BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust founded on 7 November 1938 by K. M. Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust conducts programmes through 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad, and 367 constituent institutions, covering, as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru observed during his 1950 visit, 'all aspects of life from the cradle to the grave and beyond.' The organisation operates numerous primary and secondary institutions in India and abroad, running 100 private schools known as Bharatiya Vidya Mandir, Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, or Bhavan's Vidyalaya. Under the leadership of Sundaram Ramakrishnan, who became director after Munshi's death in 1971, the Bhavan expanded significantly as a cultural organisation and became a global foundation. Its first foreign centre was opened in London in 1972. The trust has also published several book series, including the Bharatiya Vidya Series, Bhavan's Book University, The History and Culture of the Indian People, Natya, Nritya and Sangita Series, Pocket Gandhi Series, and Singhi Jain Series. The current president of the Bhavan is Surendralal Mehta, and the vice-president is Bellur Srikrishna.