- The Centre will link academia and policymakers from India and beyond on a broad mandate that will cover issues of the economy, border communities, geopolitics and the ecology of the wider Himalayan region.
- Going beyond the Himalayas itself, the Centre’s geographical coverage will include the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram regions and the governments and polities that have political jurisdiction over them.
The Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence today announced the creation of a new institute committed to studying and contributing to the Himalayan region that will cover a broad canvas of areas linked to local livelihoods, identities, geopolitics, and the environment in this geographically wide and diverse ecosystem.
The new Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies at the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence aims to engender a three-way conversation between central and local governments, academia and the people who live in the region even as it remains attuned to geopolitics and the policy imperatives that surround it. The Centre, in fact, will cover not just the Himalayas but the Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions as well and the local governments and polities that have political jurisdiction over them.
Announcing the launch of the Centre, Dr. Ananya Mukherjee, Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar IoE said, “the Himalayas have been central to socio-political interactions, cross-border trade, and crucial environmental concerns. The focus areas include what we call – HIMALAYAS+ – which includes the region spread across the Karakoram Ranges, Hindu Kush, and the Himalayas. This politically translates to countries spread from Central Asia to Myanmar that collectively share ecosystems, rich biodiversity, rivers, and cultures. The Centre intends to fill the absence of a single national-level institution to explore a wide variety of disciplinary and sectoral approaches to the study of this region… It will seek to answer crucial questions across the spectrum of environment, energy, security, growth and development and provide a platform for constructive engagement between different stakeholder groups.”
Highlighting the objectives of the Centre for Himalayan Studies, Dr. Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar IoE remarked, “The wider Himalayas is a politically-fraught region that simultaneously struggles with a range of environmental challenges. Often one or the other aspect is side-lined or ignored altogether. The range of other challenges before governments in the region and outside cannot blind us to the fact that what happens here has implications not just for the region itself but for everyone on the planet. From climate change-induced floods and migration to political instability and unsettled borders, the world ought to be paying more attention. The Centre aims to convert the wide array of research already taking place in and about the region into a form that is more accessible to the public and policymakers and to drive further research as well as flag areas of concern.”
The Centre will reflect the University’s global outlook and international ambitions, identifying and creating a network of scholars in the field, both in India and abroad.
