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Centre For Russian And Central Asian Studies
Centre For Russian And Central Asian Studies
Centre For Russian And Central Asian Studies
Centre For Russian And Central Asian Studies

CRCAS

CRCAS

Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies

 

List of Ph.D Courses Offered During the Monsoon Semester 2024

Monsoon Semester (2024) Time Table

 

The Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies is Jawaharlal Nehru University's one of the premiere centres for interdisciplinary research and studies on Russia, Central Asia and other republics of the former Soviet Union. Our primary aim is to foster an interdisciplinary insight on issues pertaining to this region by bringing together individual scholars, trained in diverse social science disciplines. We have an excellent community of scholars who specialize in disciplines ranging from Political Science, International Relations, History, Economics and Sociology to Russian Language and Literature. The Centre encourages interdisciplinary thinking and promotes opportunities for meeting, interaction and exchange of views with scholars from India and abroad. In terms of facilitating academic interaction, the Centre regularly organizes international/national seminars, round table discussions, talks and lectures.

The Centre has a regular M.Phil/Ph.D programme and offers courses for the M.A. programme of the School of International Studies. The number of seats available for M.Phil/Ph.D programme in the Centre is approximately twenty-five every year.. 

Goals

  • To continue as a Centre of Excellence, doing research and teaching on issues of Russia, Central Asia and other former Soviet republics. It seeks to create a necessary infrastructure for a systematic study of the economy, political system, society, culture, language and the foreign policy of post-Soviet states. It promotes academic programmes, teaching and research along with the collection of adequate primary and secondary research material under study in the form of books, microfilms, journals, newspapers and reference documents. A particular emphasis on the creation of an authentic and comprehensive database on the region is also being undertaken.
  • To develop a comprehensive understanding of the security, political and economic situation in Russia, Central Asia and other former Soviet Republics.
  • To study the challenges posed by the changing international political scenario to the above states and cooperation of these countries with India.
  • To strengthen linkages with newly emerging academic institutions in former Soviet Republics.
  • To promote research and studies on the above issues in other academic institutions in India.
  • To promote meaningful research in the field of bilateral relations between India, on the one hand and Russia, Central Asia and other former Soviet Republics on the other. Study of India's relations with these countries constitute an important part of our teaching and research
  • To promote research and scholarships within inter-disciplinary framework on various aspects related to India, Russia and former Soviet Republics.

History

The Centre for Russian and East European Studies started functioning as an independent academic Centre in the late 1960s. Earlier it was a part of International Politics and Commonwealth Studies Programme in the Indian School of International Studies (ISIS). In the early 1970s, the Indian School of International Studies was merged with the newly established Jawaharlal Nehru University and named as School of International Studies (SIS). Since then, the Centre has functioned as an independent and regular academic unit within the School of International Studies. The first batch of regular M. Phil/Ph.D scholars was admitted to the Centre in 1974. 

In 1975 the name of the Centre was changed to Centre for Soviet and East European Studies (CSEES). After the disintegration of Soviet Union, the name of the Centre changed to Centre for Russian, Central Asian and East European Studies (CRCA&EES). The Centre is currently known as Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies (CRCAS) following reorganisation of different Centres in the School of International Studies in 2005. 

Since its inception, the Centre has worked in close co-operation with policy makers and the larger academic community. The Centre hosts guest scholars, both from India and abroad, who spend some time working on issues related to the post-Soviet states. Regular seminars and conferences are organized by the Centre in order to bring together a wide range of expertise and to facilitate exchange of views among scholars. In recognition of the contribution made by the Centre and its potential for excellence, the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India has recognized this Centre for Special Assistance under the UGC Area Studies Programme.

Prof Archana Upadhyay,
Chairperson,
Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies
School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi-110067, India.
tel: 91-11- 26704365
fax; 91-11-26717580

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.