Category: Outreach

Join us for the Bhūmi Spirit Launch Event | 5th June | The Nehru Centre, London

Posted on May 21, 2026 by user

Namaste!

As part of the Bhūmi Spirit project, an eco-dharmic initiative of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and The Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation, we are excited to invite you to our Launch Event!

Join us in celebrating World Environment Day on Friday 5th of June at the Nehru Centre. The event explores the relationship between nature, education and Dharma with an exciting panel discussion, more information about Bhūmi Spirit, and a showcase by some of the children who have had Bhūmi Spirit classes.

For more details, please see our website: bhumispirit.org

To register for the event, please use this link: https://bhumispirit.netlify.app/

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you there!

Date: Friday 5th June 2026 on World Environment Day
Time: 16:45-19:00
Location: The Nehru Centre, London, 8 S Audley St, London W1K 1HF

The Rāmāyaṇa on BBC Sounds

Posted on March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 by user

The Rāmāyaṇa on BBC Sounds with OCHS Fellow Dr Jessica Frazier

Listen to OCHS Fellow Jessica Frazier discuss the Ramayana on BBC Sounds’ “In our time” with Melvyn Bragg, Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, and Naomi Appleton.

Text from BBC Sounds website:

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic which is regarded as one of the greatest works of world literature. Its importance in Indian culture has been compared to that of the Iliad and Odyssey in the West, and it’s still seen as a sacred text by Hindus today.

Written in Sanskrit, it tells the story of the legendary prince and princess Rama and Sita, and the many challenges, misfortunes and choices that they face. About 24,000 verses long, the Ramayana is also one of the longest ancient epics. It’s a text that’s been hugely influential and it continues to be popular in India and elsewhere in Asia.

Covid-Chronicles with Shaunaka Rishi Das

Posted on November 9, 2020November 11, 2020 by user

Covid-Chronicles with Shaunaka Rishi Das

How do faith communities stay connected while in isolation? How does religious practice carry on while members are so far apart? In this recent episode of the Covid-Chronicles hosted by Dr Ed Kessler from the Woolf Institute in Cambridge, OCHS director Shaunaka Rishi Das discusses the impact of COVID-19 on religious communities:

link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxDPbH4SeG4&feature=share

Beyond Belief BBC 4 Radio with Shaunaka Rishi Das

Posted on November 8, 2020November 11, 2020 by user

Beyond Belief BBC Radio 4 with Shaunaka Rishi Das

Listen to OCHS Director Shaunaka Rishi Das, joined by other experts discuss the impact of prayer in recent BBC Beyond Belief episode “Prayer” with Ernie Rae.

Click on link to listen
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006s6p6

Or download on apple podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prayer/id261779770….

The programme can be listened to here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000m577

OCHS Approved as UN NGO

Posted on May 13, 2016February 10, 2025 by user

OCHS Approved as UN NGO

Friday, 13 May 2016

At a meeting in New York City on 28 April 2016, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies was approved as an NGO (Non-governmental organisation) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UN DPI).

The approval was granted by UN DPI as the OCHS is engaged in activities aligned to the aims and objectives of the United Nations. This new status allows the OCHS to be a formal partner for sharing of news and information about UN activities. It also grants OCHS staff access to weekly NGO briefings at the UN Headquarters in New York City, the annual UN DPI/NGO conference (this year to be held in South Korea), and other UN meetings in New York.

The granting of UN DPI status for the OCHS is a reflection our increased work internationally, particularly through our Bhumi Project.

Last year the OCHS participated in the Bristol Faith Commitments, and earlier this year we attended the launch of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development in Berlin. Through these opportunities, and others, the OCHS and Bhumi are increasingly being asked to offer Hindu perspectives on international development.

Gopal Patel, Director of Bhumi, commented, “This formal association with the UN will help our work. It will allow us to increase our networks, learn from others in the field, and provide a mature Hindu perspective on global matters.”

The OCHS would like to thank Kusumita P. Pederson, Martin Palmer of ARC, and our colleagues at the UN for their help and support in making this association possible.

IK Foundation Lecture: Am I a Hindu? Questions Young People Ask

Posted on November 8, 2013September 23, 2020 by user

IK Foundation Lecture: Am I a Hindu? Questions Young People Ask

Nehru Centre Event

Friday, 8 November 2013 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Nehru Centre
8 South Audley Street
London, W1K 1HF

A talk by Dr Nick Sutton of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

In this talk Nick Sutton will consider the position of young people of Indian descent who were born and have grown up in Britain. The inspiration for this talk comes from actual encounters with young British Hindus who have raised the question of what it actually means to be a Hindu and how the religion and its adherents can be defined. As the conclusion to this discussion we will also consider the position of Hinduism as a world religion and how it differs from other faiths in several significant ways.

Organiser:

Nehru Centre – London

Nehru Centre talk: What the Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita Reveal about the History and Religious Culture of India

Posted on September 20, 2013September 23, 2020 by user

Nehru Centre talk: What the Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita Reveal about the History and Religious Culture of India

Nehru Centre Event

Friday, 20 September 2013 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Nehru Centre

8 South Audley Street

London, W1K 1HF

A talk by Dr Nick Sutton of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

In this talk Dr Sutton will discuss the interaction between religion, philosophy and politics in ancient India and focus in particular on the rise of the Buddhist and Jain traditions in the subcontinent. These and other newer forms of religion represented a direct challenge to the hegemony of the Vedic elite and received extensive patronage from the rulers of India, but it would be a mistake to simplistically represent this as being a confrontation between Buddhism and Jainism on the one hand and Hinduism on the other. Rather what we can detect is a much broader social and cultural movement that can observed in the Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita as well. In this talk we will consider the nature of these changes that have had a profound effect on Indian society and history, observable down to the present day.

