National Museum Institute Confers PhD, M.A Degrees on 185 students

New Delhi: In a rare recognition of academic research into India's cultural heritage, 33 doctoral degrees and 152 masters degrees were awarded by the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Culture and Museology today for scholarly work ranging from studies of Old Delhi's havelis to the country's modern installation art.

The National Museum Institute, India's premier educational institution for preservation and conservation of the country's art and cultural heritage, conferred the degrees at its 10th convocation ceremony held in the national capital.

The Honourable Union Culture Minister Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch, the Chancellor of the New Delhi-based National Museum Institute, presented the degrees at a well-attended convocation ceremony at the sprawling Convocation Hall of the Hotel Ashok.

"You have to be an important part of the nation building process through your respective capabilities that you have acquired here and elsewhere,"said Smt Katoch, the Chief Guest of the ceremony, who declared the convocation open in her capacity as the Chancellor of the Institute.

"It is a privilege for you to have studied at this institute, " she said while exhorting the graduates to retain in them "a spirit of trusteeship" while contributing substantially "to your roots, the society around, the institutions that brought you up and the nation at large".

NMI- Logo

National Museum Institute- new Delhi held its Convocation for P.hd and MA students who graduate in the year 2013.

Smt Sangita Gairola

The ceremony was attended by Union Culture Secretary Smt Sangita Gairola besides National Museum Institute Vice-Chancellor and Joint Secretary, Culture, Dr V Venu and Registrar Prof. M V Nair.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr Shashi Tharoor, the Guest of Honour of the function.

Speech at the Ceremony

The 10th convocation ceremony was the first in a period of seven years, bringing together students from across India and countries like Iran and Afghanistan

Students were awarded with degrees

33 doctoral degrees and 152 masters degrees were awarded by the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Culture and Museology today for scholarly work ranging from studies.

"It is this spirit of trusteeship and the desire to support others who were not as fortunate or successful as many of us, would make this world a better place," Smt. Katoch added.

Founded on January 27, 1989, the National Museum Institute became a Deemed to be University two months later while leading a path of transformation into a centre of excellence for students in the field of art history, art preservation and museology ever since.

In his convocation address, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr Shashi Tharoor, the Guest of Honour of the function, said there was an urgent need to "remind ourselves" about the importance of the country's cultural institutions.

"Museums in India have acted as custodians of art and culture so far but their activities should not be limited to only collect, preserve and share objects and materials of cultural, religious and historical importance. In the 21st century, museums need to strive to become agents of change and development," Dr Tharoor said.

He said as institutions possessing critical resources in society, one of the fundamental objectives of museums was to impart cultural education effectively as it houses the tools and materials for doing so.
Arguing that cultural capital may be viewed as a reservoir of tangible and intangible cultural expressions of a society, Dr Tharoor said cultural activities and heritage materials could be introduced in a broader framework of economic development. "Art and cultural heritage thus constitutes an essential engine for economic development and the major measurable economic impacts are: heritage tourism, job creation and household income, property appreciation and small business incubation," he added.

The ceremony was attended by Union Culture Secretary Smt Sangita Gairola besides National Museum Institute Vice-Chancellor and Joint Secretary, Culture, Dr V Venu and Registrar Prof. M V Nair.
The 10th convocation ceremony was the first in a period of seven years, bringing together students from across India and countries like Iran and Afghanistan.

"In a brief span of two decades, this Institute has become a leading centre for the study, interpretation and preservation of our nation's cultural heritage," said Dr Venu in his academic report presented on the occasion. "Here we promote community cohesion through our learning programmes," he said adding the Institute was also engaged in drafting a National Conservation Policy.

The National Museum Institute conducts training and capacity building programmes in museum education and intangible cultural heritage with international institutions like the UNESCO and globally renowned academic institutions such as the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and the Leiden-based Kern Institute of the Netherlands.

Among the scholarly works that were awarded doctoral degrees today were areas like Deccani miniature paintings, provincial art and architecture of Kota, folk art of Bhils, Christian art of Goa, comparative study of traditional practices of palm leaf manuscripts in India and conservation of Indo- Islamic carpets.