Our Story

Indoo Shivdasani (1918–1979) credited his Cambridge education with broadening his cultural and commercial horizons, leading to his business success and a desire to give others a similar opportunity. He was a firm believer in the importance of higher education overseas for young Indians and saw this as a way to foster their talent and develop their capacity to contribute to society.

The vision behind the Foundation was simple yet profound: identify the best young Indian talent and allow it to attend the finest institutions of higher learning in the world. The only criteria being youth and talent plus a certain ‘spark’ - something the Foundation has spent the last half a century trying to define and find in the candidates it selects.

While the man who was the inspiration of the Foundation passed away only three years after setting it up, his son, Azad Shivdasani, and the family, right up to the third generation, have built on and kept his vision alive to this day.

The Foundation has been fortunate to have the support, time and commitment of eminent  people from all walks of life. Since its inception in 1976, what echoes down the years are the voices of many remarkable individuals who gave of their intellect, wisdom, passion, and even some of their soul, for the Foundation to arrive at where it is today.

Several of the Foundation’s current opportunities have been ideas that emerged from its alumni making the Foundation’s work more relevant to the needs of young people.

‘Inlaks’ is an amalgam of the names of Indoo Shivdasani and his wife, Lakshmi.

 The original crest was created by Indoo. It has been updated, but the meaning the Founder intended remains.

The lotus represents purity and expansion of consciousness through action and thought. The elephant trunks symbolize strength. The combined imagery expresses the motto: Strength. Excellence. Pure Thinking. The three steps symbolise progress and evolution.

The trajectory of the opportunities offered at the Foundation, reveal their range and diversity in terms of subjects, fields, modes, as well as the nature of support. A glimpse of the evolution of the Foundation's work is shared below.

A Foundation to support young, talented Indians formed and namedThe Inlaks Foundation. It is now known as The Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation.

Under its flagship opportunity, to date, 509 scholars havebeen selected to study across the United Kingdom, Europe and theUnited States of America.

The Inlaks Take-off Grant is initiated. Having learnt that young talent lies everywhere, The Foundation went beyond scholarships to provide an opportunity for young people to realize their potential with financial support for constructive projects. To date, 88 people have been supported under this opportunity. This opportunity closed in 2024.

Initiated the Scholarship Awards of Excellence at the Indian Institute of Technology, India. A total of 38 students were supported. This programme was closed in 2012.

Recognising the need for support in the arts within India and beyond academia, the Inlaks Fine Art Awards were launched to support young, emerging Indian artists to pursue their work. To date, 116 artists have been supported.

Widening its support in the arts and culture space, two more sets of awards were instituted.

The Inlaks Theatre Award provides an opportunity to Indian theatre practitioners towards skill enhancement in the field of theatre for a year with a stipulation to work with a mentor of their choice. To date, 60 theatre practitioners have been supported.

The Inlaks Awards for Film and Television Studies supported talented students at the Film and Television Institute at Pune, in three major disciplines: Scriptwriting, Acting and Television. 30 students were supported. This opportunity was closed in 2019.

Adapting to the changing and growing learning needs of young Indians, the Inlaks Research and Travel Grant was initiated to support students of the Social Sciences and Humanities pursuing their doctorate degrees in Indian universities. This grant enabled them to travel overseas and collect relevant, quality data to fortify their researchpursuits. To date, 39 research candidates have been supported under this opportunity.

Grants were initiated to support individuals in Western Classical Music. 21 people have been supported to date.

Expanding work in the area of art and culture, the Inlaks Overseas Residency for Art and Culture was initiated. To date, 100 artists have been supported under this opportunity across several collaborations. The goal being to provide stimulating exposure through transformational residential experiences across every aspect of art and culture: creating, studying, curating, directing, producing, and performing. The first of these collaborations was with UNIDEE in 2009.

To support young people working in conservation, three new opportunities were initiated in collaboration with the Ravi Sankaran Foundation: The Inlaks-Ravi Sankaran Master's, Grants and Internship for Field Biology, Ecology & Conservation. To date, 89 people have been supported under the grants and internship.

Struck new collaborations with Rijksakademie, Amsterdam; Gasworks , United Kingdom in collaboration with the Charles Wallace Trust, and Darling Foundry, Canada under the Overseas Residency opportunity.

Began supporting young sportspersons through the GoSports Foundation.

The Fine Art Award was further evolved to include a 4-week residency for the artist to attend during the award year.

Supported young people at various art events, such as the Shanghai Biennale in 2012, Mumbai Gallery Weekend in 2013, the Venice Biennale in 2015, and the Dhaka Art Summit in 2016.

Extended support to one more area in the arts and culture space by initiating an opportunity for young people in dance, in collaboration with organisations like Attakkalari and Gati.

Initiated support towards the Khoj Peers Residency in New Delhi. To date, 64 people have been supported. Struck a new collaboration with the International Studio and Curatorial Programme (ISCP), United States and with Delfina, United Kingdom in collaboration with the Charles Wallace Trust, under the Overseas Residency for Art and Culture.

Enhanced its support for theatre by instituting two more awards in collaboration with the Drama School Mumbai, where 21 people have been supported.

Introduced one more collaboration under the Overseas Residency for Art and Culture with Skowhagen,Maine, USA.

Awards were initiated to support individuals in Indian Classical Music. 9 people have been supported. This opportunity was closed in 2020.

Increased support under the Inlaks Research & Travel Grant to include one more grant in collaboration with the King's India Institute, London. Under this, 12 people have been supported to date.

Initiated a collaboration with the British Museum to support museum and heritage professionals under their International Training Programme.

Widened its support in the arts to include more overseas residency organisations, such as the Mahler LeWitt. Also provided artists grants to the Fitzwilliam Museum, UK and Sambhrama 2017 in Bengaluru.

Initiated support to the Indian Ceramic Triennale and Ashkal Alwan, Lebanon.

Responding to the changing needs, aspirations, and challenges of young people, the Inlaks Fellowship for Social Engagement was launched to support them in engaging with society's needs and challenges. 34 people have been supported to date.

The Foundation collaborated with NIROX, South Africa and has supported 3 artists to date.