DUSHANBE, September 22, Asia-Plus - On Thursday September 21, the Aga Khan Humanities Project (AKHP) Open-Access Resource Center in Dushanbe received a collection of books from the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe to. 

The books, which cover the various facets of India''s rich and diverse heritage including its history, culture and literature, also include a number of  pictorial books on India, a English translation of the book Tojikon (the Tajiks) of Bobojon Ghafurov (in two volumes), and some audio music/video documentaries. All of the books are in English and the Selected Short Stories of Rabindranath Tagore, has been translated into Tajik by a Hindi teacher of the Tajik State National University.

According to information from the AKHP Dushanbe Office, India is helping Tajikistan undertake human resource development projects through its various programs. The Indian government offers 30 long-term scholarships annually to Tajik students for higher studies at Indian universities under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarship Program. Over 10 Tajik students have received scholarships to date, for pursuing post-graduate and research studies.  In addition, India also offers over 50 short-term vocational courses and basic and advanced English language and IT courses in various institutions under its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Program to Tajik nationals. Thus far, over 250 Tajik nationals have taken courses under the ITEC program.

The AKHP promotes pluralism of ideas, cultures, and peoples through the implementation of innovative humanities courses based on the cultural traditions and influences of Central Asia.  The AKHP Open-Access Resource Center, established in 1999, maintains a high quality collection of humanities materials with a particular emphasis on Central Asia. It has currently over 6000 books in English, Russian and Central Asian languages. It also provides free access to the Internet to all users, currently numbering 3,000. Other programs of the AKHP include the Humanities in English for undergraduate and high school students, Faculty Development for improving teaching and learning skills of university instructors, and a Public Lecture Series for promoting humanities discourses in Central Asia. The AKHP is a project of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network.