Academic News Network -

Reclaiming Dravida

Academic News Network2 days ago2 days ago027 mins

For 170 years, Bishop Caldwell’s 1856 etymology of Drāviḍa — Tamiḻ → Damiḷa → Drāviḍa — has been treated as settled. It isn’t. A Sanskrit-internal reading, Tri-vidā (knowers of the three), anchored in Sage Agastya, the Sanskrit-speaking Vedic rishi who carried letters southward, fits the civilisational reality far more closely.

A Century of AIU: Indian Higher Education Confronts Its Next 100 Years

Academic News Network1 week ago1 week ago039 mins

A century ago, AIU was founded on a quiet faith — that the universities of Bharat, working together, could shape the destiny of a nation not yet free. At its 100th AGM in Pune, that faith met a sharper question: can the Indian university redesign itself fast enough for Viksit Bharat 2047?

Are you a good student?

Academic News Network2 weeks ago1 week ago016 mins

Every breath whispers So Ham, meaning I am That, 21,600 times a day, yet few truly hear this inner truth. Here the Guru appears as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, guiding seekers to discover divinity within, choose noble company, and live with peace, purpose, and awareness.

The Five States of Man

Academic News Network2 weeks ago2 weeks ago020 mins

Five states are open to every human being — Daivatvam (divinity), Manushyatvam (humanness), Danavatvam (demonic), Pashutvam (animal), and Heenatvam (below the beast). What distinguishes man from animal is viveka — the power to discriminate and choose. Through sustained sadhana, we rise. Cast your vote well, every moment.

The Four Stages of Vāk: From Silent Pulse to Spoken Word

Academic News Network2 weeks ago2 weeks ago017 mins

AUM is not a sound we make. It is the sound we hear when every sound we make has finally gone quiet.
The four stages of Vāk — Parā, Paśyantī, Madhyamā, Vaikharī — and why the unstruck sound still matters.

Bridging The Generational Gap in the Mental Health Index in India

Academic News Network3 weeks ago2 weeks ago015 mins

Why are so many young adults struggling despite living in a connected world? This powerful article explores the hidden toll of digital stress, poor habits, weak relationships, and achievement pressure while offering practical solutions through counselling, resilience, nutrition, and stronger family bonds.

Assessment, Impact and Transformation: Redefining Excellence in Education

Academic News Network1 month ago1 month ago031 mins

India’s higher education system assessed 13,892 student suicides in 2023 — and called it someone else’s problem. At Academic Network’s Technology Series webinar on 28 March 2026, Prof. Dr. M M Ananth asked the question institutions have avoided: What is assessment truly for? The IACT Framework — Interpersonal, Adaptability, Cognitive, Technical — reveals that 75% of professional effectiveness is determined by persona traits, yet our entire assessment architecture measures only the remaining 25%. With 1,329 registered participants, this was one of the most searching conversations Indian higher education has had about itself. Read the full report

Beyond the Lexicon: India’s Constructive Global Leadership

Academic News Network2 months ago2 months ago012 mins

A satirical piece in a leading national newspaper recently mocked India’s LPG dependency as diplomatic dead weight. What it overlooked: scientists at CSIR-NCL Pune have spent two decades quietly building a clean, indigenous alternative — Dimethyl Ether — storable in existing LPG cylinders, burning cleaner, and capable of saving India ₹9,500 crore annually in foreign exchange. That is one story. Behind it sits a decade of evidence: India ranked 3rd globally in research output, $279 billion in digital payments in a single month, and a G20 presidency that delivered 87 documented outcomes. The data responds where rhetoric cannot. Read on.

Mental Wellness and the Future of Holistic Professionalism

Academic News Network2 months ago2 months ago023 mins

One in seven young Indians carries a diagnosable mental health condition. Twelve billion work days are lost globally every year to mental health issues. And the single most important question in Indian education — are our students okay, as human beings? — has never once been asked in a board meeting.
Until now.
A psychiatrist, a university builder and a war veteran sat down to talk about what we have been measuring, what we have been ignoring, and what it would actually cost to change. The answers were uncomfortable, evidence-based and, in places, quietly devastating.

Read on.

Amodei Says Your Job Has 5 Years. Do You Know Your 75%?

Academic News Network2 months ago2 months ago017 mins

Anthropic’s CEO says 50% of white-collar entry jobs vanish within 5 years. His survival advice? Focus on human-centred skills — empathy, adaptability, critical thinking.That’s literally what the IACT framework measures. 75% of your professional value isn’t technical. Most people have never had it mapped.Do you know your 75%?

India Rising: The Unstoppable Trajectory

Academic News Network2 months ago2 months ago09 mins

India quietly became the world’s 3rd AI power (Stanford HAI 2025), the fastest-rising G20 nation in university rankings (54 in QS, 2nd in THE), and the architect of digital infrastructure the world is adopting. Meanwhile, the Sri Sathya Sai Water Project — serving 3.19 million people across 1,500 villages — sits on the UN SDGs platform as a global model. Critique is welcome. Defeatism dressed as commentary is not. Let us not be belittled by the belittling ones.