Ravindra Singh Bisht

Ravindra Singh Bisht (R. S. Bisht; born 2 January 1944) is an Indian archaeologist, known for his scholarship on Indus Valley Civilization and efforts to conserve Indian national monuments. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of archaeology.

Biography Dholavira adds a new dimension to the personality of the Indus civilisation, says Dr. Ravindra Singh Bisht, The city of Dholavira in its fullest form was a precisely proportionate whole and a proportionately resolved configuration, which followed a resolute set of principles of planning and architecture with mathematical precision and perhaps with astronomically established orientation. After schooling at local schools, he passed the degree of Visharad in 1958, followed by Sahityaratna, in 1960, becoming a Sanskrit scholar. Changing the course of his studies, Bisht secured his master's degree from the Lucknow University, in Ancient Indian History and Culture, in 1965. in Kutch district of Gujarat, Banawali in Hissar district of Haryana, Semthan in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, Chechal in Vaishali district, and Sarai Mound in Nalanda district of Bihar, and Sanghol in Ludhiana district of Punjab are some of them. the place where one of the first battles of Indian Rebellion of 1857 was fought by Pran Sukh Yadav and Rao Tula Ram against the British. He has assisted in the prelimniery survey and research of Ta Prohm, the Cambodian temple of 12th century. He was also involved in the conservation activities of several monuments in other north Indian states. at Red Fort, Delhi, Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute museum in Hoshiarpur and the museum at the Department of Archaeology and Museum in Chandigarh. and Rani ki vav, special displays of excavated materials from Banawali and Dholavira during a period from 1986 to 1997. He has also delivered special lectures at various colleges and institutes in India and once, in Sharon, Connecticut, USA, in 1992, when he delivered a lecture on Dolavira on invitation from the Association for Harappan Studies, USA. Dr. Bisht has also published several research articles. A New Model of Harappan Town Planning as Revealed at Dholavira, Kutch: A Surface Study of its Plan and Architecture, being a notable one.

Positions held During his career, Dr. Bisht held many positions in varying capacities. He was the Secretary of the Central Advisory Board of Archeology, Chairman of Committee of Experts for the Customs Department in Kandla and the Co-ordination Director of the multi disciplinary interim presentation on Ajanta and Ellora by the Geological Survey of India. He has served on the academic committees of Kumaon University and Kurukshetra University and Jnana Pravaha, the Centre for Cultural Studies and Research, Varanasi. He is a former member of the Indian Council of Historical Research, review committee of National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, International Experts Panel Committee of Ajanta - Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project and the Committee for Re-organization of Department of Archeology, Museums and Archives, Government of Bihar. He was a member of the screening and evaluation committees of the Four Great Civilizations of the World: Indus Civilization exhibition, Mathura Objects and the South Korea Exhibition, in 1999, besides being a member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal.