“Why study developing societies?” someone once asked Rajni Kothari. The answer lies within the walls of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies CSDS.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies stands here. It is a beacon of social science and humanities research in India. Founded in 1963 by the visionary Rajni Kothari, CSDS is near Delhi University.
Imagine Kothari leaving his post to establish CSDS. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies first resided in a building owned by the Indian Adult Education Association. Later, in 1966 or 1967, it moved to its current location on Rajpur Road.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies’s commitment involves studying transformational dynamics. CSDS enables informed future projections. It also allows for intelligent retrospection.
The library is more than just books. It started modestly. It grew from a few bookshelves to a collection of 29000 books. It contains 5000 bound volumes of journals. Over 130 journals are received regularly. The library has works on Asia and Africa. It holds works about the arms race and the peace movement. Non-European perspectives are represented. There are books about science studies, ecology, the environment, and human rights. A separate collection of Hindi books covers a wide range of subjects. Access to the collection is computerized. The CSDS library is a member of library networks.
Consider the CSDS Data Unit. Established in 1965, it maintains an archive of survey data. This data focuses on political behaviour and attitudes. It spans over four decades. The unit holds secondary data sets. These sets focus especially on elections in India.
CSDS operates various programs. These include the Lokniti Programme for Comparative Democracy. There is also the Sarai Programme and the Indian Language Programme.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies boasts an interdisciplinary faculty. Their expertise spans diverse disciplines. They cover many research themes and methodologies. CSDS studies politics and policy. It believes politics happens in unlikely places. These places include cinema and social media. CSDS studies changing social dynamics. It addresses social violence, caste rituals, and religious traditions. It researches youth culture and gender participation in politics. The centre studies literature and cinema. It researches material transformations in urban ecologies. CSDS studies Indian intellectual traditions.
The CSDS values its autonomy. It offers freedom of thought and dissent. CSDS runs three peer-reviewed journals. It holds a massive election database. This database is accessible to scholars worldwide. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies holds workshops for young researchers. Its faculty contributes to public commentary. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies is largely funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research.
As you leave the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies remember its mission. It challenges accepted routes of social change. It nurtures a tension between scholarly work and social movements. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies remains a vital institution.