By Bhagirathi Panda
I read the article ‘Growth and Decline of the ICSSR-NERC’ recently published in this esteemed daily with utmost respect and seriousness. The author’s portrayal of the origin and contribution of earlier Chairpersons (VCs), eminent Social Scientists, Honorary Directors, Deputy Directors and his concern for the development of this Regional Centre of ICSSR are all well taken. However, I being one of the stakeholders of this institution as its incumbent Honorary Director, personally feel some of the facts mentioned, opinions expressed and axioms built are based on information asymmetry.
Let me begin my write up by stating an important fact for the knowledge of our readers that the position of the Honorary Director of ICSSR-NERC is an additional responsibility shouldered by a Professor of NEHU in addition to his/her primary job of teaching and research in the University. Besides him, there are many other stakeholders of this institution. The Honorary Director is assisted by a full-time Deputy/Assistant Director in discharging the administrative and academic functions of the center. The prime mandated function of this Regional Center is to support the organization of seminars, workshops, symposiums, research methodology courses, conferences at different universities, colleges and institutions in India’s North-east. Organisation of such events provide opportunities for young and experienced social scientists to come together to deliberate, debate, discuss, contest and interrogate theories, perspectives and practices in different branches of social sciences and humanities primarily in the context of the North-east. Some such events also contribute to appropriate policy making and formulation of development practices in sensitising development practitioners by inviting them to be a part of such events or by sending them the proceedings or publications based on the deliberations in the events. Organisation of research methodology courses is meant to expand the capability vector of young research scholars and faculty members working mainly in the higher educational institutions of the region.
Besides this primary function, the centre also awards (i) study grants for research scholars in order to visit libraries anywhere in India, (ii) sponsor organization of lectures by distinguished scholars on issues pertaining to the region and (iii) help to disseminate information about the programmes of the ICSSR.
The present Honorary Director assumed charge of the centre on September 17, 2020 when Covid-19 was at its peak and the post of Deputy Director was vacant, and continues to remain vacant till date. For almost one and half years of my tenure, because of Covid-19 , we could not do much as higher educational institutions were unable to organise seminars, workshops, symposiums, research methodology courses and conferences in physical mode. However, compared to other regional centres we organised the maximum possible webinars in online mode.
Post Covid-19 recovery, the Centre took up all its mandated objectives in right earnest and achieved decisive results. Since the earlier published article mentions about the fall of ICSSR-NERC during the last six to seven years period, it is pertinent to make an appropriate comparison with respect to periods before this six-year-period and after-Covid-19 recovery period based on hard data available in the annual reports of the centre. Since the incumbent Honorary Director practically got two full-fledged normal years i.e. 2022-23 and 23-24 ( minus the abnormal Covid-19 period) to work with , it would be prudent to take the average achievements in different mandated dimensions for the period of 2022-23 and 2023-24 and compare it with the average achievements for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17. When it comes to sponsoring number of seminars, workshops, symposiums, research methodology courses, conferences etc. the average achievement for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 67 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 134) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 51 ( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 102). When it comes to seminars, workshops, symposiums, research methodology courses, conferences organised by the Centre itself, the average achievement for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 3 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 6) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 1.5 ( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 3).
Similarly, with respect to doctoral contingency grants to the research scholars, the average accomplishment for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 25 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 50) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 17.5 ( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 35). In the dimension of lectures delivered, the average accomplishment for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 4 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 8) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 1.5 ( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 3). When it comes to the category of collaborative programmes, the average attainment for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 4.5 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 9) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 1 ( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 2). In the category of minor research projects completed, the average attainment for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was 11 (for the whole period of 2022-24, it was 22) and for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17, it was 4( for the whole period of 2015-17 it was 8). It is only in the category of ‘study grants’, the average achievement for the period 2022-23 and 2023-24 was less compared to the period 2015-16 and 2016-17.
During the past two and half years several national and international seminars, workshops, symposiums, research methodology courses, conferences and special lectures were also organised. Accomplished intellectuals like Prof. Dilip Ratha(Lead Economist of the World Bank), Prof. Heyman Josiah(University of Texas at El Paso) Prof. Parvati Raghuram(The Open University, United Kingdom), Prof. Massimo Warglien( Ca Foscari University, Venezia, Italy), Prof. Sanjay Chaturvedi, Prof. David R. Syiemlieh, , Prof. Hemanath Rao, Prof. Lakhwinder Singh, Prof. Sukhpal Singh, Prof. Samir Kumar Das and many more have delivered special lectures. To improve the research capability of research scholars a number of customized research methodology courses with focus on evaluation of public welfare programmes were held. Some of the best researchers in this identified field from IIT Roorkee and Jamila Milia Islamia were invited as resource persons.
To comprehend the contribution of Arts and Literature to social science theory and practice, a number of workshops were organized at the centre in collaboration with renowned third space organizations and public universities such as Positve Energy Art Foundation, Riti Academy, EFLU and NEHU. In one such collaborative programme with Positve Energy Art Foundation, Shillong, more than 10 known international academics in the domain of Art and Sculpture came from 6 countries of the world. The Center also had its collaborative programmes on important issues affecting the immediate community with important think-tanks such as ICARE, Asian Confluence, OKISCD and ASF. In one such programme entitled “ Community Engagement in Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Meghalaya -Lessons Learned and and Future Strategies ‘ held in collaboration with ICARE, a number of eminent development practitioners such as Toki Blah, Patricia Mukhim, Sampath Kumar and Prof. Nanda Kishore Kanmuri shared their perspectives and experiences which had its contribution to the art and science of community engagement in managing pandemics and also the practice of public policy.
Realizing that many of our tribal communities in the North-east have their rich past but do not have relevant history, in 2022 it brought out a special issue of its journal Man and Society entitled “Lesser Known/Unknown Freedom Fighters from India’s North-east”. Further, the website of the Centre is now much more inclusive and interactive compared to any period in the past. The list can go on. All these cardinal achievements the Centre has realized during the tenure of the current Honorary Director while undertaking his prime job of teaching , research and extension at NEHU and that too against the situation of not having a regular Deputy Director.
Finally, although there is no explicit mention about the academic credentials of the incumbent Honorary Director, unwittingly, the write up casts an aspersion. The academic and administrative credentials of the incumbent Honorary Director are in the public domain in the website of the University for everybody’s consumption. Let me end by saying that I have my reverence for the opinion and concerns expressed in the write up by the author but felt somewhat odd that amidst the built-narrative, ‘the silent and unassuming contribution,’ of many stakeholders of ICSSR-NERC including that of the incumbent Honorary Director during the past 4 years are given an absolute omission.
As my term of Honorary Director comes to an end, I sincerely hope that my successor would be a prominent social scientist who would carry forward on what my small team at the Centre has built and take ICSSR-NERC to greater heights.
(The author teaches Economics at NEHU)