Shyam Singh Shashi is an Indian socio–anthropologist, litterateur and poet.

Biography

Shashi was born on 1 July 1935 at

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

in India. He did a master's degree in Man Management and Manpower Planning from Manchester University and obtained a doctoral degree in sociology from Agra University for his thesis on ''Himalayan Nomads'' making him the first person to complete a Ph.D. from the university. Shashi's doctoral advisor was the social scientist R. N. Saksena. Starting his career as a government servant, he took voluntary retirement midway through his service and joined the International Institute of Culture and Languages as the chairman of their Media Research and Encyclopedia divisions where he is reported to have edited ''Encyclopedia of Humanities and Social Sciences'' (50 vols), ''Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes'' (12 vols), ''Encyclopedia of World Women'' (10 vols) and ''Encyclopedia Indica'' (150 vols). Shashi is a visiting professor at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the president of the International Academy of Children's Literature and chairs International Institute of Nomadic Studies. He served as the director of Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's Publication Division, and as the honorary editor of ''Collected Works of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar'' which was published in eight Indian languages by the Indian government. He is a member of the jury for the ''Delhi Gaurav'' Awards.

Honours and awards

The

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

honoured Shashi with

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

(honoris causa) for his "pioneering work on

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

of Europe and America", making him the first recipient of D.Litt. from the university in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

. In 1990, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

awarded him

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

for his "multifaceted achievements in the field of literature".

Selected bibliography

Shashi has also written several poem anthologies, travelogues, children's books and anthropological books, over 300 publications in total. * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Indian male poets Indian anthropologists Indian social sciences writers Indian children's writers University of Colombo Indira Gandhi National Open University 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Writers from Uttarakhand Living people 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers 1935 births {{India-academic-bio-stub