Batch 2 (2025-26)
Research Assistant at Gavishti Foundation
Mr. Adwait Bhushan Athawale
Research Title:
Encounters with Modernity: Intellectual Responses of Tilak, Ranade, and Agarkar in Late 19th-Century Maharashtra
Adwait Athawale is an author and independent researcher whose work bridges the sciences and the humanities with uncommon depth. He holds an MSc in Physics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Data Science from IIIT Bengaluru, grounding his inquiries in both analytical rigor and interpretive insight. His research engages with intellectual history, cultural philosophy, and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), with a particular interest in the ways ideas shape societies across time.
Co-Founder, BODHA, Director, Strategy and Operations, Brhat Culture Creatives
Mr. Amritanshu Pandey
Research Title:
The Emergence of Dharma in India's Civilizational History - Memory, Metaphor, and Materiality
Amritanshu brings together thirteen years of professional expertise in product development with a lifelong engagement with the study of ancient Indian history. His writings traverse history, civilizational thought, technology, and fiction, reflecting both analytical depth and creative imagination. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to diverse industries, including decorative coatings, hyperlocal services, and e-commerce.
MA (History), University of Delhi
Ms. Aruni Chauhan
Research Title:
The Andaman Archives: A Brief History of Select Revolutionaries, Their Thought, and the Legacy of Colonial Incarceration
Aruni Chauhan holds a Master’s degree from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi. She has previously served as Guest Faculty at Shri Ram College, Saragaon. Her research engages with questions of marginality, identity politics, and memory studies, with a particular emphasis on the socio-political dynamics of colonial South Asia.
Writer & Researcher
Mr. Ganesh Puthur
Research Title:
Bloodbath for Khalifa: The Moplah Rebellion of 1921
Ganesh Puthur is a bilingual writer who works in both English and Malayalam. A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, he has also been honoured with a Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India in recognition of his contributions towards literary and cultural excellence.
Professor of International Relations, O. P. Jindal Global University and Director, Jindal India Institute
Dr. Hindol Sengupta
Research Title:
Goddess: A Global History
Prof. (Dr.) Hindol Sengupta is a multiple award-winning historian, author of twelve acclaimed books, and a leading public intellectual whose work spans history, politics, economics, culture, and spirituality. He serves as Professor of International Relations and Director of the Jindal India Institute at O. P. Jindal Global University. His scholarship is animated by a core concern: understanding India’s civilizational rise and the political, social, and cultural forces that shape it.
Chief Economist, Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Assam
Dr. Rouhin Deb
Research Title:
Trading Frontiers: Northeast India and the History of Border Economies
Dr. Rouhin Deb is currently the Chief Economist in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Government of Assam, where he shapes regional economic strategies and policymaking. As a Visiting Professor at the Development Management Institute, Patna, he contributes to nurturing the next generation of development leaders. He is also the author of From Frontiers to Heartland, published by Rupa, which explores themes of regional development and integration.
Archaeologist & Epigraphist
Mr. Rudra Vikrama Srivastava
Research Title:
From Hero to Deity: History and Antiquity of Rāma Worship
Rudra Vikrama Srivastava is an archaeologist and epigraphist whose work focuses on the cultural and political history of ancient and early medieval North-Central India. He earned his Master’s degree in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology from Banaras Hindu University and has since pursued extensive independent research, particularly in the Vindhyan region. His fieldwork has led him to explore numerous archaeological sites, with a strong emphasis on inscriptions as vital sources for reconstructing India’s past.
Economist and Sanskritist
Mr. Kushagra Aniket
Kushagra Aniket is an economist and management consultant based in New York, specializing in technology strategy, and a scholar of languages with a deep interest in Sanskrit. A Tata Scholar, he graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University with degrees in economics, mathematics, and statistics, and later earned his MBA in finance with Dean’s Honours as a Columbia Fellow from Columbia University.
His recent book, Krishna Niti: Timeless Strategic Wisdom (co-authored with Nityananda Misra), explores the enduring strategic insights of Krishna in the Mahabharata. He is also credited with deciphering and reconstructing the 11th-century Rama Inscription from Prayagraj, alongside other inscriptions from India’s ancient and early medieval past.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Studies, South Asian University, New Delhi
Dr. Sanchi Rai
Research Title:
Reflections from the Past: Exploring the Origins of Indian Foreign Policy in the Foundational Years after Independence, 1946-1949
Dr. Sanchi Rai is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of International Studies, South Asian University, New Delhi. She holds a Ph.D. in International Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, specialising in the early origins of Indian foreign policy, with extensive archival research experience in both the United Kingdom and India. She has been awarded research grants from the Charles Wallace India Trust and the Indian Council of Social Science Research.
Writer, Journalist, Editor and Translator
Ms. Srishti Jha
Research Title:
India’s Nightingale’s Forgotten Daughter : Padmaja Naidu – The Other Side
Srishti Jha is a writer, journalist, and editor with experience across leading media platforms, including Hindustan Times and India Today. Her debut work as a translator, The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup—originally written in Hindi by senior journalist Vikas Kumar Jha—was published by Penguin India in 2022.
Senior fellow, Sanskrit Studies, Foundation for Study of Indian Culture (FSIC), Bengaluru
Dr. Tilaka M Rao
Research Title:
Colonial Encounters with Sanskrit: Challenges and the Reconfiguration of Tradition
Dr. Tilak M. Rao is Senior Fellow in Sanskrit Studies at the Foundation for the Study of Indian Culture (FSIC), Bengaluru. He holds a Ph.D. in Sanskrit Vyākaraṇa and has over a decade of experience in teaching and research. Initiated into Sanskrit at the age of ten, he underwent twelve years of rigorous training in gurukulams, mastering ten principal Upaniṣads and the complete chanting of the Kṛṣṇa-Yajurveda (Taittirīya recension). His scholarship spans Kāvya, Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī, Vedānta, Nyāya, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga.