difference in today’s global world.”

     Dr. Thea Gomelauri and the Oxford Interfaith Forum 

    Oxford Interfaith Forum is a global interfaith, intercultural, and interdisciplinary organization that enhances, and enriches understanding of diverse traditions and cultures through its signature Thematic International Interfaith Reading Groups and its inclusive approach to research and education with an interfaith lens.

    Oxford Interfaith Forum is committed to raising awareness of the critical role of religious dialogue in the pursuit of peace. The organization’s founder and director, Dr. Thea Gomelauri, a biblical scholar, codicologist, and public historian, serves as an associate faculty member in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford.

    Her special interests are in neglected literary and cultural treasures of marginal communities. Her research topics include biblical exegesis, reception history of the Bible, and biblical manuscripts. Dr. Gomelauri is a member of the Jewish-Muslim Research Network, the Bible and Religions of the Ancient Near East Collective, and the British and Irish Association of Jewish Studies.

    Her current research is focused on Georgian Jewry – the world’s oldest living Jewish diaspora – and its forgotten contribution to the Jewish scribal traditions. She is the author of The Lailashi Codex: The Crown of Georgian Jewry (Oxford, 2023). She is currently working on a diplomatic edition of the 172-leaf Lailashi Codex. This book introduces the unknown Georgian Jewish manuscripts providing a necessary context for further interdisciplinary studies.

    In 2023, Oxford Interfaith Forum was honored with the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week Award, given by King Abdullah II of Jordan, for contributions to peace and religious education.

    In his Guru Nanak Prize nomination, The Rev. Dr. Andrew Gregory of University College, Oxford, wrote that Dr. Gomelauri’s “strategic and visionary thinking, indefatigable energy, and ability to bring people together is at the core of the success of the Oxford Interfaith Forum.”

    Dr. Elizabeth Mackintosh, teacher and lecturer of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Winchester in the UK, said that the Oxford Interfaith Forum “models the best interfaith harmony through education. It is a radically inclusive space that encourages a pluralism of ideas. [The work of] Dr. Thea Gomelauri and the Oxford Interfaith Forum not only animates Guru Nanak’s vision and values but also propagates them.”

    “We are immensely honored and grateful to all our supporters, the distinguished panel of judges, Hofstra University, and the Bindra family, for this highest recognition of our unique contribution to interreligious education,” Dr. Gomelauri said. “We are delighted to be joining the esteemed laureates of the Guru Nanak Prize. Sharing the honor with The Rt. Rev. William Swing is a very special privilege. We also want to thank Dr. Eboo Patel [the award’s 2012 recipient], who influenced our work in more ways than he knows. This prestigious award in the name of Guru Nanak Dev Ji inspires us to continue the promotion of universal peace through interreligious education at this critical time in our history.”

    Rt. Rev. William Swing and the United Religions Initiative 

    The formation of the URI, currently the largest interfaith grassroot organization, was first inspired in 1993, when Bishop William E. Swing was invited to host an interfaith service commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations charter.

    Convinced that the world’s religions have a “vocation to be a force for good in the world,” Bishop Swing shaped URI’s mission to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation; to end religiously motivated violence; and to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the earth and all living beings.

    Bishop Swing currently serves as URI’s president emeritus. From 1980 to 2006 he was the 7th Episcopal Bishop of California. He has authored A Bishop’s Quest: Founding a United Religions and The Sacred and the Silly: A Bishop’s Playful and Eventful Life.

    Of being awarded the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize, Bishop Swing said, “The generous heart of Guru Nanak was powerful in his time, and through this award the spiritual power only increases. For the United Religions Initiative and me to be honored by association with this great man is an inward blessing, indeed.”

    “It’s a great honor for URI to receive the Guru Nanak Prize, in the tradition of such illustrious interfaith figures, under the auspices of the revered Guru Nanak,” added URI Chair of the Board Eric Roux.  “We feel proud and grateful for this honor which celebrates URI, its founder, and the entire URI network of interfaith activists who dedicate their lives to a world where we can all live in trust, love and unity, beyond and through our necessary and lauded differences.”

    Hofstra University’s Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was established in 2006 by Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra and family and named for the founder of the Sikh religion. It is meant to encourage understanding of various religions and foster collaboration between faith communities. Guru Nanak believed that all humans are equal, regardless of color, ethnicity, nationality, or gender identity. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, was the first winner of the Guru Nanak Prize in 2008.

    For more information, visit the webpage for Hofstra’s Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize.

  • Dr Shiv K. Sarin’s book “Own Your Body” Generates Keen Interest at the Discussion of the Book

    Dr Shiv K. Sarin’s book “Own Your Body” Generates Keen Interest at the Discussion of the Book

    RANA president Prem Bhandari highlighted the compassionate and selfless approach of Dr Shiv

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): It was an inspiring and engaging event. The audience comprising of doctors and community leaders heard Dr Sarin’s words of pragmatic wisdom with rapt attention. Padma Bhushan Dr Shiv K Sarin, founder, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi is recognized with “Distinguished Clinician Award in Academic Practice’ by American Gastroenterological Association.

