The words of the Gurus are our inheritance — but manuscripts deteriorate, interpretations calcify, and too few scholars possess the languages to read our sources in the original.
We are training a new generation to safeguard and advance the Panth’s intellectual foundations.
The Sikh intellectual tradition is one of the richest in the world — scripture, poetry, philosophy, and history composed across Panjabi, Persian, Brajbhasha, and Sanskrit.
This inheritance belongs to the entire Panth. But unlocking it requires scholars who can work with original sources, not just inherited interpretations.
That’s what we build: the foundational scholarship that future generations will rely on.
What We Produce
Critical editions of foundational texts
establishing authoritative versions through careful manuscript analysis. Our inaugural publication: The Ẓafarnāma of Guru Gobind Singh (Harvard Oriental Series, 2025), the first critical edition based on 38 manuscripts.
Theoretical frameworks
new approaches to understanding Sikh history, theology, and philosophy
Peer-reviewed scholarship
research that sets the standard for the field
Leadership development
materials that bring rigorous scholarship into classrooms from Harvard to Khalsa schools worldwide
From Scholarship to Impact
Rigorous scholarship finds its highest purpose when it empowers the communities it studies. Our work informs:
University teaching
courses and curricula that train the next generation of scholars
Public education
reaching 54,000+ learners worldwide through HarvardX
Khalsa school curriculum
age-appropriate materials grounded in scholarship, not simplified myths .
Community institutions
providing intellectual foundations for advocacy organizations and gurdwaras
Related Fellowships
Senior Fellow Program
for policy experts and scholars
Undergraduate Research Fellowship
for policy experts and scholars
Join Our Research Community
Join us in building the intellectual foundations for the Panth's global engagement.
