The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BU’s ‘social exclusion’ study centre approved

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Friday, Apr 11, 2008
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BU’s ‘social exclusion’ study centre approved

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a Bangalore University proposal to set up a Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy. The centre will be started immediately with the UGC funding the project fully during the 11th Plan period.

Announcing this here on Wednesday, H.A. Ranganath, Vice-Chancellor, said that the UGC would be sanctioning an annual grant of Rs. 40 lakh. “It is for the first time that the UGC is granting so much to a humanities stream. The proposal has been approved in recognition of the university’s potential. Social scientists from various departments will be involved,” he said.

S. Chandrashekhar, chairperson, Department of History, said that “social exclusion” is a contested term. It is a multi-faceted phenomenon and the Indian experience of exclusion is unique. “Social exclusion is a bane of society and to fight this, the Union Government has, since Independence, been framing policies. In the era of globalisation, a sizeable portion of society has been excluded. The benefits of globalisation have not spread equally among all sections of a plural society,” he said.

With the IT/BT revolution in full swing in the city, many people are completely cut off from it. “It is the new kind of illiteracy. They do not know about the revolution nor do they enjoy the benefits,” he said.

G. Sivaramakrishnan from the Department of Sociology said that there had been failures in reaching the policies to those who need it. “There is certain crisis of legitimacy. The problem is in acceptance of these programmes and schemes by the larger society. We, through the centre, will be addressing these problems first,” he said.

Social scientists would also study the discrimination that people face even after the formal inclusion. “All these dimensions will be explored and that will add to our understanding of the inclusion programmes. Through our recommendations, we may be able to help the Government implement them properly,” he added.

Registrar Sanjay Vir Singh and Registrar (Examinations) L. Radhakrishna were present.

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