Seminar on Indian knowledge systems organised at IIIT-Una

The Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Una, on Tuesday organised a seminar under the Indian knowledge systems (IKS) initiative titled ‘Ancient Wisdom for an Awakened World’. The seminar was conducted under the aegis of the school of basic sciences.

RC Verma, a renowned physicist and former Professor and head of the Physics Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh, delivered a series of lectures titled ‘Matter, Space, Time and Cosmology in Ancient Bharatiya Darshan’, ‘Yoga and Holistic Health: From Quantum and IKS Perspective’ and ‘Legacy of Indigenous Science: Why and What Can We Learn’.

Verma said we needed to study the past to define our future, emphasising the importance of re-engaging with India’s intellectual traditions. He reflected on the contemporary global crisis emerging from a purely materialistic orientation of science and suggested that IKS offered a more holistic framework rooted in spiritual inquiry and ethical consciousness. He also spoke about the need for intellectual self-confidence, observing that India must view itself through its own civilisational lens and move toward intellectual independence.

IIIT-Una Director Manish Gaur, highlighted the urgent need to develop indigenous technologies by tapping into the vast reservoir of knowledge embedded in India’s historical and philosophical traditions. He said in an era of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, the world required not just programmers, but designers, and logicians who could think conceptually and creatively. He also delivered a technical talk titled ‘From Sutras to Syntax: Panini’s Blueprint for a Universal Language of Logic’, drawing parallels between Paninian grammar and modern Natural Language Processing frameworks. The seminar was coordinated by IIIT faculty members in which faculty members, researchers, and students participated.