Prof Varaprasad Sekhar Dolla
Professor in Chinese Studies
Centre for East Asian Studies
School of International Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi 110 067

Mailing Address
11, Dakshinapuram
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi- 110067, INDIA
Phones: Mobile; 9810143037, (O) 91-11- 2674 4587
Fax: 91-11- 2674 1586
E-mail: dvaraprasads@gmail.com and dvs@mail.jnu.ac.in

Varaprasad S. Dolla is Professor in Chinese Studies. Currently, he teaches two courses on Chinese history and Development and Inequality in India and China. He taught courses on Chinese foreign policy, Chinese political system, Science and Technology in China's development and contemporary issues in Asia earlier.
He has published a book entitled Science and Technology in Contemporary China: Interrogating Policies and Progress (Cambridge University Press), research articles in journals and chapters in books and presented research papers in the international and national conferences. He has been guiding M. Phil and Ph. D students in their research for the last 23 years.


Academic Antecedents       

Ph.D. Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2000. Science and Technology Policies in China since 1978.                                              

M. Phil. Jawaharlal Nehru University, 1994. Science and Ideology in Deng's China.

M. A. University of Hyderabad, History, 1991. History.

Administrative Position

Chairperson of the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2014-2016.

Academic Position

Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, since 2013.

Associate Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2006-2013.

Assistant Professor, (Senior Scale), Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2001 to 2006. 

Assistant Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 1997 to 2001.

Research Interests

       1. Contemporary Chinese Science, Technology and Innovation
       2. Modern History of China
       3. Unification of China
       4. Domestic Politics in China 

Teaching Fields
Courses Taught

       M. A. Programme
          1. Foreign Policy of China
          2. Government and Politics in China

       M. Phil Programme
          1. Chinese Political System
          2. Science and Technology in China's Development (I have introduced the Course)
          3. Research Methodology

 

Courses Currently Teaching
     M. Phil Programme

     1. Issues and Themes in Chinese History, 1840-1949. (I have introduced the Course).

     M.A. Programme
     1. Development and Inequality in India and China (Prof. Mahendra P. Lama and I have introduced the Course).

Awards / Fellowships

  1. ASIA (Asian Studies In Asia) Fellow Award from Asian Scholarship Foundation funded by Ford Foundation to conduct research on The Tao of Science and State in Post-Mao China for nine months in China in 2004.

  2. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fellowship for Doctoral Studies by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund in 1996 (Could not avail since I took up the current teaching assignment).

  3. Junior and Senior Research Fellowship by the University Grants Commission.

Visiting Professor/Academic Mentor

o Academic Mentor to post-doctoral researchers at India China Institute, New School, New York, during 2017-2020.

o Institute of Modern International Studies, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2014.

Publications

Books

  1. Science and Technology in Contemporary China: Interrogating Policies and Progress (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2015).

Journals Articles

  1. "Mapping Science and Technology Studies on China in India: Context, Contours and Challenges", (China Report forthcoming).

  2. "Technology Trade in India-China Relations: Divergent Dynamics and Implications", Journal of International Affairs, vol. 64, no. 2, 2011, pp. 125-141.

  3. "Agricultural Science and Technology in China: A Three Decade Review of Policy and Progress", Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, vol. 2, no. 1, 2011, pp. 79-93.

  4. "Technology Transfer in Sino-Japanese Relations: The Context, Conflict and Cooperation", China Report, vol. 44, no. 2, 2008, pp. 153-174.

  5. "Science and Technology Cooperation between India and China", International Studies, vol. 42, nos. 3 & 4, July-December 2005, pp. 307-327.

  6. "Chinese Unification Model of Hong Kong: History, Colonization and Decolonization", International Studies, vol. 34, no. 4, 1997, pp. 393-408.

Chapters in Books

  1. "Domestic Politics in Contemporary China: Ideas, Institutions and Issues", in Harsh V. Pant, The Rise of China: Implications for India (New Delhi: Foundation Books, Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 50-84.

  2. "Civilian Technology Transfers", in Swaran Singh, ed., China-Pakistan Strategic Cooperation: Indian Perspectives (New Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2007), pp. 275-299.

  3. "Science and Technology in Deng's China", in Kanti Bajpai and Amitabh Mattoo ed., The Dragon and the Peacock: India–China Relations in the Twenty First Century. (New Delhi: Har-Anand Publication Pvt. Ltd., 2000), pp. 124-145.