Organiser:

Nehru Centre – London

Young, Hindu, Oxonian

Posted on January 25, 2013September 27, 2020 by user

Young, Hindu, Oxonian

Friday, 25 January 2013

A talk by Alpesh B Patel, Tuesday 29 January 2013, 6pm, Balliol College as part of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Leadership Programme.

What does it mean to be a good leader, and what qualities do we associate with good leadership? What do aspiring young leaders need to focus on most in their early years?

The purpose of this student organised lecture series is to help students consider leadership from Indian sources, dharmic and spiritual perspectives and practices, and from the considerable experience of representatives from government, the civil service, the media, community organisations, and academia.

The OCHS leadership programme consists of eight lectures to be delivered throughout the academic year, and of internships placing students under the guidance of recognised leaders.

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Leadership Programme aims to educate and inspire potential leaders and pioneers of tomorrow to serve the aspirations and needs of the community, and to prepare them to engage in national life, politics, public administration, business, the professions, and the voluntary sector, whilst being mindful of good professional practice and the practice of dharma.

Mr. Patel was a Visiting Fellow in Business and Industry at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University and read Philosophy Politics Economics at St Anne’s College, Oxford University. Mr. Patel is a Barrister and founding Board Member of TiE UK which is part of an international grouping of entrepreneurs whose aim is to mentor other entrepreneurs.He also presented a weekly show on Bloomberg TV and Sky TV and currently regularly co-hosts on CNBC. Mr. Patel has written 12 books on investing several of which cover India in particular.

Bhumi in India

Posted on October 15, 2012February 20, 2025 by user

Bhumi in India

Monday, 15 October 2012

Our Project Manager, Gopal Patel, is currently in India for the next few months. Whilst there he will be working on a number of India-based initiatives for Bhumi.

The first is to develop an India-based Hindu chapter of the Green Pilgrimage Network which was launched by ARC last year in Assisi, Italy <http://arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=493>. He will be helping organise two conferences that will bring together civic and religious leaders from pilgrim towns across the country. The first will take place in Hyderabad in mid-October, during the Convention on Bio-diversity <http://www.cbd.int/cop11/>. The second will be held in Rishikesh in late Novemeber at Parmarth Niketan <http://www.parmarth.com/>, the ashram of Swami Chidanand Saraswati (Muniji) . It is here where Gopal will be based during his stay in India.

The Bhumi Project is also working on an initiative in India to highlight the role of women on pilgrimage. As in other cultures, women play a strong role within Hindu society. This initiative aims to highlight that role by exploring how women can set a good environmental example for others when on pilgrimage.

Also in partnership with Parmarth Niketan, Bhumi will be working on a number of green initiatives for the Maha Kumbh Mela which is taking place early next year in Allahabad. Billed to be the largest gathering of humans ever, 120 million people are expected to attend the festival over a one-month period.

Alongside these initiatives, Bhumi also hopes to widen it’s network in India through partnerships, working with leaders in the Hinduism and environmental field, and establishing a long-term presence through a Bhumi India office.

You can stay updated about Gopal’s stay in India through his blog <http://blog.bhumiproject.org> and Twitter: @BhumiGopalPatel <twitter.com/BhumiGopalPatel>.

OCHS Cricket Day 2012

Posted on October 10, 2012September 27, 2020 by user

OCHS Cricket Day 2012

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

The last weekend of the cricket season saw the first OCHS Cricket Day, with gorgeous weather conditions and two excellent teams set for a great day.

The format of the game was two innings; one of twenty overs and the second of sixteen. The teams were London vs Rest of the world and the game was played at the beautiful Luton Town and Indians cricket ground.

London batted first, slightly over confident they crumbled to 26/4 within the first 6 overs. With Vishal Patel from Milton Keynes holding the innings together and some loose bowling by the ROW, London managed a respectable 111 from their allotted overs.

The teams comprised of some players who have played minor county cricket and others who have never played before creating the greatest possible mix. ROW in their first innings started slowly but strongly with former Bedfordshire cricketer Dhaval Naik hitting 55 not out and taking them to 124.

After tea, the London team was back in to bat 13 runs behind, this time much more steady. The promising Afghan youngster Faiyaz struck an excellent partnership with Manjit Singh who struck two huge sixes with one smashed out of the ground on to the road! London powered to 108 from 16 overs leaving ROW 95 to chase. Opening the bowling with Abbas Panju (who has not bowled since high school) the openers struggled to get quick runs on the board, Preetum Gharat from Norwich for the event, hit a few boundaries helping ROW along their way, but in the end the slow pace of the London spin bowlers Bhavesh Shah, Amit Patel, and Paresh Tailor simply made the task too difficult for the ROW. With just one over to go Subhash Salmalkar, an excellent cricketer from Mumbai, was left with the incredible task of hitting 29 from the last over.

Thanks to everyone at Luton Town and Indians and those who took part with a special thank you to Hitu Naik for umpiring the whole day. The London team won the first OCHS cricket day by 20 runs with everybody having an enjoyable day, raising £600 for OCHS and looking forward to next year!

Hemal Randerwala

If you would like to be involved with next year’s event in anyway please email hemal@ochs.org.uk