CONTENTS Academic Programmes Academic Activities Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial ...

70 Pages·2016·0.33 MB·English

CONTENTS
Academic Programmes
Academic Activities
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture 7
Tagore Memorial Lecture 7
Seminars, Conferences, Symposia and Round Tables 8
Weekly Seminars by National Fellows and Fellows 54
Monographs received from Fellows 57
Visiting Professors 58
Visiting Scholars 60
Guest Fellows 62
Seminars organized under the Tagore Centre
for the Study of Culture and Civilization 63
Inter University Centre for Humanities and
Social Sciences Associates 68
Seminars organized under IUC 78
Activities under IC4HD 91
Other Programmes 95
Administrative Initiatives 96
Publications 97
Library 99
Sales and Public Relations 101
Fire Station Cafe 103
Dispensary 104
Estate 104
Horticulture Wing 109
Stores and Supplies 111
Sports Complex 111
Academic Activities of the Director 112
DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Distinguished Members,
In keeping with convention, the academic activities and administrative initiatives undertaken by the
Institute are to be annually reported to the eminent scholars, experienced administrators and other
outstanding individuals who constitute the Indian Institute of Advanced Study Society. It is a
privilege and honour, therefore, to present the Director’s Report to this august gathering.
As indicated by the Report, the programmes and activities that the Institute is mandated to
conduct were carried out with a great degree of success. The Fellowship programme, that represents
the core of its academic engagements, has functioned especially well. Most of the Fellowship projects
were completed and submitted to the Institute as finalized monographs. Conferences and seminars
were organized in Shimla and in other parts of the country on diverse themes of perennial and
contemporary relevance. Workshops and schools conducted during the year enabled the Institute to
bring together eminent academics and a large number of younger researchers from different parts of
the country. We like to believe that all these activities help us create a network of academic
excellence that gradually reaches out to more and more institutions within the country and abroad.
The IIAS has, therefore, moved towards emerging as an important centre for academic engagement
and for throwing up significant issues of research in social sciences and humanities.
The exceptionally rich library of the Institute is, in particular, a researcher’s delight. While
additions to its impressive collection of books are continuously made, it is especially the subscription
to important e-resources that has made a substantial difference. Most importantly, the publications
of the Institute, both monographs and seminar proceedings, have been very well received. Our
policy of publishing on our own, as well as in collaboration with established international publishers,
has worked quite well. In so far as the support systems are concerned—Estate, Garden, Stores and
Supplies and Dispensary—I am happy to report that they have functioned well despite the challenges
posed by the extensive campus and numerous old buildings that require special care. There is,
however, always space for improvement, and I look forward to your comments on this report so that
we may work more effectively towards achieving the objectives of the Institute.
I place the Director’s Report for the period from 1 January 2013 to 28 February 2014 before the
members of the IIAS Society.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES
The following academic programmes were organized during the period of report:
A) ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
I. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture
The Dr Savepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial lecture is the most important academic activity of the
Institute. The 18th Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture was delivered at the Centre for
Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram on 31 January 2014 by Professor Mary E. John
of the Centre for Women’s Studies, New Delhi. Professor Amit Shovan Ray, Director, CDS
welcomed the audience; Professor Chetan Singh, Director, IIAS introduced the speaker after which
Professor Mary E. John delivered the lecture. Shri Suneel Verma, Secretary, IIAS proposed the vote
of thanks.
II. Tagore Memorial Lecture
The Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization has been established at the Institute.
One of the academic programmes to be organized as part of the activities of this Centre is a Tagore
Memorial Lecture that is to be delivered on an important theme concerning mankind by a scholar of
eminence.
The inauguration of the Centre and the first Tagore Memorial Lecture was organized at IIAS on
24 May 2013. Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Chairman of the Governing Body delivered the Welcome
Address. Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble President of India inaugurated the Tagore Centre for the
Study of Culture and Civilization and delivered the First Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Lecture.
Smt. Urmila Singh, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh was also present on the occasion. Shri
Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh also spoke on the occasion. Professor Peter
Ronald deSouza, IIAS Director, proposed the vote of thanks.
III. Seminars, Conferences, Symposia and Round Tables
1. ONE DAY WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS THE JACQUES DELORS REPORT “LEARNING THE TREASURE
WITHIN” (27 JANUARY 2013)
A one-day workshop to discuss the Jacques Delors Report “Learning the Treasure Within” was
organized on 27 January 2013 at IIAS Guest House, New Delhi.
