About
To be an open, collaborative online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India, making cultural knowledge freely accessible.
Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India, whose name comes from the Sanskrit saha, meaning together with. A not-for-profit founded around 2011 and led by the scholar Sudha Gopalakrishnan, it publishes encyclopaedic articles, interviews, photo-essays, timelines and multimedia across the visual and performing arts, literature, histories, practices and knowledge traditions of the subcontinent, created with scholars, practitioners and institutions. It also runs education and fellowship programmes and public events such as heritage walks.
Founded around 2011, Sahapedia set out to build a comprehensive, freely accessible digital repository of India's cultural knowledge at a time when much of it was scattered or inaccessible online. Working with a wide network of scholars, practitioners and cultural institutions, it developed a large body of researched, referenced content across the arts and heritage, complemented by fellowships, educational modules and the popular India Heritage Walks programme, becoming one of the most significant digital cultural-knowledge initiatives in the country.
Founding & Leadership
Sahapedia was registered as a not-for-profit society in 2011 and its public platform launched in 2016. Its founding force is Dr. Sudha Gopalakrishnan - former Founder Director of the National Mission for Manuscripts and a UNESCO-empanelled expert on intangible cultural heritage - who serves as Executive Director. 'Saha' (Sanskrit for 'together with') signals its collaborative method; its President and mentor is S. Ramadorai, former Vice Chairman of TCS.
A non-profit society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, governed by a board, with content created collaboratively by scholars and contributors.
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
An open, collaboratively authored online encyclopedia spanning ten domains of Indian arts, culture and heritage.
Fellowships training scholars and students to research and document Indian cultural heritage.
A nationwide festival of heritage walks (PATA Gold Award 2018, Grand Award 2019).
A grant supporting documentary photography of Indian culture and heritage.
Impact & Metrics
Partnerships & Network
Partner institutions
Funders & patrons
Credentials & Compliance
CSR-eligible · Schedule VII(v) - art & culture
A natural CSR partner under Schedule VII(v) for digital cultural documentation and heritage education, with measurable open-access public-good output.
Recognition
India's first major open online cultural encyclopedia; PATA Gold (2018) and Grand (2019) Awards for the India Heritage Walk Festival.
In the Press
Gallery
Sahapedia is a landmark digital initiative for Indian culture, one of the largest open repositories of researched knowledge on the country's arts and heritage, and a model for making cultural knowledge freely and widely accessible.
[Atlas Perspective] Profiled as an Institution (Operator) in the Heritage/knowledge field. As an open knowledge repository, Sahapedia documents and connects the arts, heritage and practices across the Culture Atlas domains, and is led by the scholar Sudha Gopalakrishnan.