The Gandhian historian and freedom fighter Shri Dharampal (1922 – 2006) revealed a picture of India prior to the British rule that was entirely at variance from what was commonly understood as gospel truths in post-independence India. Through his pioneering archival research in England and India using concrete data, he showed that pre- British India was a healthy, functioning and prosperous society, in many aspects equal to or better than Europe of those times. His work particularly brought out the seminal achievements of India in many areas of Science, Technology and their Practice – from Agriculture, Health, Iron and Steel, Textiles etc. to Mathematics and Astronomy. A significant part of Dharampal's archival work was related to the 18th Century economy and society of the Chengalpet region of Tamil Nadu, and was carried out from Chennai. Dharampalji felt close to the Tamil people and society, and had great regard for their achievements in various fields.
The PPST (Patriotic and People-oriented Science and Technology) Foundation took birth in Chennai around early 1980s with the aim of making contemporary Indian S&T (Science and Technology) more creative, productive and capable of serving the needs of our people. It drew significant inspiration and guidance from the work of Dharampal, who was in fact the first President of PPST Foundation. Through the PPST Bulletins and the Congresses on Traditional S&T of India, it showed the rich S&T Traditions of our society in diverse fields, and how they continue to be of great relevance in many ways even today.
In February 2021, the PPST Group initiated a yearlong series of events to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Dharampal, as part of which it a Commemorative Volume was sought to be published. The volume has recently been compiled with 33 articles authored by 36 scientists, scholars, thinkers and activists from across India who had known and worked closely with Dharampalji. The 450 page volume titled “Reimagining Swaraj through Indian Traditions – Essays in Honour of Shri. Dharampal on his Birth Centenary” is being published jointly by the PPST Group and Other India Publishers, Goa, and was formally released on 17th Sept 2022 by Dharampal's daughter and the well-known historian Prof. Gita Dharampal. The formal release function will be followed by a seminar on the broad theme of “Reimagining Swaraj through Indian Traditions --A Seminar on India's path forward in the Knowledge Domain”.
REIMAGINING Swaraj through Indian Traditions – Essays in Honour of Shri Dharampal on his Birth Centenary – Articles by Eminent Thinkers, Academics, Writers, Activists and Thought Leaders
- Reminisces of a Daughter – Gita Dharampal
- A Tribute to Dharampal's Contribution – The Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche
- Dharampal and the PPST: Recalling a Complex and Enriching Engagement - CN Krishnan and A.V. Balasubramanian
- Remembering Dharampal -Anuradha Joshi
- What I Remember of Dharampal and Some Reflections – K. S. Gandhi
- Dharampal: What Did I Learn (or Not Learn) From Him? – Uma Shankari
- अतुलनीय धर्मपाल का बौद्धिक पुरुषार्थ - Rameshwar Mishra Pankaj
- Dharampal Centenary: Some Reflections – H.S. Shankar
- The Future Desired by Dharampal: Countering Despoliation and Defamation of India to Realizing Bharata Svaroopa-Svabbava - Pranav Kumar Vasishta G.V.
- Normanising the World with Three “I”s: What I Learnt from Dharampal from His Study of Britain/Europe Eight to Ten Generations Back – V. Balaji
- Dharampal: A Nationalist Stream in the Study of Indian History – K. Aravindakshan (translated from Malayalam by E. Madhavan)
- On the Significance of Dharampal's Work for Understanding the Concepts of Rule of Law and Legitimacy in Indian Tradition - Satish K. Jain
- Civil Disobedience During British Rule: Some Instances from Dharampal's Archives - T.M. Mukundan
- My Journey Towards Gandhi, and Dharampal - N. Bharath Ballal
- Revisiting Dharampal's Archival Compilation on the British Attempt to Dismantle the Revival of Village Industries by Gandhi All India Village Industries Association, c.1934-35 - Ramasubramanian and Rama Ram
- खण्डित आत्म के उपचार की खोज - अमनदीप वशिष्ठ | Amandeep Vashisth
- Dharampal As We Remember Him - M.D. Srinivas and J.K. Bajaj
- Magnificent Obsession - Claude Alvares
- Dharampal: Beyond Categories - Pawan Gupta
- Dharampal: In Search of the Truth of India's Misery - Rajiv Vora
- The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner: Dharampal as a Public Intellectual - Shiv Visvanathan
- Dharampal: Beyond History and Historiography - G. Sivaramakrishnan and J.K. Suresh
- Five Small Chapters on Dharampal - Udayan Vajpeyi
- Gandhi and the Indian Mind - Ashok Jhunjhunwala
- The Current Relevance of Our Ancient Science of Medicine: Ayurveda - P.LT. Girija
- लोकविद्या, संत परंपरायें और स्वराज - चित्रा सहस्रबुद्धे / Chitra Sahasrabudhey
- Reimagining India's National Health System (NHS) - Darshan Shankar
- Traditional Mathematics and Astronomy in the Context of Present-Day India - M.S. Sriram
- An Indian Knowledge Movement: Gandhi, Dharampal, and the Present - Sunil Sahasrabudhey
- धर्मपाल और भविष्य की राह - पवन गुप्त / Pawan Gupta
- Global Gram Swaraj: Vision of the Future - Rajeev Sangal
- Colonization as Epistemicide, Decolonization as Regeneration of Indigenous Science and Technology: Lessons from Food, Agriculture and Biodiversity. - Vandana Shiva
- धरमपाल जी औपनिवेशिक अँधेरे में एक प्रकाश स्तम्भ - आनंद कुमार / Anand Kumar