Soon, IIT-KGP to boast of a centre for promotion of human values

In a first, IIT Kharagpur, the oldest among all IITs, will have a centre exclusively for promotion of human values through meditation, yoga, lectures on spiritualism and character building, its director announced on Monday.

In a first, IIT Kharagpur, the oldest among all IITs, will have a centre exclusively for promotion of human values through meditation, yoga, lectures on spiritualism and character building, its director announced on Monday.

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The nearly Rs 15 crore project will be funded by its alumni and the government. Vijay Kumar, an alumnus, has already given Rs 1 crore for this project.

To be named after Swami Vivekanand, the centre will aim to combine modern education with development of the personality. “Vivekananda is the ideal of the youth. Hence the centre is being named after him to honour him and inculcate his teachings among the youth. There is a need for leadership and human excellence in addition to regular academic curricula,” PP Chakrabarti, director, IIT Kharagpur, said.

Siddhartha Mukhopadhyaya, dean, alumni affairs, told HT:

“Swami Vivekanand had proposed the right mix of modern education drawn from the best western ideals with the goal of total development of human personality as envisioned by eastern sages.”

The centre, Mukhopadhyaya said, would be a sanctuary for the soul.” It will be located in the middle of a lake with a pristine environment. We hope to start construction in a few months and the centre may be complete by the end of next year.”