Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP)

About the Centre

The University Grants Commission, New Delhi, vide its Lr. No. F.3-2/2007(SCT) dated 23rd February 2007, has sanctioned the Scheme for Establishment of Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) under the X Plan for five years for implementation at the University of Hyderabad. The Vice-Chancellor approved the establishment of the CSSEIP in the School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad, as Chairman of the Academic Council and Executive Council of the University of Hyderabad in May 2007. It is a permanent Centre, absorbed by the University of Hyderabad. University of Hyderabad recognized the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) as a statutory Centre and assigned to the School of Social Sciences as per statues and Act 1974 of the University of Hyderabad in Academic Council Meeting in 2013 and the same was approved by Executive Council meeting of University.

The Centre has been established as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Centre for undertaking comprehensive research in social exclusion as a complex and multidimensional concept having social, cultural, political and economic ramifications. The Centre focuses not only on exploring the processes that produce social exclusion but examine the historical processes of exclusion and the methodological aspects.

The thrust areas of research includes all forms of discrimination, which operate in covert and overt manner on caste, tribe, gender, ethnicity, religious and linguistics minorities and other excluded groups such as disabled and the like. The Centre, through it’s research programmes, strives to intervene in policy processes to mitigate the problems of social exclusion and help building the democratic processes. The current four faculty of CSSEIP have come from different disciplines particularly sociology, political science and economics.

Besides teaching the Centre’s compulsory courses to the M.Phil and Ph.D students, the faculty of CSSEIP offers optional courses to the M.A. students of other departments in the School of Social Sciences. The Centre’s faculty also teaches Foundation Courses on “Social Exclusion: Concepts and approaches” and “Globalization and Social Justice” to the I.M.A. students at the College for Integrated Studies (CIS).

The objectives of CSSEIP

1. To understand dynamics of discrimination and exclusion.
2. To focus on multidisciplinary approach to analyze the processes of exclusion.
3. To work on theoretical and empirical dimensions of exclusion.
4. To help with the critical inputs into the inclusive policy processes.

 Programmes of Study

Ph.D programmes in the broad areas of research outlined in the objectives.

Functions

The type of intellectual activities that the Centre engages includes:

• Undertaking M.Phil and Ph.D supervision.
• Collecting information on social exclusion and building up a database.
• Organizing Conferences, Seminars, Workshops and Symposium on the theme of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy.
• Publishing the research findings of the Faculty and Students.
• Organizing public lectures on the subject by eminent scholars.
• Reaching out to scholars, especially young scholars, in other Universities and Colleges through an active programme of inviting visiting Faculty.
• Establishing links with civil society organizations engaged in combating Social Exclusion.
• Short-term orientation courses for political leaders, parliamentarians, government officials, trade unionists and media personalities.

Prof. N. Sudhakar Rao (retired) from Department of Anthropology, University of Hyderabad was the founder and Director of CSSEIP from 2007-2009. Late Prof. G. Krishna Reddy became the Director from 2009-2012, and Prof. G. Omkarnath served as Director from 2012-2013, followed by Prof. Y.A. Sudhakar Reddy as Director from 2013-2014. In 2014-2016, Dr. Sreepati Ramudu served as the Head and Prof. P. Venkata Rao served as Head from 2016-2017. Prof. Raja Mohan Rao served as the Head from 2017-2020. Currently, Prof. Ajailiu Niumai is the Head for the tenure of three years from 2020-2023.

Postgraduate students from each social science disciplines may join CSSEIP. Our students are expected to work on the identified thrust areas of research and objectives of the Centre. The strength of CSSEIP includes the faculty, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of research and students from various social science disciplines. The students of CSSEIP have been recipients of the ICSSR, UGC JRF, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF), Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and other fellowships. CSSEIP awarded a total of 15 Ph.D and 90 M.Phil Degrees to it’s students since 2007 till August 2020. It’s alumni are placed as civil servants in the government, Banks, Universities, Research Institutes, Private Sectors and NGOs.