Vidyaranya Institute of Knowledge and Advanced Study (VIKAS)

Vidyaranya Institute of Knowledge and Advanced Studies (VIKAS), previously known as JNU Institute of Advanced Studies and later renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies (JNIAS), has evolved since mid-1990s. Completing its existence as an Institute for more than two decades, VIKAS seeks to expand its outreach and visibility and emerge as a pioneering research institute of the country. It aims to provide leadership in making India a vibrant knowledge society in the emerging levels global village which is going through paradigmatic structural transformations at multiple. JNIAS had been created in 2004. For the first time in India, such an institute was established as part of a university. Fellows started arriving in 2008. More than 100 high level scholars from outside India were awarded fellowships for various durations ranging from one to twelve months.
University: Jawaharlal Nehru University
Contact: New Delhi 110067
India
Tel: +91 11 26741132
Fax:
vidyaranya@mail.jnu.ac.in
https://www.jnu.ac.in/vikas
Director: Prof. Brajesh Kumar Pandey
Founded in: 2004
Focus of research: JNU institute of Advanced Study (2004) had tried to decolonize the study of India as a civilizational state and traditional Indic civilization by exchanging ideas with global scholars. It was realized that mere decolonization was not sufficient in the rapidly changing global scenario. JNIAS started consultation regarding transforming into an advanced study of non-western cosmologies, ontologies, epistemologies as well as of a new science of Westology, which would try to understand traditional, modern and postmodern nation states and liquid cultural mindspace from non-western, Asian and Sanatani perspectives. The process of consultation started in October 2022. The executive council of the University decided to rename the IAS as VIKAS in May 2023.The focus of VIKAS is to study and disseminate Indo-centric knowledge in the following subjects:

History, Culture and Philosophy in Indian civilizations from Indic perspective
Arts, Crafts, Cinema, Media and Performance Studies from the Indic perspective
Westology - Study of western culture and civilization from the Indic and Asian Perspectives.
Inter-civilizational dialogue
State, Society, Culture and Languages of the Asian countries
Science, Technology and Innovation
Defense, Security, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
Economy, Growth and Sustainable Development
Women led development
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