Home

About

PanchaShila Foundation Trust

is a registered charitable Trust under CS No. 83/2014 Doc No 81, Hyderabad. The main objective of the Trust is to popularize the principles of Panchshila as enshrined in Buddhist and Indian traditions. Under section C, it has proposed the Institute to be established and operated as per its own objectives and regulated by the Executive Board duly authorized by the chairman of the Trust. The Trust is collaborating with Academy of Social Sciences in bringing out South India Journal of Social Sciences and other publications

Chairman

Prof. K. S. Chalam is the chairman of the Trust and is Ex-officio Chairman of the Institute. Prof Chalam is a well-known Scholar, Social Scientist and Public Servant in the country. He served as Professor of Economics and founder Director of Academic Staff College, Andhra University. He served as the Vice-chancellor of Dravidian University for a short period and resigned and joined as Hon Member, Union Public Service Commission, a Constitutional authority in 2005. He demitted office in 2011 and was requested to act as Special Rapporteur for South India, National Human Rights Commission. He has resigned the NHRC and took up the work of building the IESJ. Read More..

Governing Body

There shall be a governing council consisting of a Chairman and two members nominated by Panchashila Foundation, three members to be nominated by the sponsoring departments and the Executive Director acts as the Member-Secretary. The Managing Trustee / President of the PanchaShila Foundation is the Ex-officio Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute. The Council is vested with powers to coopt Members from the Funding / Government agencies to be on the Board.

The Institute

There are several scholarly studies and theoretical expositions about the social inequality and discrimination in India. Most of the western scholars in the name of Orientalism, Indology, Anthropology etc have tried to understand the system and recorded their findings. Public policy based on their studies seems to have not improved in the conditions of the disadvantaged people despite of Constitutional protection. There seems to be some lacunae in the methodology and approach to the problem with a comprehensive theoretical background. Some of the studies and scholars have looked at the issues partially due to dearth of relevant and appropriate theories. It is due to the enormity and complexity of the problem that needs an interdisciplinary approach. As the traditional Universities and Institutes are developed on the existing academic traditions and disciplinary boundaries, the
problem seems to be not adequately addressed. This brings out the need for a different academic vision and Institutional structure to work on issues and projects to build sufficient material to motivate scholars and policy makers to dwell upon the innovative and original thoughts on the indigenous problems of India.
An interdisciplinary research Institute is planned to study the socially and economically secluded people in general and Dalits, artisans and Adivasis in particular, who are cut off from cultural, political and social life of the country and to recognize their intellectual, literary, artistic, cultural, athletic and such other talents and abilities in order to make them a part of the mainstream society. The institute is proposed to conduct research studies on the issues of the socially, economically, historically and culturally deprived groups in particular and people in general of the country who are craving for justice and social inclusion.
One of the important purposes of establishing the Institute is to create an ambiance of interdisciplinary interaction and intellectual convergence to inspire scholars to pursue theoretical and empirical work. The functional units of the organization is to have

A Research wing
An Advocacy and training wing
An Action research wing

All the three will work under the direction of an Executive Director and Secretary appointed by an advisory committee of Panchshila Foundation Trust.

Research centre

The major work of the institute will be carried by the research wing of the institute. It will be interdisciplinary in nature drawing from History, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Political science, Philosophy and related disciplines in the beginning and slowly will draw on from the natural and human sciences. The agenda of the centre will be drawn by the Academic advisory board of the institute.

Training centre

The training centre will train young scholars on the mandate of the institute and the interdisciplinary methodology of the study of native Indians. The centre will develop knowledge base of the institute through its training modules.

Knowledge centre and Museum

Knowledge base of the native Indians has been appropriated by the aliens and the mainstream exploiters. It is the duty of the centre to extract the knowledge systems from the existing institutions of the native Indians as their institutions and systems of knowledge are not given recognition by the mainstream institutions. For instance, the traditional medicine practices of tribals and low caste vaidyas are to be recorded, refined and published. The work already carried by some institutes will be used to popularize the mandate through the institute’s structure of exhibitions, seminars, street plays, publications and other popular means of people’s media.

INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE