Prof. M.S. Chaitra

Director & Senior Fellow, Foundation for study of Indian Culture (FSIC), Bengaluru.

Prof. M.S. Chaitra is a distinguished scholar, director, and senior fellow at the Foundation for the Study of Indian Culture (FSIC), a division of the Samhati Foundation, Bengaluru. He is also Associate Professor, The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), Bengaluru. His academic trajectory is marked by a unique transdisciplinary approach, bridging the rigor of science with the insights of Indian intellectual traditions. Chaitra's early career involved significant research contributions at esteemed institutions, including the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc). This scientific foundation has been instrumental in his current research, which focuses on the "Comparative Science of Cultures," a framework he employs to re-conceptualize Indian intellectual traditions. His scholarly work critically examines the enduring impact of colonialism on contemporary Indian life, drawing upon textual analysis and archival sources to reconstruct the multifaceted nature of Indian culture across diverse domains. His work also involved more profound engagement with Sanskrit and other Indian intellectual traditions as well as engagement with contemporary local traditions (loka parampara). He is also the founder and director of Aarohi Research Foundation, dedicated to the rigorous study of Indian traditions, and a founding director of the IKS and Heritage Association (IKSHA), an organization committed to the promotion and advancement of Indian Knowledge Systems. He also served as an executive member of Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati, an organization dedicated to translations, under the Government of Karnataka, and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Government of India. He has contributed to the editorial boards of various academic journals and has played a pivotal role in editing texts of significant importance to Indian knowledge systems. Furthermore, he is actively engaged in building a global network of scholars who are engaged in doctoral and post-doctoral research dedicated to the study of India and her rich traditions. His work fosters multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue and contributes to the revitalization of Indian intellectual traditions in the contemporary academic landscape.