Dr. Shyam Singh Shashi is an Indian anthropologist, social scientist, academic and writer. After securing a master’s degree in Man Management and Manpower Planning from Manchester University, he obtained a doctoral degree from Agra University for his thesis on Himalayan nomads.

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 the 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). He has also written several poem anthologies, travelogues, children’s books and anthropological books, over 300 publications in total. Notable works include: the World of Nomads and the Gypsy World and Socio-History of Ex-Criminal Communities.

He is the author of the Hindi epic ‘Agnisagar’ and Encyclopaedia Indica (200 volumes) and has published over 1000 articles, research papers and reports in various research journals (English and Hindi) and periodicals/dailies such as the Hindustan Times, Times of India, and Statesman. He has appeared in interviews on television and radio.

The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri in 1990 in Hindi & English literature. He has visited over 75 countries as a Chief Guest or Chairperson for research & conferences. Some of his books have been translated into Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil etc. Dr. Shashi has presented a number of papers in various national and international conferences, including the International Sociological Conference and World Roma Conference. National-International Awards include:

  • Manaviki Anusandhan Shiromani (Highest Award on Social Research)
  • Awards by former Presidents of India H E R Venkataraman and Shri GianZail Singh, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma and former Prime ministers including Smt. Indira Gandhi and a number of other national leaders- Rajiv Gandhi, Sr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
  • Honoured and awarded as creative writer and social scientist by central and state governments viz. U.P. Bihar, A.P.
  • Honoured for literary research by Uttrakhand and Haryana Govt.
  • Honoured by Delhi University, BhartiyaVidya, Bhawan, Hindi ShahityaSanmelan, Nahari Pracharini Shabha, Council for Child Education
  • Honoured by Authors’ Guide of India, Indian Writers’ Association, All India Translators’ Association, etc. for achievements in the field of literature and humanities.
  • Honoured by Gottington University, London university, and various Roma organizations across globe for the best contributions particularly in the field of Gypsology and social sciences.
  • Indian Research Association conferred their highest research award Manaviki Anusandhan Shiromani for research work on nomads of the world.