Prof. Bidyut Chakrabarty, former Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, has arrived at Shenzhen University (SZU) for a two-month academic visit. A welcome symposium was held on May 9 at the Tan Yunshan Museum of Sino-Indian Friendship, hosted by the School of Humanities and the Centre for Indian Studies.

Dr. Fung Chun Ho, Vice Dean of the School, hailed Prof. Chakrabarty’s visit as a pivotal opportunity to deepen academic ties between SZU and Indian institutions. Prof. Yu Longyu, Director of the Centre, highlighted the scholar’s role in strengthening the “four golden bridges” of Sino-Indian friendship—Rabindranath Tagore, Tan Yunshan, Dwarkanath Kotnis, and Ji Xianlin. To facilitate his engagement in China, Prof. Chakrabarty was presented with a Chinese name, “Qiu Bidu,” symbolizing his prolific scholarship (“Bi”) and his mission of cultural enlightenment (“Du”).

Expressing his delight with the name, Prof. Chakrabarty pledged to foster lasting academic dialogue between the two nations. During the meeting, he received copies of Prof. Yu’s screenplay Tan Yunshan and novel Huang Daopo, while donating several of his own monographs to the Centre. Discussions also covered potential collaborations in film and academic exchange.