PARTICIPANTS
• ProfessorPeter Ronald deSouza, IIAS Director;
• ProfessorA.R. Vasavi, Bangalore;
• Dr. Mary E. John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi;
• Dr. Vinod Raina, Bhopal;
• Dr. Alito Siqueira, Department of Sociology, Goa University, Goa
• Professor Satish Deshpande, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University, Delhi;
• Professor Shiv Visvanathan, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana; Dr. Deepti Priya
Mehrotra, New Delhi, and Professor Dhruv Raina, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi sent their inputs by mail.
2. SEMINAR ON “KNOWING THE SOCIAL WORLD: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES” (13-15 MARCH
2013)
Rationale: The last few decades have witnessed a phenomenal change in the socio-economic, political,
and cultural conditions across the world. While it is facile to attribute this to the forces of
globalization, the nature and consequences of emerging trends have not always been as expected by
developmental theorists or policy makers. Social scientists from various disciplinary backgrounds
have been busy trying to unravel both the trajectory of the changes and their implications for the
future. Apart from the variety and complexity of the issues they have for their consideration, social
scientists now need to review the methodology and methods that they deploy in researching them.
This review is called for several reasons. First, the conventional binaries – such as tradition and
modernity, global and local, rural and urban, etc. – and the cartography of imagination in terms of
borders are now blurred. Second, the tools and techniques of data collection and analysis have seen
fantastic advances in the wake of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Revolution.
Third and last, the very foundational assumptions of conventional social research methodology are
now being challenged, even to the extent of bordering methodological nihilism. The three-day
national seminar took stock of the methodological challenges that social science research is currently
facing and the response of its practitioners to these challenges.
The seminar on “Knowing the Social World: Challenges and Responses” was organized during
13-15 March 2013 at IIAS. Professor N. Jayaram, Fellow, IIAS was the Convener of the Seminar.
Professor Chetan Singh, IIAS Governing Board Member, delivered the Welcome Address. Professor
N. Jayaram introduced the theme of the Seminar.
PARTICIPANTS
• Professor Ram Bhagat, International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai;
• Dr. Mamta Karollil, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi;
• Dr. Shaila Desouza, Centre for Women’s Studies, Goa University, Goa;
• Dr. Vineetha Menon, Department Anthropology, Kannur University, Palayad, Thalasseri,
Kerala;
• Professor M.R. Narayana, Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, Institute for Social and
Economic Change, Nagarabhavi, Bangalore;
• Professor D. Rajasekhar, Centre for Decentralisation and Development, Institute for Social and
Economic Change, Nagarabhavi, Bangalore;
• Professor M. Rajivlochan, Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh;
• Dr. Vijay Ragahavan, Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work, Tata Institute
of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai;
• Dr. Sawmya Ray, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of
Technology, Guwahati;
• Dr. Sthithapragyan Ray, Department of Sociology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack;
• Dr. Rukmini Sen, School of Undergraduate Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi;
• Dr. Anirban Sengupta, School of Development Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi;
• Professor Siddarth Swaminathan, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Nagarabhavi,
Bangalore;
• Professor Badri Narayan, G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Jhusi, Allahabad;
• Ms. Hyun Jung Kim, Research Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai;
• Shri Rahul Choragudi, Research Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai;
• Professor Sasanka Perera, Department of Sociology, South Asian University, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi;
• Dr. Jesna Jaychandran, Department of Social Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar;
• Professor Chandan Mukherjee, Dean, School of Development Studies, Ambedkar University,
Delhi;
• Ms. Ruchi Palan, TISS, Mumbai;
• Ms. Arpita Das, TISS Mumbai,
• Dr. Mathew George, School of Health Systems Studies, TISS, Deonar, Mumbai;
• Professor Tiplut Nongbri, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, New Delhi;
• Professor D N Dhanagare, IIAS National Fellow;
• Professor Satish Kumar Sharma, Dr. Manish Kumar Thakur, Dr. Varsha Ganguly, Dr.
Amitranjan Basu, Dr. Malavika Kasturi, all IIAS Fellows.
