Decolonising Indian Knowledge Systems: Towards a Plural and Inclusive Framework

By : Pranab Jyoti Sarma

Page No: 53-70

Abstract
This paper critically interrogates the dominant frameworks of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) that privilege Sanskritic textual traditions as the sole repository of ancient Indian wisdom. It argues that such a narrow interpretation marginalises the rich diversity of non-Sanskritic, oral, ecological, and performative knowledge traditions embedded across India’s multicultural and multilingual landscape. The paper draws upon theoretical perspectives from decoloniality, subaltern studies, and indigenous epistemologies to reframe IKS beyond the textual canon and caste-dominated knowledge hierarchies. It questions the assumptions of a singular religious or philosophical worldview in premodern India, highlighting the plurality of thought — ranging from Bhakti to Buddhist, Jain, Tantric, and tribal systems  that coexisted with and often contested the Sanskritic mainstream. Furthermore, the study critiques the tendency to universalise Sanskrit as the only gateway to Indian knowledge, and instead calls for a bottom-up, inclusive approach to knowledge recognition. It proposes a roadmap that incorporates regionally rooted, communitydriven knowledge systems as integral to the fabric of IKS. By embracing cultural and linguistic pluralism and by foregrounding historically marginalised epistemes, this paper contributes to the growing discourse on the decolonisation of knowledge. The aim is to reimagine IKS not as a static or revivalist heritage, but as a living, plural, and evolving field of wisdom reflective of India’s complex civilisational experience.

Author
Pranab Jyoti Sarma : Assistant Professor, IKS Cell, The Assam Royal Global University, Guwahati.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/SEAR.2025.50.3