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| Established | 1965 |
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| Research type | Research institution |
| Director | Chaman Lal Gupta |
| Staff | 150 |
| Location | Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Website | www |
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965. [1] It is currently housed in the Rashtrapati Niwas.
The building that houses the institute was originally built as a home for Lord Dufferin, Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888, and was called the Viceregal Lodge. [2] It housed all the subsequent viceroys and governors-general of India. It occupies Observatory Hill, one of the seven hills that Shimla is built upon.
The building was designed by Henry Irwin, an architect in the Public Works Department. The Viceregal Lodge had electricity as early as 1888, much before the rest of the town of Shimla. [2] The building also was equipped with a sophisticated firefighting mechanism through wax-tipped water ducts.
Many historic decisions were taken in the building during the Indian independence movement. The Simla Conference, to discuss self-rule for India, was held here in 1945. The decision to carve out Pakistan and East Pakistan from India was also taken here in 1947. [2]
After India gained independence, the building was renamed as Rashtrapati Niwas and was used as a summer retreat for the president of India. However, due to its neglect, Dr. S Radhakrishnan decided to turn it into a centre of higher learning. The summer retreat of the president was shifted from here to a building known as "The Retreat" situated in Chharabra, on the outskirts of Shimla.
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study was first created as a society on 6 October 1964. The institute was formally inaugurated by Prof. S. Radhakrishnan on 20 October 1965. The eminent historian, professor Niharranjan Ray, was appointed as the first director of the institute.
Around 2004, a rare stické court was discovered on the grounds of the Viceregal Lodge complex.
A bell made of eight metals which was presented by the king of Nepal was available to be admired by tourists until it was stolen in April 2010.
The lawn in front of the lodge is above a water tank. All the rainwater from the building goes to this water tank. This rainwater harvesting system goes back to the 19th century when this building was designed.
The Institute of Advance Studies was the first electrified building in Shimla. This electricity was produced by steam engines which were brought from Britain.
The institute is administered by a Society and a Governing Body, the members of which come from varied backgrounds. A statutory Finance Committee advises the Governing Body in financial matters.
The director of the institute is assisted by a secretary, a deputy secretary a public relations officer and other supervisory staff.
The fellows currently focus on the following areas:
The institute has two fellowship programs National Fellows and Fellows. The term National Fellows at the institute is for a maximum period of two years. For Fellows, the backbone of the institute, the duration of regular fellowships ranges from a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years. This depends on the nature of work and its progress. Initially, a fellowship is awarded for a year.
While fellows of the institute are primarily engaged in their own research on themes approved by the institute, the considerable formal and informal interaction amongst them encourages a healthy interdisciplinary dialogue. From April to November, the fellows' weekly seminar is the primary forum for formal interaction. During their term, fellows remain in residence from April to November. From December to March, they may engage in field work, library and archival consultations outside Shimla. Upon the completion of their term, fellows are required to submit their completed research work in the form of a monograph to the institute. The monographs submitted by them are considered for publication by the Institute – which also retains the first right of publication.
Apart from fellows, other scholars also contribute to, and benefit from, the institute. They come as visiting professors, visiting scholars and guest scholars. Visiting professors are eminent scholars invited by the Governing Body of the institute to deliver lectures and give seminars at the institute. During an in-residence stay of up to four weeks, they also interact informally with fellows of the institute. Similarly, visiting scholars also come to the institute on invitation. Like visiting professors, they too are distinguished in their respective fields, but their stay is limited to a week and all facilities of the institute are extended to them. Guest scholars visit the Institute – subject to the availability of accommodation; they too are welcome to utilize the facilities on a nominal payment. The visiting professors to IIAS includes a large number of philosophers which include Prof. Kanchana Natarajan, and Prof. Enakshi Ray Mitra. [3]
The International Centre for Human Development (IC4HD)[ citation needed ] is set up in IIAS to support efforts by governments of the South to integrate human development approaches and ensure improved development outcomes for poor and marginalized people. The IC4HD center was inaugurated on 19 August 2013 in the institute with the aim to promote policy dialogue on human development in the Global South and work towards translating human development analysis into action. The partnership between the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was officially launched at an event held in Delhi on 4 January 2013. The centre will provide a range of services to national governments in translating human development approach into policy through a four-pronged approach viz. Policy Advisory Services, South-South Cooperation, Research on HD issues and Monitoring and Evaluation. [3]
On the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) was awarded the Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization by the HRD Ministry of Government of India.
Activities of the Tagore Centre
Established in 1965, the library has been established to facilitate, promote and support research to Fellows of the institute. It is one of the leading research and reference libraries in Humanities and Social Science in the country. .The social science collections, in fact, are worldwide in coverage and significance. [3]
The institute has published over 450 works. [4] These include monographs submitted by its fellows; edited proceedings of seminars, symposia, workshops and conferences held at the institute; lectures given by visiting professors; and occasional papers presented by fellows and visitors to the institute.
