Indian Knowledge Systems Are Inherently Plural

Abstract

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), established to preserve and promote interdisciplinary research on traditional knowledge, have been increasingly discussed in relation to diversity, nationalism, and the integration of traditional knowledge with modern science. A recent article in this journal argues that IKS exhibits a Vedic Hindu-centric bias, marginalizing various knowledge traditions and fostering pseudoscience. This article discusses IKS from historical, demographic, institutional, and research perspectives, focusing on its origins, civilizational diversity, early studies of traditional knowledge, and funded projects. We observed that traditional knowledge research in India predated IKS, with support from multiple agencies. However, IKS, under a single institutional structure, provides a more structured ecosystem aimed at greater visibility, coordinated funding, innovation, and scientific validation. Such scholarship demonstrates the inherent plurality of the Indian civilization, which established a continuum of orthodox and heterodox philosophical schools, Buddhist and Jain systems, Islamic scholarship, indigenous communities, and regional practices. In our analysis of 102 IKS-funded projects, nearly 50 percent of the projects were aimed at scientific validation across health-related sciences (19.61%), agriculture and sustainability (14.71%), and materials science, metallurgy, and heritage engineering (13.73%). These priorities are aligned with contemporary national and global research agendas, including One Health, preventive healthcare, climate resilience, and digital technologies.