India International Centre

The India International Centre (IIC) is a well-known non-official organisation situated in New Delhi, India. Its foundation stone was laid in 1960 by then Japanese Prince Akihito, who had come for his honeymoon,[1] and it was inaugurated in 1962 by Radhakrishnan, the 2nd President of India. The founding president of the IIC was Deshmukh, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The main building is adjacent to Lodhi Gardens and was designed by American architect Joseph Allen Stein.[2] The annex building extension was inaugurated in 1996 by Jammu and Kashmir's ex crown prince Karan Singh who was the then President of IIC.[3] It is a unique establishment that serves as a meeting place for cultural and intellectual offerings, while maintaining its non-official character, non-aligned motivations and remains uncommitted to any particular form of governmental, political, economic or religious affiliation. The IIC has been used as a venue for lectures and discourses hosted by international personalities including the Dalai Lama,[4] UN Secretary General Kofi Annan,[5] Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev Jesse Jackson, Noam Chomsky, Salman Rushdie,[2] US secretary of state Mike Pompeo,[6] and ex Hong Kong governor Christopher Patten.[7]

India International Centre
General information
Location40 Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi
CountryIndia
Coordinates28.593383°N 77.222257°E / 28.593383; 77.222257
Completed1962
Design and construction
ArchitectJoseph Allen Stein
Other information
ParkingAvailable

The IIC's Gandhi-King Plaza auditorium, named after both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., was inaugurated on 21 January 1970 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[8]

Membership of the IIC is notoriously hard to obtain, and includes Supreme Court judges, top journalists, governors and government ministers.[7][9] Former chief minister of Bihar, and then minister of railways Lalu Yadav was refused membership in 2006, following which Karan Singh, who had funded the original development, resigned as a life trustee in reaction to the refusal by the committee.[10]

In March 2019 the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind visited the club as a guest of club president N N Vohra, former governor of Jammu and Kashmir,[11] to meet its board of trustees, which was considered a tactic to influence the ongoing election process of the club's executive committee.

Overview

According to its official blurb, the centre is alluded to as 'Triveni', which in Sanskrit means 'a structure of three'. It provides three activity streams:

  • The Intellectual Stream, which is supported with the organisation of seminars, symposia, meetings, discussions, and a well stocked library that also helps publish papers.
  • The Cultural Stream, through events like dance recitals, film screenings, and drama.
  • The Social Stream, through its hostel and catering facilities which brings together people in a pleasant setting.

The centre operates on grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, and universities that have become members of the IIC foundation. An early interest taken by a past president of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, saw the government of India take an active interest in its activities as well. The India International Centre was designed by Joseph Allen Stein, an American architect who practised in New Delhi from 1955 to 1995. It is one of several major buildings in the same area designed by Stein, giving the area the unofficial name "Steinabad".

See also

References
  1. Chellaney, Brahma (27 November 2013). "From economic ties to strategic partnership". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. "India International Centre". Times of India Travel. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  3. "IIC| India International Centre - Building Environment". www.iicdelhi.nic.in. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. "Irked by China, India signals turnaround on Dalai Lama". Deccan Herald. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. "Secretary-General ends India visit with strong call for UN reform". UN News. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  6. "Mike Pompeo bats for religious freedom, says world worse off when religious rights compromised". India Today. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. Makkar, Sahil (19 November 2013). "India's elite stand in queue for IIC membership". Business Standard India. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. "90th Birthday Commemoration of Dr Martin Luther King Jr". www.iicdelhi.nic.in. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  9. "Heckles raised as IIC chief invites President of India amid poll process in cultural centre". www.aninews.in. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. Roy, Bhaskar. "Failing to admit Lalu, Karan quits IIC post | Delhi News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. "Heckles raised as IIC chief invites President of India amid poll process in cultural centre". www.aninews.in. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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