Brief history
There are four phases in the elaboration of the idea to develop a Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (CSLC): (a) In the course of 4 years from 2004–2007, a joint research project on caste and community in the rural areas of Karnataka was set up at Kuvempu University. Its success generated the idea of developing a research centre at the University. The collaboration also revealed some major problems afflicting the social sciences: a virtually non-existent social scientific research culture; the detachment of the dominant ‘theories’ from local society; absence of research training; the limited access to relevant literature; and so on. (b) In 2005, A VLIR Zuidinitiatief, was initiated which trained some of the faculty from the School of Social Sciences at the Kuvempu University. This project resulted in the creation of a research group and a small library in the CSLC, which now has separate rooms at the University. Ghent and Kuvempu University also collaborated on writing a VLIR-IUC proposal, which included the plan of developing the CSLC. Even though it was not selected, the VLIR Bureau UOS valued the social sciences component of the proposal and suggested the transformation of this component into an Own Initiative. In November 2005, several meetings took place at Kuvempu to discuss the nature of this proposal and the future development of the CSLC. Here, the team launched the idea to create an Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities (ASHA, formerly KASSH), [5] which would address the crisis of the social sciences at the state level. These discussions laid the foundations for the Letter of Intent. (c) In June 2006, an EC Asia-Link project regarding the stereotypical images and cultural differences between Europe and South-Asia began. [6] The EC project aimed to establish a large-scale educational network between 5 universities, including Kuvempu University. 5 research scholars belonging to the CSLC team were trained to teach and do research. (d) In August 2006, the first activity of the Asia-Link project brought the entire Kuvempu University team to Ghent. This enabled discussions about the future of the CLSC, the idea of the ASHA, and the full-fledged VLIR Own Initiatives proposal. The then Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar of the Kuvempu University visited Ghent to discuss the content of the final proposal and to negotiate an MoU and a Cooperation Agreement. The Ghent team organised a PCM workshop with the Kuvempu team, where detailed stakeholder, problem and objective analyses took place. Thus, a modified logical framework and the final formulation of the proposal came into existence.
Research scholars and their research areas
1. Santhosh Kumar PK, Castes and Rituals
2. Praveen TL, Novels and Social Sciences
3. Mahesh Kumar CS, Sufi Tradition
4. Kavitha PN, Problems of Caste Classification
5. Shankarappa NS, Dalit Consciousness
6. Shivu Kumar, Kannada Literature and the Representation of Society
Scholars and faculty working in the institution
Chief Promoter: Prof. S.N. Balagangadhara, Ghent University,
Local Promoter: Prof. J.S. Sadananda, Professor of Political Science, Kuvempu University
Director: Prof. Rajaram Hegde, Professor of History, Kuvempu University
Deputy Director: Dr. Shanmukha A, Lecturer in Political Science, Kuvempu University
Research Coordinator: Dr. Dunkin Jalki, University of Pardubice
Programme Officer: Mr. Sandeep Kumar Shetty, India Platform, Bangalore
Administrator: Mr. Indudhara
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata and thus is also locally known as the "Tata Institute". It is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in India and has the highest citation per faculty among all the universities in the world. It was granted the deemed to be university status in 1958 and the Institute of Eminence status in 2018.
Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa, popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith Award.
The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary year in 1969. Aimed at developing student's personality through community service, NSS is a voluntary association of young people in Colleges, Universities and at +2 level working for a campus-community linkage.
Bunt is an Indian community, who traditionally inhabit the coastal districts of Karnataka. Bunts were originally a warrior class community with agrarian origins, and form the landed gentry of the region. They are the dominant, land-owning farming community of Tulu Nadu and speak Tulu as well as Kundagannada as their mother tongue. The Bunts today are a largely urbanised community with a population size of 1 million worldwide.
Sanskritisation is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper castes. It is a process similar to "passing" in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s.
