Guarini Institute Advisor Dr. Singh Conferred with Knighthood by Italian Republic

Guarini Institute for Public Affairs advisor, Dr. Pratishtha Singh, was recently been conferred with Knighthood by the Republic of Italy. Dr. Singh has taught Italian language, literature and cultural history in the University of Delhi. She was awarded the “Order of Merit of the Star of Italy” by the Italian Ambassador to India H.E. Lorenzo Angeloni in Delhi a few weeks ago.

From left, Italian Ambassador to India H.E. Lorenzo Angeloni and Guarini Institute advisor, Dr. Pratishtha Singh

Dr. Singh has contributed extensively in the field of culture and political studies between the two countries and is among the youngest people to receive this honor. While H. E. Angeloni read out the motivations for the award of the knighthood, Dr. Singh dedicated the evening to “fathers and fatherlands”. She spoke about how studying Italian cultural and political history has made her more sensitive and aware of her own country. She remarked that there is a fundamental likeness of being among people across the world and cross-cultural studies help us understand and appreciate this fact.

The evening saw the presence of many distinguished guests from the world of politics, literature, and culture including the Grammy and Oscar awardee Gulzar, author and former member of the Indian parliament Pavan K. Varma, Congressmen Himanshu Vyas, and Indian art giant Anshul Nagar, among others. Dr. Singh was flanked by her family and friends as she spoke of her walks on Via Appia and her interactions with women in rural Bihar, one of the poorest states in India.