From roots to branches

Updated on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

It may not be as popular or 'mainstream' as an MBA, but development studies, usually offered as a Masters programme in institutes across the country, has been steadily growing in popularity.

What does the course entail? According to K Nagaraj, professor, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, "Development studies, as a subject, gained prominence after World War-II and is closely linked to third world countries - a lot of which gained independence around this time. This set the context for development economics and sometime in the 70s, the focus shifted from development economics to development studies." The evolution of development studies signified two important shifts: the course became multi-disciplinary , while earlier, it was confined to economics; secondly, it became location-specific , drawing from development experiences of different countries.

Economics still remains the central focus of the course, along with bits of history, sociology, anthropology and different dimensions of development.

Amiya Kumar Bagchi, professor and first-chancellor , Tripura Central University, and director, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, says, "In the first semester of our development studies course, we get students to read some selected chapters of classics in social sciences and in human sciences, with special emphasis on human development issues. All students have to engage in a field study lasting for a week to learn about a particular issue in the villages of West Bengal. This gives them a feel of what it means to be poor, an idea of how to design a field study, and evokes in them a desire to devise appropriate policies to redress the ills. In the second semester, they can specialise in a subject of their choice - political science, economics, sociology or history."

Students who pursue this course come from backgrounds as diverse as sociology, economics and women's studies. "There aren't many opportunities in the private sector, except for a few students who choose to do economic journalism," says Nagaraj. Bagchi adds, "We have had graduates in environmental studies and even in medicine opting for the course." Most of the students who graduate get into academic research, teaching, NGOs, organisations like the UN, the World Bank and the Planning Commission.

Bagchi says, "Some of our graduates have gone on to pursue PhD in universities in India and abroad; some have become teachers in schools and colleges, while others have joined NGOs. My own belief is that there will be a growth of development studies in future, because recombinant disciplines - like recombinant DNAs - are an essential part of human heritage."

Despite the scope and relevance of development studies, it still remains a relatively niche segment that very few students explore. That's probably because there aren't many good institutes offering this course and also in part due to the lack of awareness among students in general.

Nagaraj points out that another important issue is the fact that development studies is confined to research institutions and are not directly linked with universities. "That's why they are not visible, and hence, not as popular as they should have been," he explains.

Further, experts believe that the government needs to offer renewed support to these institutes. Nagaraj explains, "There was a boom in state funding of such research institutions in the 70s; but, after a period of time, the state funds dried up and these institutes were left to sustain on their own. A revival of interest from the government's end will go a long way in ensuring quality and adding more reputed institutes."

Institute watch

Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata

Times of India

From roots to branches

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