Prof. M. D. Srinivas
Chairman,
Centre for Policy Studies,
11/12, Ashok Nandavanam, Manickam Nagar,
Kundrathur, Chennai 600069
Email: mdsrinivas50@gmail.com
Mobile: 9444074352

Education and Employment
B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics, Bangalore University 1969; M.Sc. Physics,
Bangalore University 1971;
Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from University of Rochester,
Rochester, NY, USA 1976

1976-85: Lecturer, Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Madras
1985-91: Reader, Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Madras
1991-96: Professor, Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Madras
Since 1996: Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai

Honorary Positions Held
Since 1990: Founder Chairman, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai
1992-1998: Member, Advisory Board on History of Science (Modern Period),
Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
1998-2000: Member, Indian National Commission for History of Science, INSA
1999-2002: Member, Central Sanskrit Board
1998-2004: Vice Chairman, Governing Body, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla
Since 2006: Chairman, MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai
2015-2018:  Member, Indian Council for Historical Research
2022-2023: Chairman, UGC Committee to Prepare Guidelines for Incorporating Indian Knowledge Systems in Higher Education Curricula
2023: Elected Fellow of Indian National Science Academy (for research in History and Philosophy of Science)
Since August 2023: Member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee
2025: Padmashree Awardee

Areas of Specialization

Theoretical Physics (Conceptual and Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics)
History and Philosophy of Science, Scientific and Technological Tradition of India
Indian Society, Economy and Polity.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH WORK

After completing his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Emil Wolf at the University of Rochester, NY, USA, M. D. Srinivas worked in the Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Madras, during 1976-1996. His research work in theoretical physics has been in the areas of conceptual and mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, and quantum optics.

In an effort to understand the tradition of science and technology in India, Srinivas along with his friends founded the Patriotic and People-oriented Science and Technology (PPST) Group and the PPST Bulletin at Chennai in 1981. This group was founded in the conviction that, for our endeavours in science and technology to be creative, relevant and effective, they should be informed by and anchored in our science and technology traditions, and rooted in the Indian context. Soon the group came in contact with Sri Dharampalji, the renowned Gandhian thinker and historian, who became closely associated with it. When the PPST Foundation was formed in 1985, Dharampalji became the Founder President and Srinivas served as the Founder Director during 1985-1990.  In 1990, Dr. J. K. Bajaj, Sri T. M. Mukundan and Srinivas, along with some of the colleagues and friends from the PPST Group, and with the encouragement of Dharampalji, Sri Gurumurthy , Sri Govindacharya and Prof. V. Varadharajan, established the Centre for Policy Studies, with the objective of “comprehending and cherishing the essential civilisational genius of India not only in the matter of science and technology but also in all other fields of thought and organization, and helping in formulating a polity that would allow the Indian people and their genius to flourish and assert themselves in the present day world”. The Centre for Policy Studies has done pioneering scholarly studies of Indian civilisational ideas and institutions, from an Indian perspective, with a view to help revitalize our current efforts in sciences, technologies, economy, polity and other domains. Since its founding, Srinivas has served as the Chairman of the Centre, and Bajaj as its Director. In 1996, Srinivas took up a full-time position as a senior fellow at the Centre.

Studies in Theoretical Physics

The contributions of Srinivas have been based on the formulation of Eugene Wigner that the observable predictions of quantum theory are essentially the joint probabilities of the outcomes of a sequence of observations, and the discovery of Louis de Broglie that these joint probabilities do not satisfy the marginal conditions of classical joint distributions and exhibit what he termed as the “quantum interference of probabilities”. Srinivas showed that the appropriate mathematical framework for such quantum joint probabilities is a “quantum probability theory” where the event space is composed of “operations” (measurement transformations on the space of unnormalized density operators) so that the observables (or random variables) will be “operation-valued-measures”, introduced around that time by Brian Davies and John Lewis (then at the Oxford University). Based on this formalism, Srinivas and Davies developed a quantum theory of continuous measurements (measurements performed continuously over an interval of time) as the appropriate framework for discussing counting experiments. They showed that physically meaningful photon-counting probabilities in quantum optics could be derived using a model of the detector which performs continuous measurements on the optical field. This quantum theory of continuous measurements has also been successfully applied in several other physical contexts in quantum optics and also in atomic, molecular and condensed matter physics, for analysing “quantum jumps”, “arrival times”, etc.