The institute also publishes two academic journals. Their review journal, Summerhill: IIAS Review, [4] carries reviews of books published by the institute and those received from outside, as well as interviews and important information about the various academic activities of the institute. A biannual journal, Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, [4] is published under the auspices of the Inter-University Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences.
The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate-only institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is based in Senate House, in Bloomsbury, central London, close to the British Museum, British Library and several of the colleges of the University of London. The School brings together nine research institutes, many of which have long histories, to provide a wide range of specialist research services, facilities and resources. It offers taught master's and research degrees in humanities and social science subjects.
Dipesh Chakrabarty is an Indian historian and leading scholar of postcolonial theory and subaltern studies. He is the Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor in history at the University of Chicago, and is the recipient of the 2014 Toynbee Prize, named after Professor Arnold J. Toynbee, that recognizes social scientists for significant academic and public contributions to humanity.
Mrinal Miri is an Indian philosopher and educationalist.
The Rashtrapati Niwas, formerly known as Viceregal Lodge, is located on the Observatory Hills of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. It was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy of India. It houses some of the most ancient articles and photographs going back to the times of the British rule in India.
Summer Hill is one of the main localities of Shimla, the state capital of Himachal Pradesh at a height of 2,123 meters. It is on a hill, 5 km west to the Shimla Ridge, and is part of the seven-hill cluster.
Sudhir Kakar is an Indian psychoanalyst, novelist and author in the fields of cultural psychology and the psychology of religion.
The Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK) is an autonomous research institute dedicated for development studies and related subfields in Bidhannagar, West Bengal, India. Established in 2002 as a centre of excellence in social sciences, the institute is funded by the Government of West Bengal and recognised by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute is a binational non-profit organization with registered charity status in Canada. The institute supports the creation of binational links between academia, government, the business community and civil society organizations by funding research and hosting seminars. It provides grants as well as internships and fellowships to provide opportunities for individuals to gain first-hand experience in India or Canada in their field of expertise. Furthermore, the Institute serves as a liaison between educational institutions and the Indian diaspora in Canada. Dr. B. Hariharan, Professor and Head, Institute of English, for the University of Kerala, is the president of the organization.
Amiya Prosad Sen is a historian with an interest in the intellectual and cultural history of modern India. Currently he is Sivadasani Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford (UK). He was previously the Heinrich Zimmer Chair at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University. He has served as Professor of Modern Indian History at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He has been Agatha Harrison Fellow to the University of Oxford and Visiting Fellow to the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and the Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi. During 2007–08, he was Tagore professor at Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan.
Makarand R. Paranjape is an Indian novelist, poet, a former Director at Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla and, since 1999, a Professor of English in the Centre for English Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
Rev. John Vattanky SJ was a Jesuit priest, belonging to Kerala province, in India. An Indian philosopher, specializing in Gangesa's Navya-Nyāya, he resided at De Nobili College, Pune. Vattanky was a Professor Emeritus of Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, India. He has contributed significantly to the growth of Indian philosophy and Indian Christian Theology.
Riyaz Punjabi was a professor and vice chancellor at the University of Kashmir. He was granted the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian awards, in 2011. In 2008 he was granted an honorary professorship at the International University Vienna for his contribution in "Strengthening International Relations in the Sphere of Education". He also won the Amity Academic Excellence Award from Amity International Business School, in 2009, the Fazil Memorial Award in 2009, and the Adbi Markaz Kamraz award in 2010. He died on April 8, 2021.
Professor D. N. Dhanagare was an Indian sociologist who specialised in farmers' movements and rural sociology.
Badanaval Venkatasubba Sreekantan was an Indian high-energy astrophysicist and a former associate of Homi J. Bhabha at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He was also a Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
Valerian Rodrigues is an Indian political scientist. He is known for his influential work on Babasaheb Ambedkar, and for his formulations of themes in Modern Indian Political Thought. Rodrigues has made substantial contributions to the debate on the working of the Indian Parliament, constitutionalism in India, and agrarian politics in India. As a Professor at the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, he was popular for his lectures on Indian Political Thought and Intellectual History, and critically reading the same through political concepts of modernity, secularism and nationalism. Before joining JNU, Rodrigues taught at the Department of Political Science at Mangalore University, Karnataka, India.
Anil Zankar is an Indian film critic and historian.
Amitabh Joshi is an Indian evolutionary biologist, population ecologist, geneticist and a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). He heads the Evolutionary Biology Laboratory at JNCASR and is known for his studies on Evolutionary genetics and Population ecology. An elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, and Indian National Science Academy, he was also a J. C. Bose National Fellow (2011-2021) of the Department of Science and Technology. He served as the Chief Editor of the Journal of Genetics (2008-2014) and Editor of Publications of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2017-2021). The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2009, for his contributions to biological sciences.
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