Ashoka Reflections- Feb 2023
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C O V E R S T O R Y
There is a strong emphasis on teaching interdisciplinary courses ranging from ‘Archaeology and
Science’ to ‘Archaeology of Ancient Technologies’. The Centre also offers archaeological training to
undergraduate and graduate students as part of its teaching-cum-research projects. A field project
on the archaeological heritage of forests is underway under the aegis of the Centre, in the
Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, and the first results have been
published. The Centre also offers Ashoka fellowships (two of which are funded by an Ashoka
founder, Anupa Sahney) for ancient and mediaeval history/archaeology. Three scholars from
Kashmir, Kerala and New Delhi have joined as the inaugural fellows, and their research will add to
the visibility of the Centre across India.
Dr Kalyan Shekhar Chakraborty joined the Centre as a teaching faculty last semester and is a
specialist in biomolecular archaeology and archaeological geochemistry. They also have Dr Kritika
Garg (a DNA specialist) and Dr Akash Srinivas (a prehistorian) as postdoctoral fellows. The Centre's
vision to have scholars on board with a variety of skill sets, thus, is very much on track. They hope to
build on this in the medium term. They also hope that the Centre will motivate students to pursue
research that links science and archaeology.
Excerpts from an interview with Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri:
What is your assessment of the state of archaeological research in India at present? Are there
some loopholes in the way we as a country approach the study of our past?
For a nation with such an abundance of riches, it is unfortunate that with some honourable
exceptions, this field of archaeological research in India has not developed in Indian universities in
the manner that it has in many parts of the world. For instance, none of the universities in Delhi has
departments of archaeology in spite of the University Grants Commission giving approval in 1960 for
the opening of separate archaeology departments. Among the few universities that have been able
to sustain separate departments of archaeology are the Deccan College (a deemed university) of
Pune, Calcutta University, and Maharaja Sayaji Rao University of Baroda. Some other departments
have included archaeology within the ambit of ancient history as in the case of the Department of
Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology at the Banaras Hindu University. However, even in
those universities that offer a Master's program in archaeology, the history/archaeology
departments and the science departments there have functioned as separate silos, with no
meaningful cross-talk between them. Consequently, scientists and archaeologists/historians of the
same university rarely join hands to mutually enrich their own research and disciplines.
Can you elaborate on how Ashoka University’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Archaeological
Research brings archaeology and the sciences together? To what degree does it help in gaining
a better understanding of our past?
The Centre proposes to host two components which will support each other: field-based work along
with teaching, and laboratories where courses will also be taught. The Centre has begun with field-
related explorations. The data that is generated from the field will be studied in various
laboratories. With regard to teaching, there is a specific emphasis on teaching interdisciplinary
courses at the Centre.
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