  4. "Science, Technology and Development in Asia: Implications for Security and Foreign Policy", in Madhu Bhalla, ed., Asian Politics: Shaping Domestic and Foreign Policy (forthcoming).

Contributions to Encyclopedia of Chinese History

  1. "Education", in Michael Dillon, Encyclopedia of Chinese History (London: Routledge, 2017)

  2. "Universities", in Michael Dillon, Encyclopedia of Chinese History (London: Routledge, 2017).

  3. "Science", in Michael Dillon, Encyclopedia of Chinese History (London: Routledge, 2017).

  4. "Joseph Needham", in Michael Dillon, Encyclopedia of Chinese History (London: Routledge, 2017).

Conference Proceedings

  1. “Civilian Technology Transfer between China and Pakistan”, in Proceedings of One-Day International Seminar, Area Study Centre, University of Sindh, September 2005, pp. 55-69.

Newspaper and Magazine Article

  1. "Bridging the Gulf between Dream and Reality", The Hindu, Monday, 18 January, 2021.

  2. "Development and Inequality in China and India: Their Broad Contours", Global Dialogue Review, April-June 2019, pp. 70-79.

  3. "ST&I in China's Quest for Energy Security", On Trade, vol. 3, no. 3, March 2017, pp. 12-13.

  4. "G 20 Summit in China: A Vision for Global Growth", People's Daily, 22 September 2016. http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0922/c900009118409.html.

  5. "India, Africa are Natural Partners in Economic and Social Development", Global Dialogue Review, Special Issue, October 2015, pp. 52-54.

  6. "Comprehensive Reforms in China", Gateway House, 2 April 2015.

  7. "Science Diplomacy", Public Diplomacy, (Los Angeles) Summer 2010, pp. 19-20.

  8. "China-US Relations", IPCS.

  9. "From Economic Interdependence to Integration", The Economic Times, Thursday, 3 July 1997.

  

Book Reviews

  1. Michael T. Rock and Michael A. Toman, China's Technological Catch-up Strategy: Industrial Development, Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions (London: Oxford University Press, 2015) in Global Dialogue Review, vol. 3, no. 4, 2015.

  2. Jon Sigurdson with Jiang Jiang and et al, Technological Superpower China (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2005) in China Report, vol. 46, no. 4, 2010, pp. 482-484.

  3. Daya Kishan Thussu, International Communication: Continuity and Change (London: Edward Arnold Publishers, 2000) in International Studies, vol. 40, no. 1, 2003, pp. 101-104.

  4. Xin Liu, In One's Own Shadow: An Ethnographic Account of Post-Reform Rural China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000) in China Report, vol. 38, no. 3, 2002, pp.430-434.

Research Report

"The Tao of Science and State in Post-Mao China: An Inquiry into their Interaction", submitted to Asian Scholarship Foundation, Funded by Ford Foundation, Bangkok, pp. 30. Published in The Asian Scholar, (E-journal), no. 2, pp. 15.  

Research Project

Completed a two-year (2013-2015) sponsored research project on Technological Innovation in Contemporary China and India: Prospects for Cooperation, funded by ICSSR. The amount of allocation is Rs. 14.75 lakhs.

Completed a three-year project on The Role of Leaders in Social Change: A Comparative Study of Mao Zedong and Martin Luther King Jr. JNU UPE II Project for Rs. 3.35 lakhs.

Research Papers Presented in Conferences

      International

  1. "Mapping Science and Technology Studies on China in India", at the conference on China Studies in India and Indian Studies on China organized by ICS-ISAS, Sichuan University, Chengdu, on 5 May 2015.

  2. "Panchsheel under New Circumstances: Principles and Power", Chinese Institute of Foreign Affairs, Beijing, on 27 June 2014.

  3. "Can India and China Emerge as Nations of Innovation", Tsinghua-Lancaster University STS Workshop on Risk, Innovation and Social Governance: Science and Technology for a Sustainable World, Beijing, China on 3 July 2014.

  4. "S&T Cooperation in India-China Relations: Trends, Problems and Prospects", Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 4th February 2010.

  5. "Information and Communication Technologies in Strategic Relations between India, China and Russia: Divergences and Convergence", International Strategic Dialogue among the Scholars from China, Russia and India organized by the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing on 2nd November 2006.