Devanga is a Hindu caste from South India that traditionally followed the occupation of textile merchandise, weaving and farming mostly found in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
Shimoga district, officially known as Shivamogga district, is a district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga district lies in the Malnad region or the Sahyadri. Shimoga city is its administrative centre. Jog Falls view point is a major tourist attraction. As of 2011 Shimoga district has a population of 17,52,753. There are seven taluks: Soraba, Sagara, Hosanagar, Shimoga, Shikaripura, Thirthahalli, and Bhadravathi. Channagiri and Honnali were part of Shimoga district until 1997 when they became part of the newly formed Davanagere district.
André Beteille, is an Indian sociologist, writer and academician. He is known for his studies of the caste system in South India. He has served with educational institutions in India such as Delhi School of Economics, North Eastern Hill University, and Ashoka University.
Sandeep Pandey is an Indian social activist and the present General Secretary of the Socialist Party (India). He co-founded Asha for Education with Dr. Deepak Gupta and V.J.P Srivastava while working on his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught as a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, NALSAR University of Law and Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi.
The Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) is a social science research institute in Bangalore, India. Founded in 1972, it is the largest among the 27 institutions supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
S. N. Balagangadhara is a professor emeritus of the Ghent University in Belgium, and was director of the India Platform and the Research Centre Vergelijkende Cutuurwetenschap.
Guggari Shanthaveerappa Shivarudrappa, or colloquially GSS, was an Indian Kannada poet, writer and researcher who was awarded the title of Rashtrakavi by the Government of Karnataka in 2006. Kannada
Hampa Nagarajaiah, popularly known by his pen name Hampanā, is an Indian scholar in Kannada language and Jainism. He was born at Hampasandra Village located in Gowribidanur taluk, Chikkaballapura District in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hampanā is married to Kamala Hampana who also a veteran littérateur.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies is an autonomous research institute based in Kolkata. It is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. It was founded on 4 January 1993. The foundation stone of the institute was laid where the new building now stands on 12 March 1993. It is devoted to the study of the life and works of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the eminent nationalist leader and India's first education minister, after whom it is named, and to the furtherance of Area Studies, with special reference to South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia, especially dealing with social, cultural, economic, political and administrative developments in Asia from the nineteenth century to the present. M.Phil.- and Ph.D.-level students of the University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi are also associated with it.
Kuvempu University is a public state university in Shankaraghattta, Bhadravathi taluk, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. It was established in 1987 by the act of the Karnataka state legislature through amendment No. 28/1976 dated 29 January 1989 under the Karnataka State University Act 1976. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in wide range of disciplines. It was recognized by the UGC in 1994 and is a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
K. Chidananda Gowda is an Indian academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Kuvempu University, which is located in the state of Karnataka, India. He is also the son-in-law of the Kannada Poet, Kuvempu, after whom the Kuvempu University is named. He has published many papers, mainly in the field of pattern recognition.
Prof. Aninhalli R. Vasavi, also known as, A.R.Vasavi, is a Social Anthropologist and an Independent Researcher-based out of Bengaluru, with interests in agrarian studies, sociology of India and educational studies. She did her M.A. and M.Phil. in Sociology from the University of Delhi, and her PhD in Social Anthropology from Michigan State University in 1993. with a thesis "The harbingers of rain : culture and drought in Bijapur, India." She has worked at the Indian Institute of Management ̶ Ahmedabad, and for 14 years at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, including a year as Dean of Social Sciences.
Dr. Ramarao Indira, M.A., Ph.D. is an Indian sociologist who lives in Mysore. In her University career spanning 42 years, she has held such positions as Chair of the Department of Sociology, Director of the International Centre and Honorary Director of the Centre for Women's Studies at the University of Mysore.
Harald Tambs-Lyche is a Norwegian ethnologist and social anthropologist.
Lakshman Kumar Mahapatra was an Indian anthropologist born in Odisha. He graduated in anthropology from the University of Calcutta and received a doctorate from the University of Hamburg. He was Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University in 1986 and Sambalpur University in 1989. While heading the anthropology department at Utkal University, he was the first academic in India to start a course on Southeast Asia in the regular curriculum at the university level in India.
