“Education is that which makes a man self-reliant, selfless and devoted to the service of society.”
— Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Founder, Banaras Hindu University

Founded in 1916 by Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was envisioned as a national institution that would integrate India’s civilisational inheritance with modern, socially responsive knowledge. Today, across its vast residential campus in Varanasi, BHU ranks among Asia’s most comprehensive universities, spanning the humanities, social sciences, sciences, medicine, engineering, management, law, and the performing arts, supported by specialised centres for interdisciplinary and global research. Rooted in service to society and nation, BHU provided a fitting setting for an international dialogue on India’s global diaspora.

It was within this setting that the three-day International Conference on Indian Engagement with Its Diaspora: The Role of Diasporic Communities in India’s 21st Century Ascendance was held from December 8 to 10, 2025, at Banaras Hindu University. Organised by the Department of History, BHU, in collaboration with the Centre for Diaspora Studies, Central University of Gujarat, the conference brought together academics, diplomats, policy thinkers, cultural practitioners, and diaspora representatives from India, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Gulf, North America, and Southeast Asia.

Funded by the Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy Cell (SRICC), BHU, the conference unfolded across Mahamana Sabhagar and Sambodhi Sabhagar at the Faculty of Social Sciences, combining rigorous academic inquiry with reflections rooted in lived diasporic experience.