IIC invites applications from suitable researchers and other professionals

IIC invites applications from suitable researchers and other professionals
Start Date
18 August 2025, 12:00 pm

VACANCY

 

SAMHiTA: South Asian Manuscript Histories and Textual Archive

(Phase 2)

International Research Division

India International Centre, New Delhi 

 

With the support of Bharat Ki Soch – Foundation of ITC, India International Centre is starting a new project this year to expand and deepen the study of India’s texts, and to see how their insights might be integrated into contemporary policy and practice, in fields ranging from 

healing to ethics and statecraft.

 

IIC invites applications from suitable researchers and other professionals 

interested in South Asia’s textual traditions and their histories for the 

following two positions

 

1.  Senior Research Fellow

2.  Junior Research Fellow

 

    The scope of the research work, qualifications of the researchers required and the remunerations to be paid to them are given in the two attachments. 

 

    Applicants may apply online at irdiic@iicdelhi.in.  The last date for submitting the application is 31 August 2025.  The shortlisted applicants shall be invited for interaction in the first fortnight of the next month, i.e. September 2025.
 

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  1. Senior Research Fellow

 

Location: New Delhi, India

Tasks: Research, Content Creation and Outreach 

To explore ideas and topics through consulting manuscripts and texts on Indian knowledge traditions to highlight select themes that reveal how the insights from early times might be relevant to contemporary policy and practice 

 

The Fellow is expected to: 

  • Identify texts representative of the diversity of South Asian knowledge traditions

and create literature surveys, descriptions and excerpts, for creating anthologies on select themes

  • Consult manuscript metadata, digitized texts and write short descriptions

  • Synthesise existing studies on these in the form of a literature review

  • Select passages for anthologization and transcription

  • Translate passages into Hindi and English

  • Convene educational activities like masterclasses and workshops with experts on the areas selected

  • Assist in the organization of outreach activities like exhibitions, conferences, lectures

Output 

  • Literature Survey

  • Descriptions of texts and themes for creating anthologies 

  • Translations and notes on select manuscripts

  • Masterclasses and workshops, exhibitions

Timeline: Full-time, on all official working days 

Qualifications and Skills

  • Essential

    • PhD Degree in South Asian languages (Sanskrit, Prakrit, Farsi, Tamil… with excellent knowledge of English language)/History/Archaeology/Religion/Art History

    • Editorial abilities

    • Ability to work independently and as part of a team

    • Three to five years’ work experience

  • Desirable

    • Experience working on critical edition and collation

Remuneration: INR 85,800 per month
 

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  1. Junior Research Fellow

 

LocationNew Delhi, India

The Fellow is expected to have the capacity for: 

  • Research

  • Content Creation and Outreach 

  • Be part of a team selecting images and drafting captions for exhibitions

  • Interview experts for SAMHiTA’s newsletter

  • Design social media posts 

  • Foster online communities

Qualifications and Skills:

  • Essential

    • Research experience coupled with Masters’ degree(s) in South Asian languages (Sanskrit, Prakrit, Farsi, Tamil…with excellent knowledge of English language)/History/Archaeology/Religion/Art History/ Library Science/Museology

    • Ability to work independently and as part of a team

    • One or two years’ work experience

  • Desirable

    • Experience working on critical edition and collation

    • Video editing software, Canva

 

Remuneration: INR 51,700 per month

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

23 August 2025, 06:00 pm
BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room II, IIC main building

Khari Nadi
By Richa Nagar, Mumtaz Begum, and Shashikala Rai


Khari Nadi can be seen as the story of Mumtaz Begum, or as the many stories inspired by her courage — personal accounts, lived experiences — that confront us with the harsh truths of life while also pointing towards paths forward. It is, therefore, more than just a story or memoir; it becomes Khari Nadi.

Discussant: Richa Nagar, Shashikala Rai, authors of the book with critic Apoorvanand

Nagaland and the Art of Indigenous Presence in Postcolonial South Asia

28 August 2025, 06:30 pm
Nagaland and the Art of Indigenous Presence in Postcolonial South Asia
Programme Type
Talks
Venue
Annexe Lecture Room II, IIC Annexe

Speaker: Dr. Akshaya Tankha, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Washington, Seattle

Discussant: Dr. Annapurna Garimella, Art Historian and Designer

In 2005, chastened by the Baptist elders of a village in the predominantly Christian state of Nagaland in northeast India for making a “pagan statue” that could awaken the Tribal lake-spirit it visualized, Lepden Jamir defended his wood-carved sculpture by exclaiming, “I am a Naga and an artist.” Jamir’s embrace of and the villagers’ anxiety over the efficacy of the visualized icon go to the heart of what Tankha seeks to highlight in this talk: often dismissed as matters of 'belief', ideas like the sentience of matter are critical resources that artists mobilize to make situated claims about art, history, and place, and respond to the state’s hegemonic politics of inclusion.

(Collaboration: The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts)

Hamaara Itihaas Archives of Freedom Fighters

09 August 2025, 11:00 am
Hamaara Itihaas Archives of Freedom Fighters
Programme Type
Films and Exhibitions
Venue
Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, IIC
End Date
23 August 2025, 07:00 pm

An international archive highlighting oral testimonies of India's freedom fighters from across the world; Hamaara Itihaas features photographs, documents, audio clips and the film, 'Asli Azaadi'. The work, ongoing since 1995, places a special focus on women freedom fighters.

Curated by writer and filmmaker Sagari Chhabra, Founder-Director of the archive, who will conduct daily walkthroughs at 17:30.

 

 

Carnatic Vocal Recital

30 August 2025, 06:30 pm
Carnatic Vocal Recital
Programme Type
Cultural
Venue
C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, IIC main building

By Girijashankar Sundaresan from Chennai, disciple of Chitravina Shri. N Narasimhan, Chitravina Shri. N Ravikiran & Sri. RK Shriramkumar.

Accompanists: Delhi Sridhar (Violin) and Manohar Balatchandirane (Mridangam)

 

MUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION

29 August 2025, 06:30 pm
MUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION
Programme Type
Talks
Venue
Annexe Lecture Room II, IIC Annexe

Gandhi and Music

An illustrated lecture by Dipankar De Sarkar

The talk explores Gandhi’s world of music – the songs and hymns that inspired him through the darkest hours of India’s freedom struggle.

Dipankar De Sarkar is a journalist and amateur musician who writes on politics, music and the politics of music.

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

29 August 2025, 06:00 pm
BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room II, IIC main building

Narrative Universes of Disability: Global Perspectives.

Edited by Someshwar Sati, Shilpa Das, Banibrata Mahanta (Springer, 2025)

Discussants: Renu Adlakha, Centre for Women's Development Studies; Karuna Rajiv, Associate Professor, Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi; Shubhangi Vaidya, School of Interdisciplinary and Trans-Disciplinary Studies, IGNOU

Chair: Professor B. Mangalam, Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi