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Become immersed in a local Indian community while being exposed to the complex diversity of India's peoples, places and customs. With over 200 recognized languages, nine religions and 2000 ethnic groups, the India Studies Program is your opportunity to encounter one of today's most fascinating and diverse cultures.
The India Studies Program is located at Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Sciences, which is in the city of Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu, one of the major states of India, is known for its ancient treasures of art and architecture. The state is the home of the Tamil civilization since 1500 BC. The classical language has been in use in inscriptions and literature for nearly 2,500 years. There are numerous grand Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture and nearly 8 UNESCO world heritage sites. Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130, 058 square kilometers and is the eleventh largest state in India. It has a coastline of about 910 km which is the countries third longest coastline. The southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula is located in Tamil Nadu.
Dating back its origin to the mid 9th century, Coimbatore is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu with a population of approximately 1-2 million people. Known as the ‘Manchester of South India', it is situated on the banks of the Noyyal River. Coimbatore is chiefly known for textile mills, factories, engineering firms, automobile parts manufacturers, health care facilities and educational institutions. There are numerous temples in Coimbatore and it is also known for ancient architecture. There are also mosques that date back to the period of Hyder Ali. Christian missions date back to 1647 and hence numerous churches are also found in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore offers ample resources / opportunities for students to explore and function in the local setting (e.g., travel, eating, attendance at local cultural events) as well as a gateway to the larger Indian context:
- Service-learning opportunities (variety of sites and services)
- Church opportunities - worship, fellowship
- Accessibility to other religious/faith traditions groups
- Internship/field experience course opportunities
- Recreation and entertainment opportunities
- Access by rail and plane to all majors areas of India
