Introduction
The Academy is an interdisciplinary research institute dealing with social, political and economic issues in a comparative framework. The Academy conducts research on strategies of planning and socio-economic development, international relations, national movements and cultural relations. It investigates and documents case studies of economic, social, cultural and political changes an
d studies institutional structures set up for planning and development. The Academy regularly organizes international and national seminars, workshops and expert groups meetings on topical issues. Institutional links with universities, research institutes, other relevant institutions among developing countries and with appropriate agencies of the United Nations, engaged in the tasks covered by the Academy, have been developed. The Academy also provides consultancy services in the field of development, planning and administration. The Academy of Third World Studies (later named after Maulana Mohamed Ali ‘Jauhar’) of India was established in 1988 at the initiative of the then Prime Minister of India, Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, initially as a Project of the University under the Honorary Directorship of Mr. It was conceived as an inter-disciplinary centre to conduct researches on political, social and economic issues specific to developing societies. It continued to function as a Project till 1998, when the University Grants Commission accorded to the Academy the formal status of a full-fledged centre of research. The Academy is named after one of its co-founders, Maulana Mohamed Ali. College, Aligarh, and Lincoln College, Oxford. He launched the Comrade on 11 January 1911, hailed as the new star on the firmament of Indian journalism. A key figure in the Khilafat movement and a companion of Mahatma Gandhi, he and his brother, Shaukat Ali were interned from May 1915 to December 1919. ‘Such sufferings as ours’, he wrote, ‘have only too often been the lot of mankind in all ages and climes’. On his release from jail, Mohamed Ali went on a whirlwind tour of the country organizing support for the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements. In October 1920, he founded Jamia Millia Islamia along with several notable figures that included Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and Abdul Majid Khwaja. The Academy shifted to a new building, designed by the eminent architects, Stein and Chowfla, in December 2005. At present, the Academy has a faculty of 15 members. The Academy publishes books, monographs and occasional papers by its regular as well as its visiting faculty. It regularly organizes lectures, panel discussions, seminars, and international conferences on topical issues. Thanks to the cooperation of Mr. N.N. Vohra, Director of the India International Centre, who has been extremely supportive, The Academy has conducted many of its activities in collaboration with the Centre. It has also collaborated with the Indian Social Institute, the National Media Centre, Delhi University, Delhi Policy Group, the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (Kathmandu) and several Departments in Jamia Millia Islamia. Some of the Academy’s activities have also been co-sponsored by the UGC, ICSSR, ICHR, ICWA, Oxford University Press, Manohar Publishers and Roli Books. Board of Management
The activities of the Academy are supervised by the Board of Management. Powers and Functions of the Board:
The Board, subject to the provisions of the Act, the Statutes and the Ordinances, and under the supervision and guidance of the Majlis-i-Muntazimah (Executive Council), shall:
Recommend to the Majlis-i-Muntazimah (Executive Council) from time to time, the creation and abolition of posts of Professors, Readers, Lecturers, Senior Fellows, Junior Fellows, Associate Fellow, Library staff and other Academic and Research Staff, Administrative Staff and other Employees in the Academy;
Propose a panel of experts, where necessary, for different academic and other posts in the Academy for the approval of the Majlis-i- Muntazimah (Executive Council);
Propose qualifications for various posts to the Majlis-i-Muntazimah (Executive Council);
Propose to the Majlis-I- Muntazimah (Executive Council) regulations dealing with the proper functioning of the Academy;
Approve the budget of the Academy;
Approve the research and other academic progrmmes of the Academy;
Approve publications of research, studies and books, prepared by the Academy and approve the contract with publishers;
Appoint Visiting Professors or Visiting Fellows from within the country or abroad;
Submit its Annual Report in respect of all matters concerning the affairs of the Academy to the Majlis-i-Muntazimah (Executive Council);
Constitute such committees as may be deemed necessary for the functioning of the Academy; and
Exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as may be deemed necessary for the achievement of the objectives of the Academy and University and for the smooth functioning of the Academy. Library
The Library, named after Dr Abid Husain, has approximately 12,000 books and 5,000 periodicals. We have the complete writings/works of the known social scientists, and leading figures of the nationalist movement. We have a substantial collection of journals: Journal of Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Journal of South East Asian Studies, The Book Review, Indian Studies: Past and Present, India Quarterly, Pakistan Horizon, Journal of World History, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, The China Quarterly, Bulletin of School of Oriental & African Studies, Economic and Political Weekly, Far Eastern Economic Review, Muslim India, and International Studies. We also have collections gifted by the family of Nikhil Chakarvarty, Mr. S. Shahid Mahdi, Prof. Mushirul Hasan, H.Y. Sharda Prasad, Barun Ray, Prof. Madhavan Palat, Prof. Shamsuddin, Prof. Narayani Gupta and the Devahuti Damodar Library. Prof. Mushirul Hasan has gifted thirty-five bound volumes of the papers of M.A. Jinnah, which were part of the Khalid Shamsul Hasan Collection in Karachi, Pakistan.
