To all who seek wisdom, to those who walk the long road of learning, and to every companion bound by a shared purpose —

I do not write these words out of obligation, nor as a mere ritual of office. I write them as one who has spent a lifetime listening — listening to the fragile music of South Asia, to its luminous contradictions, its fierce beauty, and its aching unfinishedness.

As Patron Emeritus of the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies, I have never considered myself a keeper of titles. I am, and will always be, a pilgrim — one who has been shaped, humbled, and astonished by this region’s relentless mystery.

This Institute was never meant to be a refuge from the world. It was meant to be part of the world’s wrestling. A meeting place. A sanctuary of the mind and heart — where scholarship does not float above life, but sinks deeply into its struggles. In an age of restless speed, we chose depth. In a world obsessed with easy answers, we chose harder questions.

South Asia refuses to be simplified. Its landscapes, languages, and legacies insist that we look again — and then again. It asks us to pause before judgment, to resist the tyranny of single stories. It asks us to listen with courage, and to think with compassion.

This Institute exists because we believe that knowledge must be rooted in humility. We believe that learning without love is hollow. We believe that ideas — when shaped by ethical imagination — can move more than policy; they can move people. They can move hearts.

What fills me with the deepest joy is seeing how this vision has come alive — not only in books or lecture halls, but in the difficult work of justice, in the quiet revolutions of forgotten places, in the hands of those who refuse to give up on dignity. Our scholars are not just thinkers — they are dreamers, activists, and bridge-builders. Their work lives wherever truth refuses to be silenced.

We have walked alongside voices both ancient and emerging — from village elders to international advocates — not because it was fashionable, but because it was right. Climate justice, public health, cultural memory, democratic renewal — these are not issues for debate alone. They are sacred tasks. They are the labor of love.

And so, as Patron Emeritus, I do not simply look backward with pride. I look forward — with expectation, with longing, and with faith. The legacy of Sadhu Sundar Singh does not call us to nostalgia. It calls us to boldness — to step into the unknown with love as our compass, with integrity as our guide.

To every scholar, every supporter, every friend of this Institute — know this: your work matters. Your questions matter. Your refusal to surrender to despair matters.

May this Institute always remain a refuge for difficult truths, a home for radical empathy, and a beacon for all who believe that South Asia’s story is still being written — by hands scarred by struggle and lifted by hope.

With enduring gratitude, and with steadfast hope,

Dr. Maharaj Devendra Shankara
Patron Emeritus
Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies