By EuAsiaNews
Brussels: India’s academic world as well as the media are showing increasing interest in European Union affairs, according to a well-known Indian expert on European affairs.
There are eight courses in India on the EU, four in Jawaharlal Nehru University, (JNU) one in Jadavpur, one at Mangalore, one in Pondicherry and one in the Indira Gandhi National Open university in Delhi.
Rajendra K. Jain , Professor of European Studies and Chairperson Centre for European Studies, JNU , New Delhi, in an interview with EuAsiaNews said under the joint EU-India Action Plan adopted in 2005 all formalities have been completed for EU support for centres for European studies in India.
“They said they will support ten centres, seven for EU and European studies in India and three contemporary Indian studies in Europe.
Also apart from that, they want to set up five new centres.
The call for proposals are likely to be made in the middle of 2008,” he said.
“Once this is established , it will give boost to European studies in India.” stressed Jain who has edited and authored several books on EU-India relations.
Jain was in Brussels to speak at an event organized by the think-tank European Policy Centre on “Chindia” the spectacular rise of China and India.”
At present there are 40 MPhil students who are doing there work in European studies in India.
Commenting on media relations, he said over the years, the degree of reporting on the EU in the Indian print media and also increasingly on the TV channels has grown, “This year, for example, I have already given nine interviews on the EU for the Indian news channels or newspapers.”
The European Commission Delegation in New Delhi has been compiling news items which appeared in the English and vernacular languages during visits of EU dignitaries or the summits.
“If you see the amount of reporting done since the EU-India Lisbon summit in 2000 and latest summit in November 2007, there is a tremendous growth in the number of stories that are coming out,” he said.
“I think what has happened is that the EU has become more interesting, the reporting has improved, the awareness has improved but it is basically driven by the capability of the reporter or the analyst to write.”
The basic problem, he noted, is that it is not very easy to overcome the long neglect of decades. “The EU is not sexy enough to be given prime time focus,” opined Jain.
Commenting on the future of EU-India relations, he said that there is “greater appreciation of each other’s perspectives.
But because the two sides have different political strategies and priorities, there will be a mismatch of interests and priorities,” concluded Jain.