Indic Academy has recently completed 5 years and in a short time has grown rapidly to emerge as a premier institution working for Indic Renaissance. As IA moves to the next phase of growth, suitable governance structures are being put in place. Shared vision and values, process driven and transparent decision making, empowered leaders, periodic reporting, accountability, ensuring diversity and inclusion both within and without the institution are some of the measures that are being undertaken and strengthened.
At the apex level, a governing council and an academic council are proposed to oversee the overall affairs of the Academy both strategically as well as academically.
In this regard we are pleased to announce the establishment of an 8 member Academic Council comprising of the following venerable scholars from diverse disciplines. In time to come, as and when the need arises, the council will also be expanded
- Prof M.D. Srinivas is a versatile scholar with expertise in Theoretical Physics (Conceptual and Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics) History and Philosophy of Science (Scientific and Technological Tradition of India: Methodology of Indian Tradition of Science, Study of Source Texts of Indian Mathematics and Astronomy) Indian Society, Economy and Polity. He holds a doctorate degree in Physics from University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, and has taught as a professor in University of Madras for about 20 years. Dr. Srinivas has also been a member of Indian National Commission for History of Science, Indian National Science Academy and Central Sanskrit Board since 2006. He has also held the position of Vice Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla from 1999-2002. He is currently the Chairman of Centre for Policy Studies in Mylapore, Chennai
- Prof K. Ramasubramanian is an Institute Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. He holds a doctorate degree in Theoretical Physics, a Master’s in Sanskrit and a Bachelor’s in Engineering—a formidable combination to do multidisciplinary research. He was honored with the coveted title ‘Vidvat Pravara’ by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Karnataka, India, for completing a rigorous course in Advaita Vedānta (a 14-semester program), in 2003.Since 2013, he has served as an elected council member of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. In 2018, he was elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA). Currently, he is also the editor of the Indian Journal of History Science.
- Prof T.S. Rukmini is an undisputed academic marvel. With many “firsts” to her credit, Prof Rukmini is a truly inspirational Guru and a symbol of divine Shakti. Dr Rukmini was the first woman and the second person to receive a PhD in the Department of Sanskrit, since the establishment of Delhi University in 1930. In 1991 she was honoured with the highest degree of D.Litt, the first ever awarded by the Department, in recognition of a major contribution to the study of yoga philosophy. She held the first Chair for Hindu Studies and Indian Philosophy at the University of Durban Westville.Today, she serves as the distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Department of Religious & Cultural Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
- Prof Meenakshi Jain is an Indian political scientist and historian who has written several groundbreaking scholarly works. One of the most significant of all being her historical work on Rama and Ayodhya, and The Battle for Rama which has served in eliciting the truth, long buried under the debris of falsities. In 2014, she was nominated as a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research by the Indian government, and has been conferred this year(2020) with the Padma Shri- India’s fourth highest civilian award, for her work in the field of literature and education.
- Prof Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University in Still water. His current research is in the theories of neural networks and quantum information and has coined the term quantum neural computing which is a theory of consciousness that is partly classical and partly quantum. In this theory, neural networks do conscious and preconscious processing whereas the virtual particles associated with the quantum dynamics of the brain are the ground for the unconscious.His works also deal with archaeoastronomy, history of science and art. His writings on the philosophy of mind show how recursion plays a fundamental role in art, music and aesthetics. Prof. Subhash Kak is the author of twenty books which include six books of verse.
- Acharya Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Avadhani Chirravuri Srirama Sarma Ji is an erudite Vedic scholar, multilinguist, prolific author and distinguished academician. He has performed more than 100 Ubhaya Bhasha Ashtavadhanas in both Telugu and Sanskrit languages, across the nation. An exceptional orator, Dr Sarma’s discourses and Purana Pravachanams are the most sought after by devotees and spiritual seekers in both Telugu states.His expertise ranges on various subjects includes Meemamsa, Vyakarana, Krishna Yajurveda, Telugu and Sanskrit Literature, Vedas, Shastras and Smaarta to name a few. Dr Sarma has served as a board member of the Studies Board at Sampurnanand University in Varanasi for Meemamsa, as a member of the Studies Board at Andhra University and continues to serve as a member of the Studies Board at Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, Tirupati.
- Prof Michel Danino is an Indian author, originally from France. He has been involved in various undertakings from translating the works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, to the preservation and conservation of rainforests in the Nilgiris. Danino is a prolific writer and has penned several books on Indian culture, civilization, and future. He has authored several books on Indian Civilization such as The Lost River: On The Trail of the Sarasvati, which identified the legendary Sarasvati River, mentioned in Rigveda with the current Ghaggar-Hakra River. His work has had an emphatic contribution on the socio-political, philosophical, scientific, ethical, artistic and other cultural developments of building a picture of India’s cultural history. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017. At present, he is a guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar, where he is also leading the setting up of an Archaeological Sciences Centre.
- Dr Vinod Vidwans is a cognitive philosopher, a designer and a portrait painter.He has done his Ph. D in Cognitive Philosophy and Master of Design from IIT, Bombay. Dr. Vidwans is a dedicated Teacher, Researcher, and a Designer who has designed and developed a Creative Intelligent Expert System (AI Raga System) for Indian Music. This AI System is based on the concepts from Bharata’s Natyashastra and Sangita Ratnakara of Sharangadeva. The AI System generates a Bandish (a musical composition) on its own without any human assistance in a given Raga and renders it in traditional classical Indian style. He has been a visiting professor & resource person at many prestigious institutes including IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Kanpur, IISC Bangalore and Central University of Hyderabad to name a few. He has served as a member of Board of Studies and Doctoral programs of many renowned Institutions and Universities in the country.
We welcome all the scholars and look forward to their strategic guidance.
