The university wants to help grow south-south relations, moving away from the domination of Europe and the United States in South Africans' mental map.

AS trade between India and South Africa grows, this week the University of the Witwatersrand opened the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa (Cisa), the first of its kind in Africa.

Cisa will support research, teaching and public debate on India and its growing presence in Africa.

The Indian consul-general in Johannesburg, Navdeep Suri, inaugurated the Wits Library India Collection on Wednesday evening, 7 May, with a gift of 500 books from the Indian government.

"It is very, very special to be here," said Suri. "This is perhaps the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my career."

He spoke of the "solid bridge" between India and South Africa, and the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. "I come from a family of books," he added.

Wits vice-chancellor Loyiso Nongxa spoke about the need to develop bilateral relations with other southern hemisphere countries. "There is a lot we can learn from those regions."

The university was committed to stronger south-south relations. "India has become a leading player in the global economy and global politics, with higher education institutions which are models for the developing world. Cisa is one of our flagship projects and will connect us with world-class researchers in many disciplines."

Nongxa also reminisced about a trip to India that had changed him. "India is a country where there is huge emphasis on academic excellence."

Academic projects
Some 30 Wits academics are working on projects relating to India and the Indian Ocean, in fields ranging from literature, sociology and history to civil engineering, software development and law.

Cisa plans to expand applied research collaborations between Wits and various Indian universities, as well as promote staff and student exchanges. Common problems like social divisions of caste, community and race, the rise of the middle class, rural-urban migration and constitutional law will be areas of study.

Professor Stephen Gelb, the acting director of Cisa, said of the occasion: "This is a very proud moment for us - it is a tremendously exciting process to start learning about India."

The written word was very much the foundation of India.

Gelb indicated that total bilateral trade stood at over $4-billion (about R30-billion) today, and had grown some 22 percent since 2001.

"Around 40 major corporations from each country now operate in the other, including many familiar corporate names - Tata, Ranbaxy, Bajaj, ICICI, Anglo American, Sasol, Sanlam and Shoprite. Others such as Infosys and Standard Bank are known to be considering entry."

Grow relations
He added that Wits was perfectly placed to play a role in growing business, cultural and scientific links with India. "We want to help change South Africans' mental map of the world away from one where the orientation is north-south with Europe and the US dominating, to south-south, with Africa and Asia as the main reference points."

Last year Wits hosted Nobel prize winner and economist Amartya Sen, Indian cabinet minister Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and novelist Amitav Ghosh. This year the programme includes historian and travel writer William Dalrymple and Nayantara Saghal, niece of Jawarhalal Nehru, considered by many to be the doyenne of Indian literature.

The formal launch of Cisa will take place in September during a major conference entitled India in Africa. Topics to be covered at the conference include literature, culture, historical and contemporary political and economic ties across the Indian Ocean, as well as doing business in India.