IIT-M launches Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) recently opened the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems. The centre will mainly focus on mathematics and astronomy in India, Indian architectural engineering, Indian political and economic thought, and Indian aesthetics and grammatical traditions.

It was launched by IIT-M’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and inaugurated by Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, president of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi and its director general Kumar Tuhin.

The centre aims to publish quality research related to systems of Indian knowledge, and to disseminate the findings by hosting academic seminars and conferences. The centre is funded by the Indian Knowledge Systems Division of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.

The research in this centre will involve collaborations with outside scholars and institutions, while the centre will initially design and offer courses related to the thematic areas to IIT-M’s students.

“Subsequently, these courses are planned to be offered on the NPTEL platform for wider dissemination. The centre plans to host workshops to familiarise school teachers and students with various aspects of Indian Knowledge Systems. Further, the centre plans to reach out to the public via popular writings, and social media posts,” the IIT-M said in a statement.

Sahasrabuddhe emphasized the need for a deeper study of India’s contribution to the world in the fields of science, technology, architecture, linguistics, arts, culture, economics, and politics, among other areas, and for disseminating the findings to the broader public.

Dr Aditya Kolachana is the principal investigator of the centre. Other faculty members from IIT-M in this centre include professors Arun Menon, Manu Santhanam, Santosh Kumar Sahu, Sudarsan Padmanabhan, Rajesh Kumar Jyotirmaya Tripathy.