Centre for Regional Studies

About the Centre

The first Academic Council of the University in its meeting held on 4 April 1977 proposed to establish the Centre for Regional Studies (CRS). Later, in May 1985, the Academic Council resoled that the Centre of Regional Studies be continued under the School of Social Sciences to promote interdepartmental teaching and research in the field of Regional Studies as originally recommended by the Fifth Five Year Plan Visiting Committee (AC on 15 May 1985 and EC on 13 June 1985). As a result, the School Board of Social Sciences appointed a Committee to suggest (i) a conceptual frame for the Centre of Regional Studies, (ii) the lines on which the Centre should be developed, and (iii) pattern of the staff to be appointed in the centre’ and the same was ratified by the Academic Council in February 1986. The Centre was established according to the University Statutes and Ordinances in 1985. After due academic procedures followed by the University, the Centre for Regional Studies (CRS), which considered as the oldest Centre not only in the School of Social Sciences but in the University itself, started it first admissions for M.Phil and Ph.D. from the academic year 1988-89 onwards. The Centre awarded a total of 63 Ph.D. and 80 M.Phil. degrees since 1989-1990 till June 2020 to its students

The larger question(s) that scholars at CRS ask is –where, how, why and what social/economic/political processes over space / region shape landscape mosaic? What makes region a significant category in understanding society? CRS is modelled as an interdisciplinary centre in the School of Social Sciences with region as the scale of investigation. A region may be further divided into sub-regions, which allows for focusing on particularities (or themes) of the sub-region. The themes may include: urbanization, industrialization, identity conflicts, marginalized regions and groups, political complexity, cultural moorings and impact on environment. While Regional Studies draws largely from the discipline of Geography, all social science disciplines are critical stake holders in its conceptualization and practice.

At CRS, students will familiarize themselves with a regional approach to examining socio-spatial transformations and begin synthesizing ideas from different disciplines in the social sciences. The Centre’s training to students is from a spatial perspective, to offer a deeper understanding of differentiated social phenomena in their multi-dimensionality. Our request to each one of you is to join us in this endeavour at inter/multidisciplinary research, by not rejecting your parent discipline but trying to move beyond its set limits. Students from all social science disciplines / background may join CRS. We encourage students to work on any research question/s within the present thrust areas of the Centre namely: Development, Urban issues, Environment, Disasters, Violence, Collective Identities and Tribal/ Adivasi issues.

The CRS aims at conducting multidis¬ciplinary research in the Deccan and other regions of India. The envis¬aged research programmes encompass ecological and environmental studies; regional historical processes; regional social structure; regional economics and development studies. In view of the multidisciplinary nature of research, the Centre promotes studies in the fields of geography, cultural anthropology, soci¬ology, economics, political science, and socio eco¬nomic history of regions.

Prof. M. L. K. Murthy was the founder Head of the Centre (1989-2003) with ethno-archaeology subject background. Prof. Sheela Prasad was the second Head of the Centre for 14 years in two terms; first, from 2003 to 2012, second from 2015 to 2020. Dr. Arvind S. Susarla was the Centre’s third Head from 2012 to 2015. Currently, Dr. V. Srinivasa Rao is functioning as the Centre’s fourth Head.

The faculty of the Centre while teaching the courses to the Centre’s regular M.Phil. and Ph.D. students, they also offer optional courses to the M.A. students of the other departments in School of Social Sciences, School of Humanities and S. N. School of Arts & Communication. The Centre’s faculty have also been teaching ‘Environmental Studies’ to the first year I.M.A. students at the College for Integrated Studies (CIS) and ‘Foundation Course’ to the M.A. students of other departments of the University.

The current faculty of the Centre are drawn from different social science disciplines such as geography, sociology and political science. The major strength of the Centre is not only its faculty and their multidisciplinary nature of research work but also its students who are drawn from multiple social science disciplines. The students of the Centre have been recipients of the UGC JRF, ICSSR, Rajiv Gandhi, Maulana Azad and other fellowships. Alumni of CRS are well placed in jobs in Universities, Research Institutes, Government, Private and the NGO sectors.