Ashoka Reflections_May 2023
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ASHOKA
REFLECTIONS
A S H O K A U N I V E R S I T Y ' S M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R
M A Y 2 0 2 3
Ashoka University receives INR 9.50 crore
PURSE grant from DST to accelerate
research on infectious diseases
BIG NEWS
Ashoka Reflections | Page 01
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India has given a grant of INR 9.50 Crore to
Ashoka University under its ‘Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence’ (PURSE) programme
to accelerate research on the “Holistic View of Disease Dynamics in Indian Context”. The utilisation period of
the grant is 4 years.
INR 1 crore out of the total sanctioned amount will be utilised for the analysis of ancient DNA samples from
archaeological findings from various sites - a uniquely interdisciplinary project spanning from Disease
Biology to History (Archaeology), supported by the Department of Science and Technology.
The grant will be deployed for Ashoka’s ongoing research on the historical evolution of various diseases in
India, with a focus on their relation with climatic factors, food habits, demographic variations, age, gender
and socio-economic background of individuals. Further, to train students across a range of disciplines to
answer critical questions around such diseases. This will pave the way for the development of human
resource capacity as well as effective counter-strategies that are specifically suitable for the Indian context.
“Addressing the dynamic concerns around prevailing infectious diseases and potential future outbreaks
effectively requires an interdisciplinary approach, that takes into account inputs from natural as well as social
sciences. At Ashoka, this approach is the bedrock of our educational offerings and research initiatives.
Our excellent faculty body, as well as continued investments in research infrastructure, makes us well-
positioned to take on such challenges. We are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology for
recognising Ashoka’s research strength, and extending this prestigious grant for further research work”, said
Professor Somak Ray Chaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University.
Speaking on the need for such a research initiative, Dr Anurag Agrawal, Dean, BioSciences and Health
Research, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, said, “In recent years, while on one side we have
observed the emergence of a large number of novel infectious agents like COVID-19, on the other many old
diseases like Tuberculosis are coming back along with new pathogen variants and causing major public
health problems. We do not have sufficient means of predicting what kind of pathogen is likely to emerge as
the next big threat, especially in the Indian context. Therefore, this research initiative will prepare the ground
for medical practitioners, experts and policymakers to develop cutting-edge solutions to such threats.”
Ashoka is currently making a big push into R&D, particularly by strengthening its capacity and offerings in
natural sciences. It is developing a new science campus next to the existing one in Sonepat (Haryana). The
new campus will house schools for biosciences, physical sciences, mathematics and advanced computing, in
addition to a dedicated science park and research laboratories. The university has also commenced various
cutting-edge research projects; it has entered into collaborations with industry and several other eminent
institutions for R&D in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, genome analysis and novel
rare diseases, to name a few.
Launched in 2009, the main objective of the DST-PURSE program is to strengthen the research capacity of
performing Indian Universities, provide support for nurturing the research ecosystem and strengthen the
R&D base of the universities in the country. Ashoka is one of the 12 leading universities that have received
the grant under the DST-PURSE 2022 scheme.
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INR 1 crore out of the sanctioned amount is for
the analysis of ancient DNA samples from
archaeological findings from various sites
Ashoka Reflections | Page 03
In Focus
The Archives of Contemporary India (ACI) is one of the key resource centres of
Ashoka University. Established in 2017 to collect and preserve primary source
material such as private and institutional papers for the study of contemporary
Indian history, ACI aspires to grow into a leading centre for historical and social
science research and serve as an indispensable repository of public affairs in
India. Keeping in mind the latest trends in social science research, the main focus
of the Archives is to collect documents related to economic reforms initiated in the
1990s, science and technology, environment and climate change, women
empowerment, social, educational and political developments in the country,
growth of media in various forms and all other related themes and make the
research material available to the scholarly community at large.
C O V E R S T O R Y
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ARCHIVES OF CONTEMPORARY
INDIA: WHY THE PAST MATTERS
MORE THAN EVER
We aspire to the standards of the best and to become a vital educational
resource for the Ashoka community and beyond, writes Prof. Mahesh
Rangarajan
The Archives of Contemporary India at Ashoka came into being in January 2017 and upholds world-class
standards in archiving the recent past of the country. This requires us to preserve documents from India's
recent past since independence and in doing so make them available to scholars and students alike who hope
we all be informed better for the future. Unlike the National Archives of India or the State level in the different
states of the Indian Union, our focus is not on the government but on private papers. We focus mainly on
post-1947 on independent and emerging India. Ours is a broad canvas from civil society to journalism, the
women's movement and environment, and the worlds of literature and science.
Most international Universities such as Oxford or Princeton, Yale or Harvard house archives. We aspire to the
standards of the best and also to become a vital educational resource for the Ashoka community and beyond.
Our collection is built on contributions that are placed here not only because they will be preserved for
posterity but also accessible to scholars as per norms and rules of archives.
C O V E R S T O R Y
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The collection sheds light on matters great and small. For instance, the papers of the philosopher and
educationist, Dr S. Radhakrishnan India's first Vice President and second President include rare materials. These
include letters from all who contributed to the volume he edited on Gandhiji's 70th birthday, even one from Jan
Smuts who had been the latter's adversary in South Africa. The photos and documentary collections of the late
Captain Lakshmi have insight into the first ever women's regiment of the Indian National Army and much more
on her long and distinguished life. The papers acquired recently by scholar diplomat K.S. Bajpai pertain to
diplomacy and international relations dating back to the Indo-Pak conflict and Tashkent Talks.