    The Consul General of India, Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, in his opening remarks spoke about the leading role of Dr Shiv in the field of health care. RANA president Prem Bhandari highlighted the compassionate and selfless approach of Dr Shiv. He suggested that this important book should be translated into Hindi and Rajasthani also.

    Dr. Shashi Shah introduced Dr. Shiv K. Sarin

    Prem Bhandari made a digression when he congratulated Consul General Binaya Srikanta Pradhan for his decision to keep the Consulate open on all days of the week to better serve the community. He said, “The Indian Consulate in New York has become the first not only in the US but globally to remain open 365 days a year. Bhandari praised the CG for institutionalizing this decision. Since 2014, the New York Consulate has been open on weekends and holidays in emergencies such as deaths or serious health issues of relatives, even during severe weather conditions like 24-inch snowfalls. Previously, the Indian diaspora had to approach community leaders or organizations for help during such times. Now, with this institutionalized process, everyone knows the consulate will remain open on holidays and weekends”. The New York Consulate has jurisdiction over ten states in the US, providing significant relief to the Indian diaspora living in these areas. Bhandari urged that Indian consulates, not only in the US but worldwide, should follow Binaya Pradhan’s example and remain open 365 days a year, wherever there are sizable Indian communities.

    Dr. Shiv K. Sarin explained how the combination of what we inherit and our habit pattern is related to our longevity and healthy life

    Dr Shashi Shah reflected on his college days with Dr Shiv. Both are alumnus of SMS Medical College, Jaipur. Dr Shashi, having read the book, used his friendly force to persuade Dr Sarin and was instrumental in mounting this program for the community members of New York.

    Dr Shiv Sarin, a distinguished Indian physician, is a beacon of medical expertise, clinical research and has made huge contribution to medical education. From his academic origins at S.M.S. Medical College Jaipur to his leadership role at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Dr Sarin is hailed as a healthcare luminary dedicated to the wellbeing of millions affected by liver and metabolic disorders. The ILBS is today the largest liver hospital in India and a deemed liver university.

    In his opening remarks, Dr Shiv suggested that Indian Consulate should have local health body, a collegium of doctors of Indian origin to issue guidelines for the community. The core of this evening after formal launch of the book by the dignitaries was stimulating interaction between Dr Shashi and Dr Shiv. He opened with simple question, ‘Why did you write this book?’, to which author responded with a chuckle and remarked, “he has started ragging me”. Both swiftly got down to the business of developing an eye-opening dialog, which generated a genuine sense of cultivating healthy habits among the audience.

    A view of the audience

    Dr Shiv Sarin’s ‘Own Your Body’ builds a bridge between common man and medical terminology, while narration of the book in the story form deals with characters, their aspirations, their emotional equations and also deals with the medical challenges posed by fatty lever. How to prevent it? Dr Shah questioned the author on the suggestion of giving priority to gene matching over horoscope matching. This was an evening which was looking at health in an integrated way, where flow of health from generation to generation was also considered. How a normal looking healthy boy may be prone to heart attack. Dr Sarin explained that the combination of what we inherit and how our habit pattern is related to our longevity and healthy life.

    The frequent reference of challenges posed by obesity and stage of becoming insulin resistant was also explained in simple terms. When one hears that over 80 percent kids in India are walking less than 30 minutes a day and it doesn’t speak good of their healthy future, one wonders, how to reverse the process.

    Mukesh Ambani, chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, writes about the book, ‘Own Your Body’, ‘After reading this book, one would realize that good health is not as much a function of one’s genetic makeup as it is of one’s lifestyle choices.’

    Dr. Sarin gifted a copy each to the Consul General Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, Deputy Consul General Dr. Varun Jeph, and organizers of the event.

    Dr Shashi echoed the same spirit expressed in the words of Dr Shiv “Do not outsource your health to doctors. Embrace self-care. As the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr Sarin played a pivotal role in shaping medical education and conceptualized the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Dr Sarin has also been at the forefront of policy initiatives, including the national viral hepatitis control program and the integration of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease into national programs.

    Beyond his exceptional clinical talents, Dr Sarin is a gifted teacher and a master communicator, epitomizing medical excellence and ethics. Committed to community service, he has been a pivotal figure in the fight against hepatitis. Honored with prestigious awards such as the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and Padma Bhushan, Dr Sarin symbolizes the harmonious convergence of medical excellence and altruistic fervor.

    His work, encapsulated in the mantra ‘Own Your Body’, transcends medical expertise, showcasing the profound impact one individual can have on the health and happiness of millions.

    The event was jointly organized by RANA, AAPI QLI and RAJMAAI. Mrs Neelam Modi was master of ceremony for the evening and Dr Raj Bhayani extended ‘Vote of thanks’ on behalf of the organizers.