Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies is an autonomous
research
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
institute
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
based in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. 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
Area studies (also known as regional studies) are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/ federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what ...
, with special reference to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
,
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and
West Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
, 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
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...
,
Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...
and
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
are also associated with it.
History
With the start of the birth centenary celebrations of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1989, the need for a research institute devoted to the study of his life and writings as well as area studies, especially to the research in secular
Islam in Asian countries was felt by the governor of West Bengal,
Prof. Nurul Hasan
Saiyid Nurul Hasan (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the Government of India. A member of the Rajya Sabha, he was the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of Education, So ...
, who took the main initiative in founding this institute in Calcutta. He was the founder of this institute. It took a few years before such a plan could be fully implemented, and the foundation stone of the institute was laid on a newly acquired plot close to the Salt Lake stadium in Calcutta in 1993 by the then president of India,
Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997.
Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahaba ...
, in the presence of the then Human Resource Development Minister
Shri
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific.
The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javane ...
Arjun Singh, Prof. Nurul Hasan, the then Chief
Minister of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, Shri
Jyoti Basu, the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha,
Dr. Najma Heptullah
Najma Akbar Ali Heptulla (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian politician. She is the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia since 2017. She was a six time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and D ...
, and the then Minister for Higher Education of the Government of West Bengal, Shri Satyasadhan Chakraborty. Prof. Barun De, formerly first
Director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, was given the responsibility of organising the event.
![Inauguration - Azad Bhavan - Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies - Science City Auditorium - Kolkata 2010-01-16 4053](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Inauguration_-_Azad_Bhavan_-_Maulana_Abul_Kalam_Azad_Institute_of_Asian_Studies_-_Science_City_Auditorium_-_Kolkata_2010-01-16_4053.jpg)
Prof. Nurul Hasan, was the founder-president of the institute's society and the executive council. Professor
Satish Chandra Satish Chandra is a given name of Hindu origin, and may refer to,
* Satish Chandra (politician), Indian National Congress leader
* Satish Chandra (historian), Indian academic
* Satish Chandra Agarwal, Indian politician
* Satish Chandra Basumatary, ...
, formerly
chairman,
University Grants Commission,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
, was appointed as the first
vice chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
of the executive council, and Prof. Barun De was appointed as the first director of the institute.
At this time the former residence of Maulana Azad at 19, Ballygunge Circular Road, presently 5, Ashraf Mistry Lane (better known locally as Lovelock Lane off Ballygunge Circular Road), was handed over by the Government of West Bengal to the institute. It was meant house a museum. Soon the institute shifted to 567, Diamond Harbour Road, Calcutta, where it temporarily occupied two large floors of a rented house. Later, at the turn of the present century, it was shifted to Maulana Azad's house, where both the institute and its museum were located until 2010. A new building, named 'Azad Bhavan', has been subsequently built on the one-acre plot given to it in Salt Lake, where the institute has now been shifted. The museum will remain in Maulana Azad's house, now renamed Maulana Azad Museum.
Academics
Institute
The institute organizes seminars, conferences, symposia, workshops and a few annual lectures including ''Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Memorial Lectures'' and the ''Barun De Memorial Lecture''.
Barun De Memorial Lecture
/ref>
Museum
The ''Maulana Azad Museum'' was inaugurated on 11 March 2006, in memory of the former education minister, at his former residence in Calcutta. The museum holds annual lectures and other cultural events.
Administration
It is registered as a society under the West Bengal Registration of Societies Act, 1961. It is mainly financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. His Excellency, the governor of West Bengal
The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of West Bengal and a representative of the President of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the Raj ...
is the president of the society of the institute. Dr. Sujit Kumar Ghosh is the chairman of the institute. Dr. Sarup Prasad Ghosh is the institute's present director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
.
Location
Maulana Azad's home is an example of twentieth-century colonial architecture
Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...
. It is situated off the Ballygunge maidan and close to landmark buildings of the city. The location of the new building is also well-appointed, given its centrality in Salt Lake. It is close to other educational institutions, such as the Calcutta campus of the Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...
, the S.N. Bose National Centre for the Basic Sciences, Calcutta, the Salt Lake campus of the University of Calcutta, the Salt Lake campus of Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...
, Calcutta, the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Calcutta, the College of Leather Technology, Calcutta and the National University of Juridical Sciences, Calcutta.
Notable faculty
* Anisuzzaman
Anisuzzaman (18 February 1937 – 14 May 2020) was a Bangladeshi academic of Bengali literature.
He was an activist who took part in the Language Movement (1952), participated in Mass Uprising (1969), and took part in the Bangladesh Liberation ...
, visiting fellow.
* Barun De
Barun De (30 October 1932 – 16 July 2013) was an Indian historian. He served as the first professor of social and economic history of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, founder-director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sci ...
, Maulana Azad Fellow.
* Jayanta Kumar Ray, Maulana Azad Fellow.
* Krishnan Srinivasan, Distinguished Fellow.
See also
* Education in India
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
1993 establishments in West Bengal
Research institutes established in 1993
Cultural organisations based in India
Memorials to Abul Kalam Azad
Ministry of Culture (India)
Museums in Kolkata
Research institutes in Kolkata