In their ongoing endeavour to increase awareness about North-East India among students and also encourage research scholars to study various aspects of the region, the University of Delhi is soon expected to launch a special research programme. The programme, called the North-East India Studies Programme (NEISP) will be a fully funded one and is supposed to start from the next academic session.
The convener of the NEISP, Kamei Aphun said, “Though concerns have been raised in the past about various issues of North-Eastern States, there is not enough understanding about the area and the people, not just among laymen but also intellectuals. Also, there is lack of research. Hence, we decided to develop this programme.”
The council of the Department of Sociology approved the NEISP but it is yet to be placed before the Academic Council of the University. Once it will be approved by the Academic Council, the same will be officially launched. “We are working on a vision document which will be presented to UGC to seek their support. A five-member committee has been established in the department which is taking care of that,” explained Aphun.
The Delhi University has introduced North-Eastern studies in its curriculum in a big way and is now also in talks about including syllabi on North-East studies in its MA and MPhil programmes offered by the Department of Sociology.