New Delhi, August 30, 2025: INDICA (an institute for Indian Knowledge Systems) and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) jointly hosted a special evening in New Delhi to celebrate and felicitate historian, author, and scholar Padma Shri Dr. Meenakshi Jain on her nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

The program carried a distinctive aesthetic shaped by Dr. Jain’s scholarship and persona. It was not a conventional felicitation; it was a space where authenticity prevailed, where nobody felt the need to say more than they genuinely felt. In place of a formal vote of thanks, gratitude was offered at the very outset in keeping with the Indian way, affirming that the event was as much personal as it was civilisational.

Speakers included Shri Hari Kiran Vadlamani (Founder – INDICA), Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi (Member Secretary – IGNCA), Padmashri Dr. Bharat Gupt (Trustee – IGNCA), Bhāratīya Vidyā Vibhūtiḥ Dr. Nagaraj Paturi (Kulapati – INDICA), Shri Gautam Chikermane (Vice President – Observer Research Foundation), Prof. Anand Ranganathan (scientist, author, and public intellectual), Shri Sanjeev Sanyal (economist, popular historian, and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council), and National Award-winning filmmaker Shri Vivek Agnihotri, among others. Virtual tributes were shared by Padma Shri Prof. Subhash Kak and Prof. Makarand Paranjape.

There was wide praise for the Government of India’s step in nominating a pure academic voice to the Rajya Sabha, with many noting that such recognition strengthens both scholarship and the institution of the Upper House. Prof. Anand Ranganathan remarked that Dr. Jain’s nomination adds to the stature of the Rajya Sabha, rather than the other way around. Shri Gautam Chikermane recited a moving poem in which he described her as Abhimanyu, who ultimately won. Dr. Bharat Gupt praised her scholarship for clarifying medieval history, while Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi spoke of her unwavering honesty. Shri Sanjeev Sanyal lauded her humility and rigour, noting how her work has long inspired him. Shri Vivek Agnihotri thanked Dr. Jain for her contribution to his documentary Kashmir Unreported and highlighted her refusal to seek publicity for herself, choosing instead to let her work speak. Other speakers recalled the generosity with which she has supported their own research journeys.

Dr. Jain, in her address, reflected on her solitary years of scholarship and struggle, and expressed gratitude for the encouragement and support she received at a critical juncture from INDICA, led by Shri Hari Kiran Vadlamani. She acknowledged the institution’s role in enabling her as an author and scholar. 

The felicitation concluded with the presentation of a shawl, plaque, memento, and the first copy of her forthcoming book Raja Bhoja Paramara: Remembering the Scholar King.

On behalf of INDICA and IGNCA, the host extended gratitude to all dignitaries, colleagues, and audience members whose presence made the celebration an affirmation of scholarship, integrity, and civilisational remembrance.