Rediscovering India via Self-Discovery

Taking revolutionary steps towards democratizing knowledge on India’s cultural legacy and making it freely accessible to all, the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) announces the launch of the Beta search and filter version of its new Search Engine and knowledge-base www.tuliresearchcentre.org, that will be launched in its full grandeur on the 30th of April 2025.

Transforming the global landscape of research for various forms of study by creating a vibrant and welcoming space where knowledge comes alive, this innovative platform is poised to become the world’s finest knowledge-sharing hub dedicated to understanding modern and contemporary India.

The platform blends a vast archive of immersive imagery with the highest quality of research to create a unique learning experience that empowers everyone — students, scholars, educators, and curious minds alike — to explore and appreciate the depth and diversity of India’s cultural heritage and its contemporary framework using the basic unit of ‘image-text-audio’ instead of the text driven focus of most educational frameworks.

This pioneering initiative is the brainchild of Mr. Neville Tuli, a visionary leader whose three decades of expertise in cultural institution-building, archival documentation, preservation, collecting, and research have culminated in this first-of-its-kind institution. Under his guidance, TRIS aims to establish a global benchmark for India Studies by fusing vast archival research and collections, academic rigor, an experiential live energy, aesthetic design with technological innovation.

Talking about the Search Engine Mr. Neville Tuli, Founder, The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies says “Since childhood I have wished and worked towards creating a space where anyone — students, scholars, educators, and lay curious minds alike — can explore India’s vast cultural tapestry without barriers. Every corner of our diverse country has thousands of important objects, each opening out a world of history, knowledge, stories, and a deeply interconnected context as if built upon the logic of a chess board. The platform is a unique intellectual, emotional and spiritual vision for grasping the aesthetic and intellectual rigor, energy, rhythm, and soul of India by bringing the trinity of the ‘image-text-audio’ as the unified basic unit of knowledge, which in turn changes the nature of engagement of the student, by re-examining the links between ‘learning-teaching-and-self-discovery’ with a focus on Art & Aesthetics, Film, Cultural, and India Studies. A world-class Search & Filter Engine will allow radical growth and transformation of the areas of foci in the months to come.”

The website seeks to bridge the divide between traditional academic research and today’s digital learning preferences, and set new global standards for the dissemination of knowledge. The platform privileges the visual and video to better balance the overwhelming power of the text in building knowledge, so creating a different energy in the nature of the learning engagement.

The ‘image-text-audio’ trinity is then complemented with the ‘live’ content to create the fuller experience which can help bridge the vast gap between the lay curious mind and the scholar, so that they source from the same pool of knowledge while satisfying each individual need without compromising the intellectual power of the content

At the heart of www.tuliresearchcentre.org is a vast repository of knowledge organized around sixteen Research Categories, each representing a vital aspect of India’s multifaceted and inter-connected identity.

The launch of www.tuliresearchcentre.org marks a new chapter in the dissemination of knowledge about India, promoting a culture of open learning and exploration with India taking the lead for sharing knowledge on its own journey within the global educational space.

Alongside the website, the Research Centre is committed to producing thought leadership materials including white papers, scholarly publications, and collaborative research initiatives, grants, scholarships, that dive into critical aspects of India’s identity and nurture a new open framework rooted on merit so as to strengthen and nurture  existing students and teachers, schools, colleges and universities, providing them with a knowledge resource and support system never before available.

For example, with the launch of v1.0 of www.tuliresearchcentre.org on 30^th April 2025 the public will have full and free access to every public sale transaction of modern and contemporary Indian art since the start of auctions, making India the only nation to have such access in the world, and so hopefully take forward the development of this potentially vast, yet infant cultural market, and its seamless integration into the financial markets. The impact of such is enormous.

Another, specific objective of this knowledge-base and process is to help create the world’s first three-year undergraduate program in Contemporary India Studies to start building the first batch of experts and thought-leaders with a fuller and deeper holistic understanding of India and her complex journey. Without this pool of talent it will be very difficult for India to honour her global responsibilities as a true leader in this age of complex difficulties, as without deeply knowing oneself one cannot effectively communicate and share values and ideas which we hold dear with integrity.

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