{"id":27462,"date":"2019-06-28T05:30:47","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T10:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=27462"},"modified":"2019-06-28T01:55:37","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T06:55:37","slug":"austin-peay-state-university-history-professor-accepts-gandhi-leadership-award-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/06\/28\/austin-peay-state-university-history-professor-accepts-gandhi-leadership-award-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University history professor accepts Gandhi leadership award in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Dr. Somaditya Banerjee, history professor at Austin Peay State University (APSU) went to London, England, in May to accept the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award.<\/p>\n

The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Welfare Society of India presented Banerjee the award May 20th, 2019 at the House of Commons during the NRI World Congress.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Welfare Society of India presented Dr. Somaditya Banerjee, with Austin Peay State University, the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The award recognized about 20 of about 25 million non-resident Indians (NRIs) for outstanding service, achievement and contributions.<\/p>\n

NRI has had the program since 1981, but this year\u2019s ceremonies spanned two days and took on added importance celebrating the 150th<\/sup> birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe non-resident Indians, at least a majority of them, are connected to India by traveling, by investment, by their families,\u201d Banerjee, who grew up in Calcutta, India, and moved to the United States in 2002, said. \u201cThey have basically carved out a space for India in the international world. The identity of India in the international world is more prominent through the lens of NRIs than it was before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banerjee received his award on the banks of the River Thames from Preet Gill, a member Parliament of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Stories Of Challenges, Acceptance<\/h3>\n
\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Somaditya Banerjee won the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award on May 20th in London, England. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the highlights of the ceremony was a few honorees talking about the challenges they faced after they moved from India to new countries to pursue careers or education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe talked about how life was really tough for them when they started out in their trajectories of life and that didn\u2019t stop them from moving forward,\u201d Banerjee said. \u201cThey grappled in society and sometimes it was tough, but they moved through those times.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the bigger points of these stories was they would not be where they were without some nurturing in the host country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banerjee has a similar story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first came to America (to pursue a physics master\u2019s at the University of Arkansas in 2002), a family helped me,\u201d he said. \u201cThey basically became my American mom and dad. They went out of their way to help me. They made me feel at home. We\u2019re still in contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Physics To History<\/h3>\n

Banerjee is assistant professor in the APSU Department of History and Philosophy, but he started his academic career in physics, earning a bachelor\u2019s in physics from St. Xavier\u2019s College in Calcutta, India; a master\u2019s in physics from the University of Pune in India; and a second master\u2019s in physics from the University of Arkansas.<\/p>\n

[320right]While at Arkansas, he met Daniel Kennefick, an astrophysicist and historian who was the editor of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein<\/em> at the California Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was teaching and gave a talk on the history of gravitational waves,\u201d Banerjee said. \u201cThat was the nirvana moment for me when I thought studying history of science was slightly more interesting than what I was doing in physics.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see a lot of equations magically popping up in physics, and I really wanted to explore the debates that went on surrounding these equations,\u201d he added. \u201cDan\u2019s talk moved me into that direction, to Albert Einstein and the debates unfolding around relativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, Banerjee earned a third master\u2019s, this time in history of science and technology from the University of Minnesota before earning his doctorate in history from the University of British Columbia.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay’s Dr. Somaditya Banerjee received his award on the banks of the River Thames. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMaking a career switch from physics to history has transformed me as an individual and a leader in my profession,\u201d Banerjee said.<\/p>\n

Winning the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award solidifies Banerjee\u2019s decision to switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored and humbled to receive this award,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel this is an encouraging sign for the discipline of humanities and its future prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banerjee joined the Austin Peay State University Department of History and Philosophy in 2017.<\/p>\n

To Learn More<\/h3>\n