  6. "Science, Technology and Development in Asia: Implications for Security and Foreign Policy", Asian Politics: Shaping Foreign and Domestic Policy Organized by School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Department of East Asian Studies, Delhi University, New Delhi, 6-7th March 2006.

  7. "Civilian Technology Transfer between China and Pakistan", on Pakistan-China Relations in Changing Regional and Global Scenario at University of Sindh, Jamsharo, Pakistan on 29 September 2005.

  8. "Technology Transfer in Sino-Japanese Relations" at the Seminar on Japan and East Asia: Implications of Rapid Change for India organized by JNU and ICSSR in New Delhi on 23 February 2005.

  9. "Innovation, Development and the Poor: A Comparative Analysis of India and China," at the Second GLOBELICS Conference: Innovation Systems and Development: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing on 19th October 2004.

  10. "The Tao of Science and State in Post-Mao China: An Inquiry into their Interaction" at Asian Scholarship Foundation Conference, Asian Constructs of Social Change: Translating Traditions, Creating the New on 26th and 27th of July 2005 in Bangkok.

  11. "Clash of Ideologies: Science and State in Deng's China" at a Symposium on Ideology and Science in the University of California, Berkeley on 19th of October 2001.

National

  1. "Greening Economy and Environment in China: Dynamics of Technology and Environmentalism" at the All India China Studies Conference organized by the Institute of Chinese Studies on 28 January 2021.

  2. "China's Engagement with India and Japan in Science and Technology" at an international webinar organized by Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement, Kathmandu on 31 March 2021.

  3. "Geopolitics, Pandemics and China: Covid-19 and Its Implications" at the National Webinar, Department of Political Science, Kolhan University, 29 May 2020.

  4. "Belt and Road Initiative: Globalizing and Consolidating the Chinese Footprint", at the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata on 27 March 2019.

  5. "Made in China, 2025: Implications and Lessons", at the conference on China's Economy & Its Implications at MEA, Centre for Contemporary China Studies on 26 February 2019 in New Delhi.

  6. "Science, Technology and Innovation in China: Contours and Complexities", at the All India Conference of China Studies in Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru on 15 November 2018.

  7. "China's Quest for Energy Security: Implications for India" at a national conference on Energy Security and India's Foreign Policy organized by the School of International Studies, JNU in New Delhi on 22-23 April 2013.

  8. "Mapping S&T in the 'Rise' of China: Myth and Reality" at a conference on China's Emerging Profile organized by Association of Asia Scholars and Jadavpur University in Kolkata during 19-20 December 2011.

  9. "Chinese Society and Polity in Transition" at a Conference on China's Political, Socio-Economic, Military & Foreign Policy Dynamics and its Impact on Major Powers organized by ORF in New Delhi on 21 July 2006.

  10. "Technology Transfer in Sino-Japanese Relations: Rivalry or Partnership?" presented at JNU-ICSSR Seminar, Japan and East Asia: Implications of Rapid Change for India, New Delhi, 23 February 2005.

Keynote/Inaugural/Welcome Addresses

  1. Keynote address on "India, China and the Global Economic Architecture" at the Centre for Management Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia University on 21 February 2018.

  2. Welcome Address at the conference organized by CEAS and Korean Embassy on Korean Unification: A Perspective from the Republic of Korea on 17 September 2015 in JNU.

  3. Inaugural Address at the conference organized by Researchers' Association for the Study of Korea in Collaboration with the Centre for East Asian Studies, SIS on the theme Deepening India-Korea Relations: Towards A Sustainable Future on 21 March 2014 in JNU.

Chaired the Following Sessions

  1. Chaired a session for Young Scholars Conference on Japan's Grand Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region: Debates, Dialogues and Deliberations, 26 February 2021.

  2. Chaired the session on "India's Relations with China" at the Annual International and Area Studies Convention, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 31 January 2019.

  3. Chaired the session on "Development and Social Outcomes" at the International Conference on Economic Development and Social Change in Yunnan, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 25 September 2018.

  4. Chaired the session on "The South China Dispute: Perspectives", at the International Conference Resistance and Tolerance: Emerging Responses to Chinese Belligerence in the South China Sea on 7 August 2015 in JNU.

