Knowledge has always been primal to Indian civilization. In Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā (4.33,37-38), Lord Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that knowledge is the great purifier and liberator of the Self. Since the publication of the National Education Policy (NEP), there has been a growing conversation around incorporating IKS (Indian Knowledge System) into the curriculum across grades and disciplines. Although IKS has become one of the most-used terms in education policy circles, with individuals and institutions freely utilizing it, there is still misunderstanding and contention surrounding its definition and implementation. Since the release of Kapil Kapoor ji’s landmark work on the Indian Knowledge System, there have been various attempts, though haphazard, to integrate IKS into the educational curriculum. Before considering the subject of implementation, there must be clarity regarding how an organization like Bṛhat perceives IKS and how it is then deployed for its rapid implementation across curricula and disciplines. 0 At Bṛhat, we conceptualize IKS as a universal episteme, which is rooted in and derived from our millennia-long civilizational knowledge and values. For us, it is as much about turning the gaze as providing an alternative to western ontologies and epistemologies. We believe that IKS must be presented and delivered systematically as a science, as opposed to in a piecemeal fashion as in the past. We are cognizant of the fallibility of argumentation when many among us assert that inventions such as cloning originated in the Vedas.

We believe this is not the appropriate method for establishing the legitimacy of IKS as an alternative episteme. However, we are also aware of the fundamental differences between Western episteme and Indian civilizational knowledge. परमाणु is not atom, history is not इतिहास. Similarly, many works have tried to incorporate concepts like कर्म as action, प्रत्यक्ष as perception, or साक्षी as witness. Such imprecise translations do not do justice to the profound significance of these concepts within the Indian Knowledge System.

To establish IKS as a universal episteme, we have to use models of thoughts that are derived from our śāstras. Both वस्तु (content) and वास्तु (form) need to emerge from there.