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About Us

American Institute of Sindhulogy

The American Institute of Sindhulogy (AIS) is a non-political, non-religious, non-profit organization that was formed in 2000 to promote awareness of the ancient Harappan Civilization, which emerged along the banks of the Sindhu (Indus) River over 8,000 years ago.

Inspired by the values of inclusion, nonviolence and democracy first embraced by the Harappans, AIS actively supports inter-cultural understanding among all people of the world.

Drawing on India’s common cultural heritage, AIS also seeks to strengthen intra-cultural and inter-generational understanding across Indian diaspora communities.

AIS History

In 2000, two high profile events, which drew world attention to the Sindhu (Indus) Civilization, inspired the founding of AIS:

  • National Geographic magazine published its cover story, “An Ancient Civilization Lost to History.”
  • The Toyko Metropolitan Art Museum and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation staged the “Ancient Unvoiced Civilization” exhibit, the largest of its kind, which featured more than 800 artifacts excavated from Moen Jo Daro.

AIS founders saw that the world was eager to rediscover one of its oldest and largest peace-loving civilizations. They realized that a deeper understanding of ancient Sindhu democratic culture, which profoundly influenced world civilization, could help support the evolving relationship between the world’s two largest democracies: India and The United States.

Achievements

  • Successfully petitioned the Indian government to keep the word “Sindhu” in the Indian national anthem.
  • Sponsored artist exchange programs between Indian and the United States.
  • Developed Evanston pilot program to demonstrate Nonviolence Initiative.
  • Published and distributed “The Song of Sindhu,” a modern day interpretation of ancient memory songs, which transmitted Sindhu lore and tradition from one generation to the next.
  • Distributed “Return of the Aryans” (ROTA) to over 1,000 university libraries. Written as a historic novel, ROTA takes a scholarly look at pre-Vedic India and posits, contrary to popular theory, that Aryan culture originated in India rather than North Asia and Europe.

Founding Members

  • Dial and Lakshmi Gidwani
  • Hiro and Mira Mirchandani
  • (Late) Narain and Sheila Hingorani
  • Prem  and Neena Balani
  • Ram  and Sushma Advani
  • Girdhari and Lachmi Khemani