  5. Co-chaired a session "Cross Border Trade, Sub-regional and Regional Integration of the North East Region" at the International Conference on India's Northeast and Beyond: Challenges and Opportunities at Sikkim University, Gangtok on 26 June 2015.

  6. Chaired the session on "Migration: Case Studies" at the Annual International Studies Convention on Power, Resistance and Justice in the International System: Perspectives from the South on 22 December 2014 in JNU.

  7. Chaired the session on "Security" at the Conference organized by Research Association for Korean Scholars and Department of East Asian Studies, Delhi University on Evolving Indo-Korean Relations: Perspectives on South Asia, 27 March 2015.

Lectures

International

  1. India-China Relations under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, Institute of South Asian Studies, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming, 12 December 2014.

  2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India-China Relations, Yunnan University, Kunming, 11 December 2014.

  3. Innovation in China and India: Prospects for Cooperation, Institute of Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 1 July 2014.

  4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India-China Relations, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 25 June 2014.

  5. India-China Relations under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Minorities University, Kunming, 19 June 2014.

National

  1. "Science, Technology and Innovation in China: Progress, Problems and Prospects", at ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru on 15 April 2019.

  2. "Dr. Ambedkar's Contribution to Nation Building", at ONGC, New Delhi on 6 December 2017.

  3. "Dr. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution", at ONGC, New Delhi on 26 November 2017.

  4. "China and SCO in Global Politics" at the Round Table Discussion on Presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan in SCO 2015-16: Uzbekistan's Initiatives in Strengthening the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held at the CRCAS, SIS, JNU on 17 June 2016.

  5. China and the International Order: Changing Dynamics, Academic Staff College, JNU, 9 February 2015.

  6. Issues in Contemporary Social Science Research Methodology at the Capacity Building Programme for the Faculty in Nagaland University on 30 June 2013.

  7. Research Design at the Capacity Building Programme for the Faculty in Nagaland University on 30 June 2013.

  8. Educating the Partially Educated to the students of JJ College in Hyderabad on 4th June 2011.

  9. S&T in China: Three Decades of Policy, Progress and Polity presented at Institute of Chinese Studies on 12th April 2010 in New Delhi.

  10. Science and Technology Development in India for MBA students from South Korea on 22nd December 2007.

  11. Information and Communication Technologies in India and China for the Youth Delegation visiting China on 7th October 2006.

  12. Glimpses of Chinese History for the Youth Delegation visiting China on 6th October 2006.

Research Supervision

  • 15 Ph. D and 33 M. Phil students have been awarded their respective degrees under my supervision.
  • Currently 7 Ph.D students are at various stages of writing their theses and proposals.

Other Academic Activities in the University

  1. Member of the Advisory Committee for the (UGC-SAP) Programme for Russian Studies (2009-2012).

  2. Member of the Committee on Advanced Studies and Research of the School of International Studies (2007-2009).

  3. Member of the Academic Council (2006-2008).

  4. Consulting Editor, Global Dialogue Review, a quarterly magazine published from New Delhi.

  5. Member of the International Studies (Sage) journal published by the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University during 2003-2008.

  6. The first Seminar Coordinator of the Centre during 2005-2006.

  7. Coordinated MA, SIS entrance exam scripts evaluation for the 2002-2003 admissions.

  8. While teaching/coordinating Research Methodology Course during 1998-2001. I introduced the concept of M. Phil and Ph. D synopsis presentation in the Centre, which is continuing even today.

  9. Accompanied MA students on an educational trip in 1998.

Membership

1. Life Member of The Indian Science Congress Association

2. Association of Asian Scholars

Academic Activities outside the University

    1. Member of the Project Monitoring and Regulating Committee for a project on Science, Technology and Innovation in China, Japan and Korea conducted by National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS) funded by Department of Science and Technology on the suggestion of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.

    2. Reviewed a research article for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) journal Perspectives on Science in 2010.

    3. Commented on various issues pertaining to China.

    i. CCTV
    ii. CCTV-America
    iii. Xinhua News
    iv. CNC News
    v. China Radio International
    vi. Loksabha TV
    vii. BBC Telugu
    viii. Deustch Welle
    ix. Bloomberg
    x. WION TV
    xi. Hindustan Times
    xii. Gulf News
    xiii. Sahara News
    xiv. Busan Radio
    xv. India Today
    xvi. Republic TV
    xvii. Huffpost
    xviii. Penza News