The School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (SAHSS), in collaboration with the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS), organised a workshop on “IKS Integration in Social Sciences” on 20 November 2025. The session was led by Dr. Nagaraj Paturi, a distinguished scholar known for connecting traditional Shastric scholarship with contemporary academic practice. The workshop brought together faculty members engaged in teaching, curriculum development, and research across the social sciences.
Dr. Paturi, trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta, began by inviting participants to share their questions and concerns about Indian Knowledge Systems. Faculty raised issues related to the perceived outdatedness of IKS, assumptions of Brahminical or elitist bias, the role of Shastric traditions, and the relationship between IKS and modern social science methodologies. Responding to each point, Dr. Paturi clarified that IKS is defined by its continuing functional relevance and cannot be reduced to cultural pride or historical achievements. He also noted that Shastric traditions such as Nyaya or Mimamsa operate within their own intellectual domains and are not automatically synonymous with IKS.
A key part of the discussion focused on the misconception that IKS is elite-driven. Dr. Paturi emphasised that IKS is rooted overwhelmingly in community knowledge—particularly in tribal, rural, artisanal, and other subaltern traditions. Examples such as indigenous ecological practices, local cultural systems, and reciprocal economic models helped illustrate this point.
The workshop concluded with reflections on research design, validation, and curricular integration. Dr. Paturi encouraged faculty to view IKS as an epistemic resource that can enrich contemporary scholarship rather than replace existing academic methods.