The great playwright and veteran actor, Girish Karnad’s drafts and works are here with a doyen of Hindi
literature: Agyeya, donated recently by the Vatsal Nidhi trust. Most recently, Sai Paranjpye, a famous
screenwriter and movie director has agreed to archive her life’s work with us.
Environment and ecology is a particular area of focus. The Chandi Prasad Bhatt collection takes us to the early
years of the Chipko movement. The Divyabhanusinh papers have the early records of debate on the
reintroduction of the cheetah, an event that earlier this year made world headlines.
The history of independent India needs more study as we move towards the 100th anniversary of 15 August
1947. Among the sectors, we hope to explore are business history and civil society, all vital to those interested
in how the past shaped the future. We are also looking at collaborations with other universities and academic
institutions in India and abroad and documenting and archiving Ashoka University’s institutional history.
An archive is more than a record of the past. It serves as a beacon to the future. The key to this is not only the
assemblage but the preservation, cataloguing and keeping of the materials, print, visual or digital format in a
manner that survives the vagaries of time.
The Archives website launched last year reaches out to the larger community of scholars across the world. The
reference aids for the collections are prepared very meticulously by a select team of professionals. Our team is
small but high on expertise and motivation. We have a long way to go but have made a sound start.
(Prof. Mahesh Rangarajan is the Head of the Department of Environmental Studies; Professor of History and
Environmental Studies and Chair, Archives of Contemporary India, Ashoka University)
C O V E R S T O R Y
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BUILDING AN ARCHIVES OF
PERSONAL PAPERS: AN INCREDIBLE
SIX-YEAR JOURNEY
Keeping in view the evolving dynamics of acquisition and preservation of
archival resources we aspire to build a research facility of international
standards with the best archival practices in place, writes Deepa Bhatnagar
Archives are a treasure trove of memories and knowledge and are an essential medium for understanding the
historical trajectory of a nation. The Archives of Contemporary India was started with the aim of building and
managing a rich and diverse collection of archival resources to promote and support the use of primary source
material for research on the modern and contemporary history of India. The objective was to create a
repository of public affairs that can inform, enlighten and educate us about our nation’s rich cultural, social and
political heritage and to facilitate researchers from far and wide to make use of the sources in our Archives.
The decision to establish an archive of private papers at Ashoka University through the donation of papers by
eminent individuals who have contributed singularly to the emergence of India as a nation and of institutions
that have played a key role in the development of literature, arts, sciences, civil society, business and other
spheres of public life was considered a bold initiative, impassable too by some. With over three decades of
archival experience in a research institution, I was clearly aware of the arduous task ahead. But our six-year
journey that began in January 2017 turned out to be a most exhilarating one.
It is never easy to convince people to part with their life’s memorable treasures - notes, diaries, letters,
manuscripts, photos, etc. One has to work towards building a rapport with the donors to earn their faith and
goodwill. To begin with, a list of prospective donors was drawn up with the help of Prof. Mahesh Rangarajan,
the Chair of the Archives. Taking advantage of his wide range of personal and professional contacts, we wrote
to a select set of eminent people for their papers with the dual offer of preserving their heritage for posterity
using the best archival practices as well as making their life’s work available for research and study. We were
pleasantly surprised when we started getting enthusiastic responses to our request letters.
We were fortunate to have Dr Manmohan Singh as our first donor. A valuable collection (digital) of his private
papers comprising speeches and writings, interviews, photos and videos covering the period 1957-2014 was
given to the Archives. Then came the response from Kuldip Nayar. After we convincingly explained to him the
Archives project, he readily agreed but wanted some assurances. We then realized the need for a written
agreement with the donor. Armed with a letter of agreement we assured him that the Archives was only the
custodian and that he (or his legal heirs) would continue to be the owner of his papers.
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Early on, we made persistent efforts to build our trust and goodwill with prospective donors. This entailed
country-wide travel. In a fairly short span of time, we achieved extraordinary success in the collection of the
papers of some notable personalities - Chandi Prasad Bhatt (environmentalist & Chipko movement leader,
Chamoli), Gopalkrishna Gandhi (diplomat and academic, Chennai), Divyabhanusinh Chavda (wildlife
conservationist & lion expert, Jaipur), Girish Karnad (film director/actor, playwright, Bengaluru), Kiran Nagarkar
(English/Marathi writer & novelist, Mumbai) Nalni D. Jayal (environmentalist, Dehradun), Justice A.S. Anand
(jurist, Delhi) and M.K. Ranjitsinh (wildlife conservationist, Delhi).
Then in 2018, came the opportunity to archive the very valuable collection of Dr S. Radhakrishnan, the
philosopher-statesman and the second President of India. The archives team made many trips to Chennai, five
to be precise, and sifted through the precious archival material at ‘Girija’, the house built by him in 1935. The
team achieved the prodigious feat of preparing a preliminary list of the huge collection on the spot comprising
writings, speeches, correspondence and photos of his exceptional academic and public life spanning over six
decades. This is one of our most prized collections and includes a rare collection of books and journals too.
The pandemic was a setback, it stalled our work as in other domains. Yet, we added 12 more collections during
the pandemic as people found ample time to sort the papers in their homes. Having started with one small
room in 2017, the fast-growing archives occupied three big rooms on the campus by the end of 2021. Last year
in April, we moved to the new premises in AC04 where we have now a state-of-the-art Archives Repository for
storing papers and all facilities for archivists to work as well as a Reading Room for scholars to consult the
papers.
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