New centre at GBPSSI to document India’s knowledge heritage

Prayagraj: Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute (GBPSSI), Prayagraj, would set up a Centre for Bhartiya Gyan Parampara that would strive to document, preserve and promote India’s rich intellectual and cultural heritage.

Institute director, Prof Yogendra Pratap Singh, said a comprehensive encyclopaedia of Indian Bhartiya Gyan Parampara would also be developed .

As part of this effort, the institute is organising a two-day “Bhartiya Gyan Manthan Workshop” on May 30 and 31 to bring together over 150 university teachers, researchers, scholars, subject experts, policy analysts and practitioners of traditional knowledge from across the country.

“The workshop will serve as a national platform for discussions on the preservation, documentation, classification, interpretation and dissemination of Indian knowledge traditions.

“The deliberations will contribute significantly to the conceptual, methodological and structural framework of the proposed encyclopaedia envisioned as a scientific, interdisciplinary and multilingual repository of India’s diverse knowledge traditions,” he said.

Singh said the encyclopaedia will cover not only classical knowledge systems such as the Vedas, Upanishads, philosophy, Ayurveda, mathematics and astronomy, but also folk traditions, tribal knowledge, oral histories, traditional arts, ecological wisdom, craft traditions and community-based knowledge systems.

Singh said the centre will be inaugurated on May 31 by minister of state (independent charge), Transport department, Dayashankar Singh.

Vice-chancellor of Prof Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, Prof Akhilesh Singh will chair the event.

The centre will function as a dedicated academic platform for the study, research, documentation, preservation and dissemination of India’s classical, folk, indigenous and tribal knowledge traditions, while connecting them with contemporary academic discourse and national development priorities.

Prof Singh also informed that the institute was planning to establish a Centre for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences to undertake interdisciplinary research on the social implications of digital technologies and contemporary transformations in society, culture, communication and governance.

As part of its proposed activities, the centre intends to organise a national conference on Digital Journalism and Technological Innovation in Sept 2026.