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"Casa de la India Foundation" (India House in Spain) was constituted in Valladolid, Spain, on March 17, 2003, as a cultural foundation, with the Republic of India, through the Embassy of India in Spain, the City Council of Valladolid, and the University of Valladolid as its founding entities and patrons.
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The Casa de la India is the result of the collaboration that was initiated in the year 2000 between the Government of India, through its Embassy in Spain and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the City of Valladolid and the University of Valladolid, in order to establish a centre for the diffusion of Indian culture in Spain and of Spanish Culture in India, as well as to serve as a new platform for the relationship between the two countries in the fields of culture, academics, economy, technology etc. As a centre for the promotion of India-Spain relations at the institutional, cultural and social levels, it is co-funded by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, The City Council and University of Valladolid, and is also supported by the Spanish Ministry of External Affairs and the Spanish Ministry of Culture. It has thus become a major venture for the promotion of India in Spain, and is also an important channel to improve the visibility of Spain in India.
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The Casa de la India has its headquarters in an early twentieth-century building with oriental motifs, donated to the foundation by the City of Valladolid and located in the heart of the city at Calle Puente Colgante 13. The Casa (House) was inaugurated on the 11th of November 2006 in the presence of, amongst others, Anand Sharma, the Minister of State for External Affairs of the Government of India, the Ambassador of India to Spain, the Ambassador of Spain to India, the Mayor of the City of Valladolid and the Rector of the University of Valladolid. The month-long India Festival which included a retrospective of film-maker Satyajit Ray and a music and performing arts week preceded the inaugural functions. A sitar recital by Anoushka Shankar with the Castilla and León Symphonic Orchestra on the evening of November 11 marked, with resounding success, the end of the festival and the beginning of the Casa de la India in its new home.
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The regular activities of Casa de la India are divided in three major branches:
- Cultural: film, performing arts, music, exhibitions, workshops, networking of artists etc.
- Academic: research centre, library, conferences, seminars, Spain-India inter-university collaboration, regular courses on Contemporary India: Social Sciences, Humanities, Science and Business etc.
- Civil Society and Economic Cooperation: coordinate bi-lateral consultative groups such as an annual dialogue forum called the India-Spain Tribune, think tanks, setting-up of a virtual platform of information and collaboration, promotion of innovative Spain-India enterprises and new business opportunities, linking of Civil Society agents, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
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Board of Trustees:
-The Municipality of Valladolid:
The Mayor of the City of Valladolid, Mr. Francisco Javier León de la Riva
The Counsellor for Culture, Ms. Mercedes Cantalapiedra Álvarez
-The University of Valladolid:
The Rector, Mr. Evaristo Abril Domingo
The Vice-rector for International Relations, Mr. Alfonso Redondo Castán
-The Embassy of India in Spain:
The Ambassador, H.E. Ms. Sujata Mehta
The Counsellor, Mr. Sudhir Kumar
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-Secretary of Board of Trustees: Dr.Guillermo Rodríguez Martín, Director of Casa de la India
Casa de la India also has an International Advisory Council, a Board of Friends of corporate and individual members that support the foundation, and an Honorary Council of prestigious personalities from India and Spain. The Honorary Council is presided over by H.R.H. Princess Irene of Greece
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