Birmingham to host 22nd International Ramayana Conference

New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) The 22nd International Ramayana Conference will be held in Birmingham, England from September 1 to 4, with the objective of spreading the universal appeal of the great Hindu epic.

An announcement to this effect was made by International Ramayana Conference Chairman Lallan Prasad Vyas.

The first of its kind in the country, the conference will be organised by the famous local organisation 'Gitanjali', in tandem with the Vishwa Sahitya Sanskriti Sansthan of India, which is the initiator of the first and coordinating body of the subsequent such conferences.

Dr Krishna Kumar, a former professor of the Birmingham University and President of 'Gitanjali' is the U.K. coordinator.

The conference will begin on September 1 with a civic reception for the delegates as well as leaders of the local Indian community.

It will be followed by academic sessions on successive days.

Mr Vyas said discussions would be held on a variety of issues like Role of Ramayana in relation to Environment, Future Generation, Indian Diaspora, Globalisation, World Peace, Modern Family Values, Academic World, Resolving Terrorism, Indian Classics and Scriptures and the World Thought and Art and Culture.

The Indian delegation will leave on August 31 from Delhi.

The previous 21 conferences were organised in 14 countries, representing all the continents except Australia. The fisrt conference was held in India in November 1984 in India.

''The global series of these conferences have taken the shape of a world cultural forum of human understanding and fraternity. Even a socialist country like China has played host to such a conference, which was 13th in the series. It all proves the universal appeal of the Ramayana,'' Mr Vyas said.

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