The following presentations were made during the Seminar:
Session I
Dr. Vijay Raghavan: Exploring the Underworld: Some Methodological Challenges
Professor Sasanka Perera: To Click or Not to Click: Preliminary Thoughts on Photography’s
Methodological Absence in Social Anthropology in South Asia
Session II
Professor D. Rajasekhar, Erlend Berg and R. Manjula: Randomised Controlled Trials and
Programme Evaluations: Experiences and Lessons
Dr. Sthithapragyan Ray: Method in Development-induced Displacement Research: Issues and
Approaches
Session III
Dr. Vineetha Menon: Ethnography in the Study of Changing Agricultural Practices
Dr. Mamtha Karollil: Studying Youth Across “Tradition” and “Modernity”: A Multi-site,
Multi-disciplinary Endeavour’
Session IV
Professor Tiplut Nongbri: Researching the Khasi: Encounters with the Self
Shri Rahul Choragudi: Predicaments of a Madiga Ethnographer
Professor Badri Narayan: Exploration into the Life and Times of Dalits
Session V
Professor M.R. Narayana: National Transfer Accounts: A New Methodology to Analyse the Economic
Effects of India’s Age Structure Transition
Professor Siddharth Swaminathan: The Quantitative Analysis of Politics
Professor Ram G. Bhagat: Living Conditions and Assets among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
in India: A Census Analysis
Session VI
Ms. Hyun Jung Kim: Understanding Domestic Workers in Mumbai: A Korean’s Experience
Dr. Jesna Jayachandran: Knowing Journalism and News Work Differently: Reflections from an
Exploration to Unravel News Making
Session VII
Professor M. Rajivlochan and Meetha Rajivlochan: Use of Archives in Social Research
Dr. Rukmini Sen: Reading Autobiographies, Knowing Social Histories: Raising Sociological Questions
through Interdisciplinary Research
Dr. Sawmya Ray: Using Court Records for Research
Session VIII
Dr. Shaila Desouza: Fielding One’s Own: Prospects and Dilemmas in Researching Women’s Collective
Organising from Within
Dr. Anirban Sengupta: Developing Grounded Theory Using Atlas Ti: Analysis of Qualitative Data on
Entrepreneurs
Dr. Mathew George: Interpreting Doctor-Patient Interaction through Narratives
3. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “WHY PEACE ACCORDS AND PEACE PROCESSES FALTER?
RESOLVING ETHNO-NATIONALIST CONFLICTS AND THE CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACY AND
EQUALITY” (26-27 MARCH 2013)
Rationale: The conference critically examined the South Asian states’ praxis of resolving
ethno-nationalist conflicts via ‘partition’ or division based accords that empower ethnic elites in
power-sharing arrangements in autonomous or federal units. The conceptual framework underlying
the conference was that such peace processes are flawed as they do not have the capacity to empower
the struggling community. They can only reproduce and empower the counter elite or the new elite
which gets co-opted and becomes more like the unreformed state authority in the new federal or
autonomous arrangement. Also, such peace processes, by surrendering to the territorial imagination
of ethnic homelands, produces a hegemonic and homogenising identity politics that is exclusionary
of ‘other’ minorities leading to reactive and violent contestations.
The conference aimed to critically asses the success of such division-based peacemaking,
indexing it on the quality of democracy and the enabling of peoples’ rights and entitlements,
especially those of more vulnerable and marginalised communities. By placing the conflict-affected
peoples’ perspective and experiences at the centre, it intended to explore the gap between the
national elite’s vision of conflict management, pacification, and restoring normalcy and the peoples’
expectations of systemic change in the factors that drove the conflict. The conference provided an
opportunity to interrogate the creation of territorial autonomies and federal arrangements which in
the global template of the liberal democratic peace have come to be seen as the panacea for
empowering discriminated marginalized communities. Besides, the objective of the conference was
to focus on South Asian states’ praxis of resolving ‘ethno-nationalist’ conflicts, identify common
patterns and develop a conceptual framework of critical analysis.
The International Seminar on “Why Peace Accords and Peace Processes Falter? Resolving
Ethno-Nationalist Conflicts and the Challenge for Democracy and Equality” was organized in
collaboration with South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) at IIAS during 26-27 March 2013.
Dr. Rita Manchanda, Research Director, SAFHR, New Delhi was the Convener of the Seminar.
Professor Peter Ronald deSouza, Director, IIAS welcomed the participants and gave the Opening
Remarks. Shri Tapan Bose and Dr. Rita Manchanda gave an Introduction to the Seminar.
PARTICIPANTS
• Professor Amena Mohsin, Department International Relations, Dhaka University, Bangladesh;
• Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, City University of New York, USA;
• Shri Tapan Bose, Secretary General, SAFHR, New Delhi;
• Dr. Rita Manchanda, Research Director, SAFHR, New Delhi;
• Professor Krishna Hachhethu, Tribhuvan University CNAS, Kathmandu;
• Dr. Sajjad Hassan; Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi;
• Professor Ponmoni Sahadevan, Chairperson, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi;
• Ms. Nirupama Subramanian, The Hindu, Chennai;
• Dr. Shamala Kumar, Department of Economics, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;
• Professor David Gellner, Oxford;
• Dr. Malem Ningthouja, Delhi;
• Dr. Pradip Phanjoubam, Shri Sumanta Banerjee and Dr. Manisha Gangahar, all IIAS Fellows.
