Events
Ancient India and our Shared Asian Heritage : Houston Event July 18th 2026
The Indian History Awareness and Research (IHAR), in collaboration with India House Houston, is pleased to invite you to a special presentation by Prof. Dr. Shashibala, one of India’s foremost Indologists and an internationally recognized scholar of India’s civilizational connections with Asia.
In this thought-provoking lecture, Dr. Shashibala will explore how India’s philosophical traditions, Sanskrit, Buddhism, art, trade, and knowledge systems shaped a shared Asian heritage extending from Southeast Asia to China, Japan, Mongolia, and beyond. Drawing on nearly five decades of research, she will present evidence from manuscripts, temple architecture, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and artistic traditions that reveal the enduring cultural bonds linking the civilizations of Asia.
A special highlight of the program will be the release of Dr. Shashibala’s latest book, The Silk Route of Dharma: India and China’s Buddhist Dialogue, which examines the centuries-long exchange of ideas, scholarship, and Buddhist traditions between India and China along the Silk Routes. The book reflects her lifelong commitment to documenting India’s role in shaping Asia’s shared cultural heritage.
Dr. Shashibala is the Dean of the Centre of Indology at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, holds the Acharya Raghuvira Chair funded by the Ministry of Culture, and is the recipient of Mongolia’s highest civilian state honor. She has authored more than twenty-five books, published over 110 research papers, and has delivered lectures and conducted research across Asia, Europe, and North America.
The program will also feature a presentation by Ms. Priya Gupta on introducing Indian culture to young minds, followed by a Q&A session and lunch.
We invite scholars, educators, students, and members of the community to join us for this unique opportunity to explore India’s enduring civilizational links with Asia and celebrate the release of an important new contribution to Indo-Asian studies
Event details
