Prof. Vasant Shinde is internationally renowned archaeologist and former Vice-Chancellor of the Deccan College, Pune. Prof. Shinde has been a pioneer in archaeological research for almost 40 years, specialising in the Protohistory of South Asia as well as Field Archaeology.  

He has directed a vast number of excavations around the country, from Harappan sites in Gujarat and Haryana to Chalcolithic sites in Madhya Pradesh and the Deccan, to Protohistoric and Early historic Sites in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Presently, he has been directing a very prestigious research project at the largest Harappan site of Rakhigarhi in Haryana.  

Several crucial elements of South Asian archaeology, from hitherto unknown protohistoric cultural phases to models of urbanisation in Mewar, Rajasthan, owe their discovery to him. He has initiated several levels of International Collaboration with Institutes around the world, bringing Indian archaeology to a truly global level. He has established the Society of South Asian Archaeology (SOSAA) with a view to promoting young archaeologists and further global collaboration.