Another important contribution of Srinivas has been a rigorous mathematical analysis of the “collapse” or the change in the state associated with the measurement of an observable with a continuous spectrum. By making use of the standard requirement of quantum theory for the joint probabilities associated with commuting observables, Srinivas established that a physically and mathematically meaningful description of the measurement of observables with continuous spectra necessitates a generalisation of the conventional framework of quantum theory to include states more general than the density operators.

A large part of the work in theoretical physics, carried out during 1975-1996, has been summarized in the book on Measurements and Quantum Probabilities (Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2001). After 1996, Srinivas has a few occasional publications in theoretical physics. Notable among these are the paper on the “Optimal entropic uncertainty relations for successive measurements”, and the paper “A disturbance trade-off principle for quantum measurements”, jointly with Prabha Mandayam.

Studies in the Indian Traditions of Science and Technology

Srinivas had developed serious interest in history and philosophy of science in the 1970s. In the 1980s, when the PPST Bulletin became an important forum for creating awareness about the Indian traditions of science and technology, Srinivas published several studies on Indian contributions in mathematics, astronomy, logic and linguistics, and on the status of our traditional agriculture, architecture and education since the onset of the British rule.

During the last three decades, in collaboration with the renowned scholar late Prof. K. V. Sarma, Srinivas and Profs. M. S. Sriram, K. Ramasubramanian and R. Venkateswara Pai, have contributed significantly to the editing, translating and explaining the technical aspects of the seminal works of Kerala School, such as the Yuktibhāṣā of Jyeṣṭhadeva, portions ofthe works of Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī and the Karaṇapaddhati of Putumana Somayājī, This has led to an authentic and comprehensive account of the Kerala work on the discovery of infinite series, and a non-geocentric planetary model which computationally approximates the Keplerian model (with a correct formulation of the equation of center and the latitudinal motion of interior planets)—discoveries which were to become the hallmark of the scientific revolution in Europe a few centuries later. Along with his colleagues, Srinivas has also worked on the development of the vākya system of astronomy. In collaboration with Profs. R. Sridharan and Raja Sridharan, he has brought to light the historic contributions of Piṅgala, Virahāṅka, Śārṅgadeva and Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita in combinatorics, as also the pioneering work of Nārāyaṇa on the mathematics of magic squares.

Srinivas has been a pioneer in the study of proofs (upapattis) in Indian mathematics. Dr. J. K. Bajaj and Srinivas have carried out extensive studies on the epistemology of Indian sciences, as expounded in the canonical source texts, and explained how these sciences are fundamentally rooted in the Indian philosophical traditions. Srinivas has also contributed to    the studies on the untapped wealth of manuscripts on Indian sciences, studies on the Indian sciences and technologies and education in the eighteenth century, and to the design of courses and textbooks on Indian mathematics and sciences for students in schools and colleges. Recently, Bajaj and Srinivas have proposed a national modification of the Dewey Decimal Classification, based on the traditional classification of knowledge in India; this scheme would ensure that all books of Indian Knowledge, which are currently scattered all over the library, are brought together such that their mutual relations also become transparent.

Indian Society, Economy and Polity

For more than three decades, Srinivas has worked closely with Dr. J. K. Bajaj at the Centre for Policy Studies on various aspects of Indian civilisational ideas and institutions and how they got disrupted during the two centuries of British rule. The first publication of the Centre was the seminal work of Dharampalji, Bharatiya Chitta Mānas and Kāla. Following this, the Centre has continued to produce an extraordinary corpus of work that places different aspects of the Indian situation today in historical and civilisational continuity with our past and thus offers innovative ways of looking at and solving some of our current problems.

