The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, has shaped Indian intellectual thought in the last 50 years in diverse areas in an independent way, Rosinka Chaudhuri, director of the centre, said on Thursday.
The centre, located in Patuli, was founded in 1973 by historian Barun De.
On the occasion of the golden jubilee, Dipesh Chakraborty, professor of history at the University of Chicago, delivered a lecture on “Planetary History” at the centre during the day.
“This institute has shaped Indian intellectual thought in the last 50 years. The faculty members of this institute have gone on to become leading world wide practitioners in the social sciences. The faculty has also collaborated with the government departments to frame policies,” said Chaudhuri, professor of cultural studies at the centre, in her address.
Later, the director told The Telegraph: “As academics, researchers, scholars and thinkers, we discuss political subjects and we may have our own politics as well, individually. But we have never allowed that to turn us into political persuasion of any thought. We have been independent.”
A teacher said the centre, which gets matching grants from the Indian Council of Social Science and Research and the state government, was designed to facilitate inter-disciplinary conversation in social sciences.
Amiya Bagchi, Nirmala Banerjee, Partha Chatterjee, Dipesh Chakraborty and Sugata Marjit — who have served the centre as faculty members — were felicitated on the occasion.
“Starting from the days of Barun De, our strength lies in our commitment to reaching out to all sections of the educational institutions in order to promote dissemination of knowledge and expertise as widely as possible,” said an official at the centre.
Ramabai De, wife of Barun De, was present during Thursday’s programme. She was felicitated, too.