Image: Courtesy of Dev N. Pathak, Sociology, SAU.
About The Department - Vision and Beyond



Over the last half century or so, a vast body of knowledge(s) on the region has evolved within South Asia that mostly remain within the countries of their origin due to a number of reasons. In this specific context, there is a crucial need to share some of this knowledge in contemporary times when, despite assertions of localisations and mini-narratives, the universal does retain its emphasis through a constant dialectics of the two. The debate between the local and universal or mini-narratives and meta-narratives continue to rage, and is more clearly visible in the context of South Asian context. Even so, we are acutely aware of the non-existence of regular and serious forums for South Asian scholarship in social sciences to showcase our own research and thinking. We are also quite conscious of the fact that the process of establishing sociology in the region has created its own peculiarities which has established close inter-relationships between sociology and social anthropology, history, cultural studies, archeology and other related disciplines. We consider the porousness of South Asian sociology one of its most enduring strengths. On the other hand, we are not unaware of the unfortunate regressions sociology has experienced in different South Asian contexts over the last 30 years or so marked by numerous institutional failures.



It is within the context(s) outlined above that the Department of Sociology at South Asian university, initiated in 2011 witihn the Faculty of Social Sciences contributes to teaching, training and knowledge production. It is not intended to be a mere forum for the production of cutting-edge intellectual knowledge and exchange of that knowledge traversing across national borders in South Asia and beyond. Our expectation is that this knowledge would dislocate the persistence of an imposed framework emanating from the colonisation process and postcolonial politics of knowledge. Despite the passage of over fifty years since the process of official decolonization began in the region, much of the analyses of our problems, situations, histories and dynamics emanate from Euro American academia; this is certainly the case when it comes to conceptual formulations and theoretical approaches that are being employed in exploring the region’s social and cultural complexities often without much self-reflection.



The Department of Sociology strongly believes in the need to reformulate this situation by effectively centering South Asia without naively shunning thought from these established centers of knowledge be they in Europe or North America. We believe in an active and robust engagement with these issues within South Asia. In this context, through the work of its faculty and the research of graduate students, the Department would bring forward the newer forms of knowledge that comprehends and represents the South Asian context with a more authoritative and nuanced voice. We strongly believe in the need to actively intervene in the process of knowledge formation through a constant sharing of knowledge that the region produces as well as through interaction with the world beyond the region.



The courses taught in the Department as well as the research carried out by its faculty members reflect this overall vision and our collective commitment towards innovation, move beyond untenable stereotypes, and explore a new world of knowledge within the discipline of Sociology.


Class of 2011, Department of Sociology, South Asian University; Image: Courtesy of Dev N. Pathak, Sociology, SAU.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Thee Years of South Asian University: Experiences and Expectations


This is what the recently published book, Pathways to Power: The Domestic Politics of South Asia edited by Arjun Gunaratne and Anita M Weiss (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014) says about South Asian University in its introduction:

“When India has professed a priority, it seems that SAARC takes it up and the result is generally in India’s favor. Take, for example, SAARC’s initiative to create a South Asian University. For many years, the idea was bandied about in conferences, meetings and high-level summits. It was envisioned as an opportunity for SAARC to bring together the greatest minds of the sub-continent while also providing an outstanding higher education opportunity for students from every South Asian country. But what was the final result? SAARC’s South Asian University abuts Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, and its faculty consists mostly of JNU graduates. There is nothing particularly distinctive about the SAARC South Asian University except its focus on political economy; in essence, it is Indian University with apolitical economic focus. Indeed, other SAARC proposals have shared similar fates: those that India wished to ignore dissipated, and those that India supported have essentially become Indian initiatives. India has been able to proceed with its own economic and political agenda without the need to collaborate with other states in the region. Until such time that India can be a partner rather than seek to be the regional chief executive, SAARC’s prospects to promote economic and social collaborations within the region will remain problematic” ('Introduction: Situating Domestic Politics in South Asia', p. 17).

Whatever the merits of this brief opinion, SAU has been and will continue to be in South Asia's public domain. It has and will continue to generate ideas both positive and not so positive about the very idea of the university as well as its being. Do you have any ideas? Any comments? Any anxieties? And suggestions? Come join the exchange of views about our presence on September 19th at SAU's FSI Hall:


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