Colombo (AsiaNews) - In a significant step towards strengthening educational and cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka, the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) has launched a Hindi language learning programme in collaboration with the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, the cultural arm of the Indian High Commission in Colombo.
In his inaugural address, High Commissioner Santosh Jha emphasised the cultural and diplomatic importance of language as a tool for building bridges of understanding and cooperation between nations. He highlighted that Hindi, spoken by over 600 million people worldwide, offers students a valuable window into India's rich literature, media, philosophy and professional opportunities.
For his part, Rector Dammika Kumara expressed KDU's commitment to providing a holistic educational environment that promotes multilingual competence and intercultural awareness. "The new Hindi programme will be offered as an optional course for university students and will be open to both military and civilian scholars. It is designed to provide basic language skills, cultural background information and practical applications through a curriculum delivered by qualified instructors from India," a press release said. The note also recalled that in January 2025, the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre and the Open University of Sri Lanka had already launched the first ever distance learning course in Hindi.