The following presentations were made during the seminar:
Session-I
North East Peace Processes I
Dr. Rita Manchanda: New Opportunities and Constraints in the Changing Dynamics of the Naga Peace
Process
Dr. Sajjad Hassan: Exploring Alternative Pathways to Durable Peace: Bottom-up Peace Building in
Manipur?
Session-II
North East Peace Processes II
Dr. Malem Ningthouja: When Histories Confront: Rethinking History Towards Constructing Peace
Session-III
Chittagong Hill Tracks Peace Processes
Professor Amena Mohsin: Accord of Discords: The Chittagong Hill Tracks, Bangladesh
Session-IV
Sri Lanka
Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar: Rethinking of Ethnic Conflict: Nationalism, Militarisation and the Challenges
for Democratisation and Equality
Dr. Shamala Kumar: Post War Militarisation: Military Expansion into Education
Session-V
Nepal-Madhes
Shri Tapan Bose: Nepal: The Struggle between Unionists and Federalists
Professor Krishna Hachhethu: Focus on the Federal Demand: Janajatis and Nepal’s Transitional
Peace Process
Session-VI
Balochistan/Sind/Swat
Ms. Nirupama Subramanian: Reflections on Conflict and Conflict Management in Balochistan Swat
and Sind
Session-VII
Towards Comparative and Comparative and Conceptual Framing
Professor Ponmoni Sahadevan: Role of Ceasefires in Peace Processes
Dr. Rita Manchanda: Why People are Afraid of ‘Peace’: Conceptual and Comparative Analysis of Peace
Processes in South Asia
4. COLLOQUIUM ON “CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: STATE AND SOCIETY”
(27 MAY 2013)
Rationale: Two recent events have revived the debate over the efficacy and ethics of death penalty.
First, in India, the hanging of Afzal Guru in February this year provoked widespread protests both in
his home state Kashmir and among Human Rights groups – Indian as well as International. Next, in
the same month, in Bangladesh, thousands of people came out in the streets of Dhaka, demanding
the hanging of those convicted of massacring men, women and children during the civil war in 1971
in the then East Pakistan. These two opposite demonstrations of public opinion – one against death
sentence and the other in favour – problematize the issue of capital punishment from two
perspectives: one, popular demand for retributive justice through the present penal system by the
execution of perpetrators of heinous crimes, and two, humanitarian impulses that seek to change
that system in favour of a less-violent form of punishment. The one-day colloqium on “Capital
Punishment: State and Society” was organized to bring together representatives from the judiciary,
academic community and human rights movement among others, to discuss the intricacies of the
debate on the issue. The colloqium intended to help both the Indian state and our society to
seriously introspect on a subject which had been controversial for a long time – creating ambivalence
among certain sections and provoking sharp divisions between others.
The colloquium on “Capital Punishment: State and Society”was organized at IIAS on 27 May
2013. Shri Sumanta Banerjee, IIAS Fellow, was the Convener of the Colloquium. Professor D N
Dhanagare, IIAS National Fellow, delivered the Welcome Address. Shri Sumanta Banerjee
introduced the theme of the Colloquium and proposed the Vote of Thanks.
PARTICIPANTS
• Professor D N Dhanagare, IIAS National Fellow;
• Shri Sukumar Muralidharan, International Federation of Journalists, Gurgaon;
• Shri Om Prakash Valmiki, IIAS Fellow;
• Ms. Tripti Tandon, Lawyers Collective, Jungpura, New Delhi;
• Professor C Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana;
• Professor Shiv Visvanathan, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana;
• Shri Sumanta Banerjee, IIAS Fellow;
• Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Purana Quila Road, New Delhi;
• Shri Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Advocate, Mumbai;
• Ms. Geeta Ramaseshan, Advocate, Mylapore, Chennai;
• Shri Anup Surendranath, National Law University, New Delhi;
• Shri Venkat Venkatesan, New Delhi.
Following presentations were made during the colloquium:
Shri Om Prakash Valmiki: Mritudand: Kitna Munasib
Ms. Tripti Tandon: Fit to Live or Die?: Navigating the Maze between the ‘Most Serious Crime’ and
‘Rarest of Rare Case’
Shri Sukumar Muralidharan: Crime and Punishment in Liberal-Democratic Doctrine: Civil Society
and the Defence of Privilege
An open session was also organized in which all the participants made presentations.
5. SEMINAR ON “ORDINARY LIVES IN A CONFLICT ZONE: VOICES FROM KASHMIR” (3-5 JUNE 2013)
Rationale: Testimonies in oral/written/audio/visual genre are vital accounts bearing witness to
wrongs committed against the victims and can serve as an important tool for documenting violations
and achieving social, political and legal credibility when formal institutions for the protection of civil