By Badri Narayan
The neoliberal economy has changed the nature of the State and market drastically. In this era, both need to be closer to the public for their own good. The State needs to engage with the public for delivering development and acquiring legitimacy on that yardstick, while the market needs to do so for evolving a vibrant consumer space. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ascent in 2014 made the Indian State more impressive and ambitious in terms of delivering development and deepening democracy. It tried to reorient the State to being relatively more sensitive towards the people in this regard. With the transformation of the State and markets, the role of knowledge becomes crucial because both need to research the people and society to forge coherent linkages. In this context, knowledge becomes very important and valuable for both the transformative actors. PM Modi has described the importance of social research and researchers in various deliberations in the past decade. The New Education Policy, 2020, also accords considerable importance to teaching and researching social science in its conceptualisation and execution.
Decline of social science research
However, within the western education and research systems, social science is being marginalised day by day. In the past decades, one can easily observe the decline of social science research in top universities like Chicago and Harvard in the US and Oxford and Cambridge in the UK. The University of Chicago recently announced $100 million budget cuts in social science and humanity research and education. The US Department of Defence has also discouraged its social science research vertical in the recent past. It shows a growing crisis within the educational universe of the western world.
India’s case is different. It is journeying towards becoming a developed nation (Viksit Bharat); and for that social and development research becomes a crucial requirement for the nation and society. India has an education minister with a background in social sciences—Dharmendra Pradhan studied anthropology and maintains a close look on the social processes and transformation of India. As science dominates research circles, Indian social science is in a privileged position due to three reasons. First is our development requirements, due to which the social sector and the markets appear to be a key for quick mobility of the Indian economy as well as equal distribution of resources. Second, Modi and his politics is more centred on social aspects. Third, Pradhan, realising the need to link education and social knowledge with development, gives sufficient preference to social science research and knowledge in educational policies, and provides it with financial support. In the past few years, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has received significant funding for supporting research. It has launched various social science research schemes on issues that are crucial for governance, public policy, and development. In 2024, the ICSSR had plans to invest `235 crore to support social science research focussed on marginal communities, women, and various development issues. A few years ago, the ministry of education encouraged some central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology, and Indian Institutes of Management to evaluate the implementation of central government-led development schemes based on authentic data which appeared in a series called Creating Intellectual Heritage published by the National Book Trust. Indian conglomerates like Tatas, Birla, Adani, and Ambani are also supporting social knowledge-based research and market-driven studies in India, and the Tata Trust has recently established a skill university in Ahmedabad.
Earlier, many social scientists, intellectuals, and researches were projecting themselves against the State as well as the markets. A section of them has realised that this new transition demands that social science researchers and institutions work closely with the state and market for the nation’s development. Some of them are able to realise that critiquing for the sake of critiquing has no meaning in taking India to new heights of development—their knowledge may in fact be crucial for doing so.
Importance of Social Science
Social science research is not only important for the State and market but also for the public, especially the younger generation. It is important to transform the youths by making them realise their inner force and social strength. This could help them in becoming both agents and parts of a productive workforce in realising the Viksit Bharat vision. It may also be instrumental in aiding Indian youths to become confident in their own capabilities and social resources, in turn triggering India’s reinvention in a new context. Buddha advised exploration of oneself and one’s knowledge in order to serve as a beacon for the self and for others. This may only be possible if we keep ourselves engaged with deep exploration of social knowledge. Finally, it can infuse the Gen Z with positivity as well.
It is interesting to observe that Pradhan, while addressing the youths on various occasions, has attempted to sensitise them about the strengths, specialities, and inspirations inherent in Indian societies. He is making attempts to evolve a social knowledge-based discourse among the youth, which may result in their evolution as anchors of Viksit Bharat. PM Modi has also been working towards transforming youths into positive changemakers through various lectures on social values and knowledge.
The importance of social science is rising for governance and the evolving vibrant market space in a society like India. The State, market, and the public need a strong, creative, imaginative, and vibrant social science research sphere. For that, social science research institutions must step up to their roles in India’s development journey. Scholars and researchers should understand that their role is changing from being mere critics to positive enforcers and insight providers for the State, markets, and citizenry.
The author is Vice chancellor of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
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