Thus, in Annaṁ Bahu Kurvīta, Bajaj and Srinivas, poignantly invoke the classical discipline of producing and sharing food in plenty, which this civilisation continued to follow till late 18th century, and urge the India of today to reclaim that heritage. In their detailed exploration of the Religious Demography of India up to the district level, from the Census of 1881 till 2011 (work initiated by late Sri Ashok Joshi), they urge us to be aware of and recover the demographic balance essential for maintaining social harmony and civilizational continuity. In their trilingual edition of Hind Swaraj, and in their comprehensive study (titled Making of a Hindu Patriot) of Gandhiji’s work and writings in his youth and in South Africa, which form the background to Hind Swaraj, they present him as the greatest exponent of Indian civilisation, who challenges us to achieve national greatness in the modern times while standing firm and securely anchored in our civilisational ways and commitments.

During his archival explorations, Sri Dharampal had come across the records of a survey that the British had conducted in the 1770s of around 2,000 localities of the erstwhile Chengalpattu District that surrounds the city of Madras from three sides. These records comprise the summaries of detailed Tamil palm-leaf accounts prepared by the Kanakkappillais or the locality accountants. We at the Centre have copied, compiled and analysed the entire archival records of the Barnard Survey. We have also deciphered, copied and translated into modern Tamil, the palm-leaf manuscript accounts for about 600 localities. In the 1990s Bajaj and Mukundan wrote a series of popular articles presenting a vivid picture of some of these localities based on these accounts. The types of data presented in the Tamil accounts and the script and the symbols used in them were discussed in the book of Srinivas and colleagues on Thirupporur and Vadakkappattu.

In the continuing work of Dr. Bajaj and Srinivas on several localities of Chengalpattu in the eighteenth century, combined with the information contained in the various historic inscriptions recorded from these localities, we can see the emergence of a comprehensive micro-level description of the functioning of pre-British Indian polity in its various dimensions.

Bajaj and Srinivas have recently published monographs on two rich, beautiful and self-governing localities in the eighteenth century—Kundratthur the famous abode of Murugan and the birthplace of Sekkizhar, and Ullavur a locality blessed by the bounty of river Palar. They are currently preparing a similar monograph on the historic town of Uttiramerur, based on its rich corpus of inscriptions which record the activities of the village assembly over several centuries, and the detailed eighteenth century survey data.

BOOKS PUBLISHED

Theoretical Physics

1. M. D. Srinivas, Measurements and Quantum Probabilities, Universities Press, Hyderabad 2001.

Indian Tradition of Science and Technology

1. M. S. Sriram, K. Ramasubramanian and M. D. Srinivas (Eds.), 500 Years of Tantrasaṅgraha: A Landmark in the History of Astronomy, Indian Institute for Advanced Study, Shimla 2002.
2. G. G. Emch, R. Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas (Eds.), Contributions to the History of Indian Mathematics, Hindustan Book Agency, Delhi 2005.
3. K. V. Sarma, K. Ramasubramanian, M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram, Gaṇita-Yuktibhāṣā of Jyeṣṭhadeva, Malayalam Text, Edited and Translated into English with Explanatory Notes, Volume 1 and Volume 2, Hindustan Book Agency, Delhi 2008. Rep. Springer Verlag, New York, 2009.
4. P. L. T. Girija, T. M. Mukundan and M. D. Srinivas, Āyurveda for Revitalising Healthcare in India, Sanjeevani Foundation, Chennai, 2017.
5. R. Venkateswara Pai, K. Ramasubramanian, M. S. Sriram and M. D. Srinivas, Karaṇapaddhati of Putumana Somayājī, Hindustan Book Agency, Delhi 2017. Rep. Springer Verlag, Singapore, 2018.
6. V. Ramakalyani, M. V. Mohan, R. S. Venkatakrishnan, N. Karthik and M. D. Srinivas, Bhaāratīya-Gaṇita-Praveśa I Introduction to Indian Mathematics for Students of Classes VI – VIII, Samskrit Promotion Foundation, New Delhi, 2021.

