Shyam Singh Shashi

Shyam Singh Shashi (1 July 1935 – 19 February 2025) was an Indian socio–anthropologist, litterateur and poet. 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 was a visiting professor at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the president of the International Academy of Children's Literature and chaired International Institute of Nomadic Studies.

Shashi died on 19 February 2025, at the age of 89.

Honours and awards The University of Colombo honoured Shashi with D.Litt. (honoris causa) for his "pioneering work on Roma of Europe and America", making him the first recipient of D.Litt. from the university in anthropology. In 1990, the Government of India awarded him Padma Shri for his "multifaceted achievements in the field of literature".

Selected bibliography Shashi also wrote several poem anthologies, travelogues, children's books and anthropological books, over 300 publications in total.