Chanakya University Hosts International Conference on Bhāratīya Arthaśāstra Tradition, Explores Its Contemporary Relevance

An International Conference on Bhāratīya Arthaśāstra Tradition: Theories | Practices | Contemporary Relevance was organized at Chanakya University from October 29 to 31, 2026. This conference was organized by Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems of the university and aimed to examine the relevance of India’s traditional knowledge systems in today’s context of economics, governance and politics.

Inaugural function of the conference commenced with the lighting of lamp and invoking blessings of ācāryas of nīti. This session had an address from Prof. Koenraad Elst (Belgium), a video address from Sri Gauranga Das Prabhu (ISKCON), a book release ceremony of Vyoma Linguistic Labs Foundation and addresses from university leadership.

The academic program of the conference comprised keynote address by Prof. M. S. Chaitra on understanding the Arthaśāstra in the contemporary context, invited talk by Sri Ashish Kumar Gupta on prosperous economy of rural Bhārata, parallel sessions of research papers and panel discussion on Indian political thinkers and movements of 19th and 20th centuries.

The second day of the conference had invited talks by Prof. Jose P. Verghese and Sri Kashyap Naik, student poster presentations, parallel sessions of research papers and a panel discussion on modern governance.

Academic discourses, research presentations, and cultural expressions all emphasized the pertinence of the Bhāratīya intellectual tradition and promoted discussion of its application to present times.