The Shaiva Manuscripts of Pondicherry

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The "Shaiva Manuscripts of Pondicherry" which are housed in the French Institute (IFP) and in the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO) are listed in UNESCO’s "Memory of the World" register. The majority of the manuscripts, held in the IFP, transmit texts about Shaiva religion and the worship of Shiva. The IFP is the custodian of the largest collection in the world of manuscripts of the Shaiva Siddhanta, a religious tradition which once spread over the whole Indian sub-continent, and beyond into South-East Asia.

A brochure presenting the collection is now available (in PDF format) from the website of the IFP.

News - Year 2007

• Launching of a multimedia application for identifying trees of the Western Ghats December
• Launching of the online catalogue of the documentary resources of the IFP December
• Seminar on water management in South India November
• When the IFP and the Alliance Française join forces .... November
• The exportation of homeopathy: the case of South India November
• Seminar of anthropology of Tibetan medicine November
• The Director of the IFP, member of the Executive Committee of the "National Knowledge Commission" of the Government of Pondicherry November
• Impact of microfinance on rural employment : A new interdisciplinary and international research project November
• An Oscar for « OSCAR » ! November
• Forms of resistance to labour bondage October
• Globalization of Asian medicines October
• A new server for the IFP September
• Seminar on the relationship between Sanskrit and Tamil September
• The IFP has edited a DVD on water management in India September
• Arrival of the new Secretary General of the IFP September
• Reference publications on the biodiversity of the Western Ghats by the IFP September
• Seminar on metropolitan transition in India September
• Two days for a social critical debate on siddha medicine August
• Manuscript Open Day July
• Spotlight on Panini’s grammar July
• Self-financing of the IFP’s publications July
• Conference on the theme of “Metropolitanisation” July
• An ecologist of the IFP honoured in New Delhi May
• Release of a CD-ROM devoted to Pondicherry May
• Seminar on debt bondage in India May
• Workshop on social management of water in India May
• International Conference "Facets of Tamil Diaspora" April
• The IFP, focal point for exchanges on the biodiversity in tropical Asia April
• Workshop “After Tsunami: Lessons Learnt and Future Strategies” April
• Two trainings given in indology April
• 10th Workshop of the Association of Young Indian Studies (AJEI) in Pondicherry April
• Special issue of the journal Indian Anthropologist edited by L. Pordié (IFP) January

News - Year 2006

• New research project on the usage of biodiversity in India December
• Contradictory debate on the virtues of microcredit December
• Director, Member of the CONFRASIE office December
• OSCAR, an open source software that recognizes weeds September
• Programme “Population and Space”: the dividends of excellence September
• The IFP in the headlines of " Frontline Magazine " (India) August
• Three authors given distinction in indology August
• Mrs. Vasanthy Georges, Research Director at the IFP, awarded Knighthood in the French Order of the Academic Palms July
• The Saiva manuscripts June
• The IFP and the CIRAD strengthen their ties June
• The IFP heading a project on « Democracy and access to healthcare” June
• Quantitative ecology takes root at the IFP June
• The catalogue of the IFP library is now online March
• Collaboration with Morocco on the theme of social management of water February
• Collaboration with Japan in Ecology January
• Biodiversity conservation in India January
• Saiva Manuscripts of IFP as National Treasures of India January
• Networked project on urban development January
• Labour in South Asia January

News - Year 2005

• The IFP and EFEO strengthen their ties December
• A distinction in Indology December
• The IRD assigns 2 researchers to the IFP December
• Seminar on the traditional healing systems in India December
• Microfinance in « Le Monde » December
• Golden Jubilee February