Indian Society and Polity

1. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Annaṁ Bahu Kurvīta: Recollecting the Indian Discipline of Growing and Sharing Food in Plenty, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, 1996. Also published in Hindi (1996) and Tamil (1998). Summaries of the book are available in English (1996) and Tamil (1998).
2. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Timeless India Resurgent India: A Celebration of the Land and People of India, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, 2001. Also published in Hindi (2004).
3. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Restoring Abundance: Regeneration of Indian Agriculture to Ensure Food for All in Plenty, Indian Institute for Advanced Study, Shimla, 2001.
4. M. D. Srinivas, T. G. Paramasivam and T. Pushkala, Thirupporur and Vadakkuppattu: Eighteenth Century Locality Accounts, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai 2001. Also published in Tamil (2001).
5. A. P. Joshi, M. D. Srinivas and J. K. Bajaj, Religious Demography of India, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai 2003. Also published Religious Demography of India: The 2001 Revision (2004) and Religious Demography of IndiaIllustrated Summary in English and Hindi (2005). A detailed summary of the original edition of the book was also published in Hindi and English.
6. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Eds., Hind Swarajya of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai 2011.
7. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Making of a Hindu Patriot: Background of Mahatma Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj, Har Anand Publishers, New Delhi, 2021.
8. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas (Eds.), Dharampal Classics Series, 5 Volumes, Rashtrotthana Sahitya, Bengaluru, 2021. [Revised Editions of: (i) Panchayat Raj as the Basis of Indian Polity (ii) Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century:  Some Contemporary European Accounts (iii) Civil Disobedience and Indian Tradition: With Some Early Nineteenth Century Documents (iv) The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century (v) Bhāratīya Chitta, Mānas, and Kāla]
9. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, The Land People and History of Kundratthur: The Abode of Murugan and the Birthplace of Sekkizhar, IGNCA and Centre for Policy Studies, 2024.
10. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, The Land People and History of Ullavur: A Locality that Reaps the Bounty of Palar, IGNCA and Centre for Policy Studies, 2024.
    

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS IN THEORETICAL PHYSICS                                           

SELECT GENERAL AND RESEARCH ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET

Indian Science and Technology
General Articles

1. M. D. Srinivas, Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics (2012)
2. K. Ramasubramanian, M. S. Sriram and M. D. Srinivas in Conversation with C. S. Aravinda and Sudhir Rao), Three Trails to Saṅgamagrāma (2022)
3. M. D. Srinivas, Emergence of a New Era in the History of Indian Mathematics (2022) https://bhavana.org.in/emergence-of-a-new-era-in-the-history-of-indian-mathematics/
4. M. D. Srinivas, Nature and Purpose of Scientific Knowledge: The Indian and Greco-European Perspectives (2024)
5. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Locating Indian Knowledge in Modern Libraries (2024)

