IKS

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS)

A Publication Initiative of The Native Tribe Publication (TNT)

A Word from the Editor's Desk

In response to a growing call from scholars, educationists, and cultural custodians across India, we are proud to have launched a dedicated academic and cultural initiative under the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) theme.

Indian Knowledge Systems represent one of the oldest, most diverse, and most continuous bodies of civilizational knowledge in the world — spanning philosophy, mathematics, medicine (Ayurveda and traditional healing), astronomy, linguistics, architecture, agriculture, ecology, governance, arts, and spiritual sciences. Much of this knowledge, though foundational to Indian civilization, remains scattered across oral traditions, regional languages, and manuscripts that are gradually fading from mainstream academic attention. IKS was conceived to address this gap: to document, contextualize, and disseminate scholarship that reconnects India's traditional knowledge with contemporary academic and policy discourse — in line with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which formally recognizes Indian Knowledge Systems as a vital component of higher education.

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) is partially sponsored by The Native Tribe Publication (TNT).

We are pleased to share that two volumes of IKS have been published to date, bringing together contributions from scholars, traditional practitioners, and researchers working to preserve and reinterpret India's indigenous knowledge traditions for a modern audience.

Project Leadership (Disclaimer-Click to read)

Project Director: Surjit Singha, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Kristu Jayanti (Deemed to be University)

Project Co-Director: Ranjit Singha, (Ph.D.), Ph.D. Research Fellow, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)

Why Indian Knowledge Systems Matters

For Publishers

• A high-priority, policy-backed niche: With NEP 2020 explicitly mandating the integration of IKS into curricula, publishers who build early, credible content in this space are positioned as go-to references for institutions nationwide.

• Wide and diverse readership: IKS appeals simultaneously to academic researchers, AYUSH and wellness practitioners, heritage and cultural institutions, policy think tanks, and the general reading public — a rare cross-market appeal.

• Long-term institutional demand: As universities set up dedicated IKS centres and departments, there is sustained and growing demand for reference volumes, edited collections, and translated primary texts.

• Government and cultural alignment: Ministries such as Education and Culture, along with bodies like the IKS Division (AICTE) and various State Councils, actively encourage and often support scholarship in this space — opening avenues for grants, bulk procurement, and official endorsement.

For Society

• Reclaiming civilizational memory: IKS gives contemporary society renewed access to indigenous wisdom in medicine, ecology, ethics, and governance that has sustained communities for millennia.

• Countering knowledge erosion: Much traditional knowledge — in Ayurveda, agriculture, water management, and craft — survives only through oral transmission or aging practitioners; publishing it protects it from being permanently lost.

• Bridging tradition and modernity: By presenting classical knowledge in an academically rigorous yet accessible format, IKS helps society engage with its heritage without romanticizing or dismissing it, encouraging informed, evidence-based appreciation.

• Inclusive authorship: By inviting not only academics but also traditional scholars, practitioners, and community knowledge-holders to contribute, IKS honours those who have preserved this knowledge outside formal institutions.

For Educational Institutions and Universities in India

• Direct curricular relevance: NEP 2020 requires universities to integrate Indian Knowledge Systems into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula; IKS volumes offer ready, credible teaching and reference material.

• Support for dedicated IKS centres: A growing number of Indian universities are establishing IKS Departments, Chairs, and Centres of Excellence — all of which require a steady stream of scholarly publications for teaching and research.

• Interdisciplinary research value: IKS content supports departments across Sciences, Humanities, Management, Medicine, and Design — from Ayurvedic pharmacology to traditional architecture and indigenous mathematics.

• Reducing dependency on translated/secondary sources: Much existing material on Indian traditional knowledge is filtered through colonial-era or Western academic lenses; IKS offers India-authored, contextually rooted scholarship as a primary alternative.

Relevance Today

India's push to reclaim and formally institutionalize its traditional knowledge — through NEP 2020, the establishment of the IKS Division under AICTE, and growing global interest in indigenous and traditional knowledge systems (from Ayurveda to sustainable agriculture) — makes this an especially timely moment for serious scholarship in this space.

IKS is not an exercise in nostalgia; it is a contemporary academic and civilizational necessity. As India positions itself as a knowledge leader on the global stage, and as universities worldwide look to non-Western epistemologies for solutions to ecological, medical, and social challenges, documented and peer-engaged scholarship on Indian Knowledge Systems carries relevance far beyond India's own classrooms — contributing to global conversations on sustainability, wellbeing, and pluralistic ways of knowing.

Fund Our Project

We invite NGOs, Government bodies, Institutions, Universities, International Organizations, Authors, Traditional Scholars and Practitioners, Research Scholars, Citizens, Teachers, Professors, Professionals, fellow Indians, and the International Community to contribute articles and research toward the documentation, preservation, and responsible dissemination of India's traditional knowledge.

Write to Us

If you would like to financially support the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) project, or contribute as an author/researcher, please write to us — kindly copy both email addresses:

📧 tnativetribe@gmail.com

📧 info@thenativetribe.org

Visit us: www.thenativetribe.org