The French Institute in India is part of the worldwide network of "
French institutes". The Delhi office is the only one in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the
Pondichery antenna of the institute being a research facility more than a cultural centre.
Background
This French Institute was inaugurated on 29 March 2012 by Mr
Xavier Darcos
Xavier Darcos (born 14 July 1947) is a French politician, scholar, civil servant and former Minister of Labour.
An ''agrégé'' professor in literature and general inspector of the National Education system, he has been Mayor of Périgueux, ...
, then president of the French Institute alliance.
However, French cultural activities in Delhi have existed under various forms before the official opening of the institute. Before 2012, all cultural activities related to the French embassy were supervised by
Culturesfrance.
The French Institute entertains close links with the
French Embassy in India, New Delhi, the local
Alliance Française
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and other French-teaching establishments like the
Lycée Français de Delhi.
The Lycée français de Delhi and the
Centre for Social Research and Humanities are also based within its walls.
It is located next to the 5 stars hotel 'Taj Mahal', the
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
and a few hundred meters from the
Rajpath
Rajpath, officially named Kartavya Path, and formerly known as Kingsway, is a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, India, that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India Gate, National War Memorial to Nation ...
and
India Gate
The India Gate (formerly known as the All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located near the Rajpath on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called duty path. It stands as a memorial to 84,000 soldiers of the Br ...
Mission
The institute’s cultural center participates actively to the local and national art scene, by organising dozens of cultural events every year, on a local, regional or national basis. It also participates to external events, within the promotion of friendly ties between France and other
francophone countries
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
and India.
It cooperates intimately with Indian universities to propose joint courses to Indian and French students alike. In 2011 alone, 2500 Indian students chose to study in France via the joint programs created by the Institut français.
See also
*
France–India relations
France–India relations (; ) are the bilateral relations between France and India, two countries that have traditionally been close and friendly. Both countries have a 'special relationship' with each other, so much so that by August 2019, Fr ...
*
Lycée français de Pondichéry
The Lycée français international de Pondichéry is an international French school in Pondicherry, Puducherry, India.
The school provides education from pre-primary to ''lycée'' (senior high school), 3 to 18 years old.
The school is part of t ...
*
French culture
The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from t ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official websiteCampus France - IndiaFrench Institute Delhi Institut Français
Education in Delhi
Culture of France
Educational institutions in India
Francophonie
Cultural organisations based in India
Language advocacy organizations
Language education organizations
Language education in India
France–India relations