    Research Articles

1. M. D. Srinivas, Indian Approach to Logic (PPST Bulletin 1986, Rev. 2000)
2. M. D. Srinivas, The Methodology of Indian Mathematics and its Contemporary Relevance (PPST Bulletin 1987, Rev. 2000)
3. Indian Agriculture Before Modernisation (PPST Bulletin 1982, Rev. 2000)
4. The Story of Modern Forestry in India (PPST Bulletin 1983, Rev. 2000)
5. The Building of New Delhi: A Debate on Indian Architecture and Architects in Early 20th Century (PPST Bulletin 1983, Rev. 2000)
6. Ramasubramanian, M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram, Modification of the earlier Planetary Theory by Kerala Astronomers and the Implied Heliocentric Picture of Planetary Motion (1994)
7. M. D. Srinivas, Amarabhāratī: Saṁskŗtam and the Resurgence of Indian Civilisation (2003)
8. M. D. Srinivas, Proofs in Indian Mathematics (2005)
9. K. Ramasubramanian and M. D. Srinivas, Development of Calculus in India (2010)
10. Raja Sridharan, R. Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas, Combinatorial Methods in Indian Music Pratyayas in Saṅgītaratnākara of Sārṅgadeva (2010)
11. Ramasubramanian, M. S Sriram and M. D. Srinivas, The Traditional Indian Planetary Models and its Revision by Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (2011)
12. Raja Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas, Magic Squares (2012)
13. Raja Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas, Folding Method of Nārāyaṇa for Samagarbha and Viṣama Magic Squares(2012)
14. Raja Sridharan, R. Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas, Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita’s Enumeration of Combinations and the Associated Representation of Numbers as Sum of Binomial Coefficients (2012)
15. Raja Sridharan, R. Sridharan and M. D. Srinivas, Nārāyaṇa’s Generalisation of Mātrā-Vŗtta-Prastāra and the Generalized Virahāṅka-Fibonacci Representation of Numbers (2015)
16. R. Venkateswara Pai, K. Ramasubamanian, M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram, An overview of the Vākya Method of Computing the Longitudes of the Sun and the Moon (2016)
17. R. Venkateswara Pai, K. Ramasubramanian, M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram, The Candravākyas of Mādhava(2016)
18. M. D. Srinivas, On the Nature of Mathematics and Scientific Knowledge in Indian Tradition (2016)
19. M. D. Srinivas, The Vāsanābhāṣyas of Bhāskarācārya (2019)
20. M. D. Srinivas, The Untapped Wealth of Manuscripts in Indian Astronomy and Mathematics (2019)
21. M. D. Srinivas, The Methodology of Indian Sciences as Expounded in the Disciplines of Nyāya, Vyākaraṇa, Gaṇita and Jyotiṣa (2022)

Indian Society, Economy and Polity

 Articles

1. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Indian Economy and Polity in the Eighteenth Century: The Chengalpattu Survey 1767-1774 (1995)
2. J. K. Bajaj and M. D. Srinivas, Annaṁ Bahu Kurvīta, a review article published in Manushi (1996)

SELECT LECTURES AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET

Lectures on Indian Science and Technology

1. Ramasubramanian, M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram, Mathematics in India from Vedic Period to Modern Times (NPTEL Course IIT Madras 2013, 40 Lectures)

2. Indian Traditions of Science (IIT Gandhinagar, Feb 2016)

[Slides at https://iks.iitgn.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Indian-Tradition-of-Science-an-Introductory-Overview-MD-Srinivas-Feb-2016.pdf ]

3. The Cakravāla Method of Solving Quadratic Indeterminate Equations Compared with the Euler-Lagrange Method (IIT Gandhinagar, December 2017)

4. Logic and Methodology of Indian Sciences: An Introduction (KVSRF, Nov 2019)

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5. Nature and Purpose of Scientific Knowledge: An Indian Perspective (VIF, March 2020)

6. Bhadragaṇita Study of Auspicious Squares of Numbers in India (IIT BHU, December 2020)

7. The State of Sciences and Higher Learning in 18th Century India (Indic Talks, Oct 2021)

8. Combinatorics in Piṅgala’s Chandaḥśāstra (Amrit Mahotsav, March 2022)

9. Indian Astronomy and Mathematics Emerging Perspectives (Ma Devaki Pathasala, Chennai, December 2023)

10. Foundational Methodology of Indian Sciences (Plaksha University, January 2024)

11. Representation of Numbers in Indian Texts (SR College Trichy, November 2024)

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Lectures on Indian Society, Economy and Polity

1. Classical Indian Discipline of Producing and Sharing Food in Plenty (IIT Madras, Dec. 2012)

2. Temples and the State in India: A Historical Overview (Kshetrayanam January 2020)

3. Self-Awakening of India: The Life and Works of Sri Dharampal (GIPA, May 2023)