Himalayan Institute of Academic Research ‘Urusvati’: History and Modernity

Abstract

The article covers issues related to the history of the establishment of the Urusvati Institute by the Roerichs in India in 1928, its multifaceted activities, directions of scientific research, cooperation with famous scientists, scientific centers, museums, and libraries from different countries of the world. The management of the Institute aimed to introduce into the scientific sphere the results of extensive research discovered and collected by the Roerich family in 1924–1928 on the route of the Central Asian expedition, and on this foundation to comprehensively continue the research begun. The initiative to open a special scientific institution in India by the Russians cannot be considered an accident. Russian Orientalists and Travelers in the 19th–20th centuries actively explored the little-explored expanses of Asia. The circle of their interests lay in the area of that ancient and direct path that connected the peoples of Southeast Asia with Russia through Siberia and the Tibetan plateau in the direction of India. The study of the possibilities of direct communication between Russia and India through Tibet in the past, present, and future brought the Roerichs closer to Indian culture and drew their attention to the problems associated with Russian-Indian cultural and scientific cooperation. Therefore, the organization of an independent research center on Indian territory having such goals as its object was of paramount importance for the Roerichs. Despite the remote geographical location of Urusvati from Russia, the Himalayan Institute contains all the features inherent in Russian centers of science and culture. This largely determined its international specificity and provided a unique example of the synthesis of two countries’ cultures: Russian and Indian ones. The author touches upon the problem of this City of Knowledge revival in the 21st century.