This is the nucleus organization, nursed by late Prof. V.I. Subramoniam with unremitting care over more than three decades.

The International School of Dravidian Linguistics is the sibling with the brains. It is headed by the Honorary Director and engages in the in-depth study of Linguistic and cultural aspects of the Dravidian identity. There is a complex of buildings housing the Library, the Computer Centre, the Bengali Museum, the Tribal Museum, the Speech Laboratory, the Language Laboratory and several other facilities. The Faculty is recruited strictly on the basis of invitation, as decided by the Council of Direction.