Organizer: IQAC, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Collaborating Partner: National Mission on Manuscripts (NMM), New Delhi
About the Conference
- When: : 24-26 March 2025
- Call for Papers
- There is no registration fee for the conference
- Venue: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi
- The selected papers will be published by the conference committee
- NOTE: All registered participants will receive a certificate upon successfully attending the entire conference
- Lodging and meals will be provided by the Institute for registered participants only
The conference aims to provide an in-depth examination of the process and challenges of digital humanities in the special context of Rahul Sankrityayan’s contributions to Buddhist scholarship, and his role in the preservation and dissemination of Buddhist knowledge.
Concept Note
Rahul Sankrityayan was a great visionary whose mammoth output spans over multiple areas and disciplines like literature, philosophy, history, linguistics and Buddhism. His continuous travel not only enabled him to understand the different religious, cultural, social, and political milieu in various geographies but also provided a transnational and multilingual perspective to his work. A polyglot, his command of Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, and Hindi, left an indelible mark on Buddhist scholars. His analysis of Buddhist philosophy is heightened by an acute pragmatic perspective, enabling him to offer a nuanced version of it. As he journeys across various regions, including Sri Lanka, Tibet, and other parts of Asia, his encounters enrich his understanding of life in various genres, such as travelogues, history, philosophy, literature, linguistics, cultural and heritage studies, and Manuscriptology. His eclectic travels to different Buddhist nations enabled him to recover and preserve the invaluable Buddhist manuscripts. In the era of electronic literature and digital humanities, Rahul Sankrityayan’s legacy assumes new interpretations and validity.
New technological advancements facilitate the restoration, translation, preservation, and dissemination of age-old manuscripts. With the emergence of new technologies bolstered by AI-powered analytical tools, the digitalisation of manuscripts, conservation, and linguistic analysis faces new challenges. The conference aims to interrogate some of these issues with special emphasis on exploring new pathways for restoring Buddhist manuscripts, advocating the objectives of the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a pathbreaking initiative to revitalise ancient IKS systems and knowledge archives. With state-of-the-art technology, CIHTS has been at the forefront of the digitalisation of Buddhist manuscripts. The Institute has also collaborated with the Bihar Museum, Patna, in an effort to restore the manuscript brought by Rahul Sankrityayan. The efforts of CIHTS have infused new avenues and possibilities in the area of Digital Humanities by facilitating new research methodologies to revive the legacy of Rahul Sankrityayan
This three-day national conference aims to situate and acknowledge the legacy of the forgotten hero Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, whose extensive travels, deep scholarship, and cross-cultural understanding have deeply impacted our understanding of the global discourse on Buddhism today. By bringing together manuscript experts, translators, and expert scholars, this unique conference aims to analyse his role in reviving Buddhist traditions by virtue of many important manuscripts. With the help of these manuscripts, he offers a novel perspective on the doctrines of Buddhist philosophy. Many of these manuscripts, brought back by him from Tibet, are to be translated and restored back from Tibetan to multiple languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, and English. CIHTS has already performed seminal work in this field. The restoration and translation of these manuscripts would certainly situate him as the pioneer of the Gyan Bharatam Mission. This conference will delve deeply into the various aspects of the manuscripts, digital humanities, translation, restoration, and hermeneutics of his contribution, facilitating a fruitful dialogue between various branches of Buddhism.
Conference Themes
The conference will include sessions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Digitalization of Manuscripts—Methods, Challenges, and Workflow for Gyan Bharatam Mission
- Translation, Preservation and Restoration of Manuscripts
- Digital Humanities in India
- Rahul Sankrityayan as a Buddhist Scholar
- Exploring Different Genres of Rahul Sankrityayan’s Canon
- Rahul Sankrityayan and the Gyan Bharatam Mission/Parampara
- Rahul Sankrityayan’s Travels and Manuscript Recovery
- Buddhist Ethics and Rahul Sankrityayan’s Writings on Morality and Rationality
- Rahul Sankrityayan as a Traveler and Ethnographer
- Linguistic and Philological Contributions of Rahul Sankrityayan
- Translation as a Tool for Cross-Cultural Understanding
- Rahul Sankrityayan’s Contribution to Buddhist Education and Pedagogy
- Buddhist Discourse and Cultural Revitalization
- Global Buddhist Studies and Rahul Sankrityayan’s Cross-Cultural Contributions
- Rahul Sankrityayan: A Polymath’s Legacy
Abstracts can be submitted in either Hindi or English. Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, accompanied by 5-6 keywords. Abstracts should be sent to maheshsharma@cihts.ac.in on or before March 20. The abstract should contain the title, name of the author(s), affiliation, e-mail address, and keywords.
Important Dates
- Last date for abstract submission: 20 March 2025
- Selection of abstracts: 22 March 2025
- Last date of Registration: 23 March 2025
Send your queries and correspondence to the convener at the email: maheshsharma@cihts.ac.in
Contact: 8107174341
Organizing Committee
Chief Patron: Professor W.D. Negi, Vice-Chancellor, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath
Patron: Dr. Sunita Chandra, Registrar, CIHTS
Coordinator
Prof. Anirban Das, Director, National Mission on Manuscripts (NMM), New Delhi
Advisory Committee
Prof. Pema Tenzin
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Negi
Dr. Lobsang Dorjee
Mr. Thinlay Ram Shashni
Organizing Secretary
Dr. Animesh Prakash
Dr. Jasmeet Gill
Organizing Committee
Dr. Susheel Kumar Singh
Dr. Dawa Sherpa
Dr. Saurabh Dubey
Dr. Tenzin Nyima
Dr. Nyima Tsering
Coordinator and Convenor
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, IQAC, Coordinator, CIHTS, maheshsharma@cihts.ac.in, 8107174341