INDIAN PRIME MINISTER VAJPAYEE
Addresses Encyclopedia Contract Signing Ceremony

A historic event took place on Saturday, September 26, 1998 at the New York Hilton & towers in New York City. It was the official contract signing ceremony between India Heritage Research Foundation and the University of Carolina Press to publish the 18 - volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism.

The Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was the Chief guest and official "witness" to this historic signing. Over 500 people from USA, Canada, Europe and India attended, including representatives from most of the major Indian corporations and associations.

The first official speaker of the evening was Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji the founder and chairman of India Heritage Research Foundation, who emphasized that the Encyclopedia is not a project for Hindus or Indians only, but rather a project for the world and by the world. He said to the audience of over 500 people, "The encyclopedia is god' s plan, but it is your project."

Pujya Swamiji was followed by Dr. Kaushal Sinha the CEO for EH, who delivered the official "Welcome Address", and Dr. K.L. Seshagiri Rao, chief Editor, who spoke about the history and current status of the project.

Next, Ms. Catherine Fry, the director of the University of South Carolina Press gave a speech that stressed USC's strong support for the project and their belief that this project is both significant and urgent.

Other speakers included Dr. Kalpalatha Guntupalli, the President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), Mr.

H. P. Rama, Founder / Chairman of the Asian – American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Chairman-elect of the American Hotel-Motel Association, and Mr. Mike Patel, chairman of the Asian-American Hotel Owners Association.

Lastly, the Honorable Prime Minister spoke. He began in impeccable English, speaking about the importance of the encyclopedia project. After approximately 10 minutes, he paused and broke into impassioned and poetic Hindi, speaking about the importance of Bharat ki seva. He said the scholars have been doing their Gyan Daan, and now it was up to us to do Dhan Daan. He emphasized that everyone must contribute in whatever way they can – whether it is through Gyaan (knowledge) or Dhan (financial resources).

The glorious event was concluded by a soul stirring Shantipath chanted by Mrs. Arunima Sinha, who prefaced the prayer with thanks to Mother Goddess for bestowing her grace upon us all.

The entire ceremony was graced by the presence of many top dignitaries, including Mr. Naresh Chandra, Ambassador to India in USA, Mr. Jaswant Singh, vice-chairman of the Planning commission, Mr. Shyam Sunder Shah of Calcutta and many others. Additionally, the organizers for the event were Mr. Chandubhai Patel (and his team) of New Jersey, a staunch supported of the Encyclopedia project since its inception.

Overall, the evening was historic and a great endorsement for the Encyclopedia of Hinduism Project.

* Please note that, due to a variety of factors, The University of South Carolina and IHRF decided that this monumental work should not be published by the University of South Carolina Press, so USC is no longer the publisher. However, we express our deepest gratitude for their continuous and continuing support of IHRF and of the Encyclopedia.

For more on the contract signing...