D. V. Kumar

Prof. D. V. Kumar

0364 2307930 - 3047

9436160928

dvkumar4229@gmail.com

Faculty members

Prof. D. V. Kumar

Designation: Professor

Department: Sociology

Qualifications:

  • Ph.D.      –            Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
  • M. Phil    –            Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  • M.A.       –            Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  • B.Com    –            Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (AP)

Areas of Interest/Specialization: Modernity, Ethnicity, Development and Gender

Teaching Experience: 31 years

Academic and administrative Assignments:

  1. A member of the Expert Committee on the Meghalaya State Reservation Policy
  2. Associate, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla
  3. A member of the panel of experts for review of research projects of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.
  4. A member of panel of experts for review of research proposals of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi.
  5. Member, Academic bodies of a few universities
  6. Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology of a few universities
  7. A member of selection Committees for recruitment and promotion of faculty in some    Indian Universities, and Colleges.
  8. A member on the panel of experts in service commissions
  9. Peer reviewer of some national and international journals.
  10. Co-ordinator, SAP-DSA I of the University Grants Commission since 2015
  11. Former Head, Department of Sociology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong between 2019 and 2022.
  12. Member, panel of experts for Ph. D. Evaluation  in  a few universities.

Brief Description of Current Research:

Presently engaged in interrogating  modernity and its relationship with ethnicity. Modernity has become a dominant and meta narrative in social science literature. Its specific historicity and growth as an umbrella term to describe everything that is happening at present is the subject which  is critically examined in some of my writings.

Research Projects

  1. Ethnicity, Famine and the State under the SAP-DRS-111 of the UGC during 2009-2010.
  2. Modernisation and Ethnicity : The Context of Telugus in Bengaluru  under SAP-DRS-III of the UGC during 2010-2011Completed a project entitled Modernity, Ethnicity and Nationalism : Exploring the Linkages under SAP-DRS-III of the UGC during 2011-2012
  3. Urban Ethnicity : A Comparative Study of Telugus and Bengalis in Delhi  Phase I under SAP-DRS-III of the UGC during 2012-2013
  4. Urban Ethnicity : A Comparative Study of Telugus and Bengalis in Delhi  Phase II under SAP-DRS-III of the UGC during 2013-2014
  5. Negotiating the Other : The Context of Mizos in Bengaluru under SAP-DSA 1 of the UGC during 2015-2016
  6. Exploring Inter-Community Relations in Bengaluru under the the SAP-DSA I of the UGC during 2016-2017
  7. Examining the perceptions towards the people of the North-East in Bengaluru : A Sociological Understanding under the SAP-DSA 1 of the UGC during the 2017-2018
  8. Interrogating Objectivity in Social Sciences : Negotiating the Question of Identity under the SAP –DSA 1 of the UGC during the year 2019-2020.

Publications

Books:

Published abroad:

  1. Revisiting Social Theory : Challenges and Possibilities. 2024. Routledge : London
  2. The Idea of a University : Possibilities and Contestations (ed.).  2021. London : Routledge

Published in India:

  1. Modernity, Ethnicity and Development. 2017. Jaipur : Rawat Publishers
  2. Modernity and Ethnic Processes in India (ed.). 2014. Jaipur : Rawat Publishers
  3. Social Change and Development (ed.). 2012. Jaipur : Rawat Publishers
  4. Modernisation and Ethnicity. 2006. New Delhi : Mittal Publications.

The list of a few select articles (published in journals/edited volumes):

  1. The Challenges that a University faces in India today: In D. V. Kumar (ed.) The Idea of a University: Possibilities and Contestations. Routledge: London. 2021
  2. The Developmental Process in the Northeast India : A Critical Interrogation. The Eastern Anthropologist, 72 (3-4), 2019 : 289-300
  3. Explaining the Mizo ethnicity in B.K. Nagla and Vinay Kumar Srivastava (ed.) Issues and Themes in Contemporary Society (123-135). Jaipur : Rawat Publications, 2018
  4. Examining Ethnicity : The Context of Mizos in Bengaluru. The Sociological Bulletin, 67 (1), 2018 – 1-16
  5. State and Civil Society in Mizoram : Situating the Young Mizo    Association. in  B. Panda (ed.). Civil Society, Voluntary Sector and Social Transformation in India, , Guwahati, EBH publishers, 2014,  P. 205-215
  6. Modernization and Ethnicity : The Context of Telugus in Bengaluru, in Ishwar Modi (ed.) Modernization, Globalization and Social Transformation (220-237). Jaipur : Rawat Publishers, 2014.
  7. Ethnicity, Nationalism and Modernity : Exploring the Linkages, in D. V. Kumar (ed.) Modernity and Ethnic Processes in India (101-112). Jaipur : Rawat Publishers, 2014, 101-112
  8. Contesting the European Origins of Modernity. The Eastern Anthropologist, 66 (4) : October-December, 2013 : 437-448
  9. Tribal Development: Issues, Movements and Interventions, in Encyclopaedia of Social Work in India,  Surendra Singh (ed.). ISBN 978938068553 (Vol.5). P. 1598-1611. 2012
  10. Ethnicity and Social Change : The Context of Mizos, in D. V. Kumar (ed.) Social Change and Development,  Jaipur : Rawat Publishers, 2012, p. 167-182
  11. Ethnicity, Famine and the State. The Eastern Anthropologist, 63(3-4) : July-December,  2011: pp. 461-478.
  12. Issues and Challenges in Tribal Development : A Perspective from the North-        East, In Ganesha Somayaji (ed.) Tribal Communities and the Exclusion-Inclusion Debate In India (55-65). Delhi : Academic Excellence, 2010, p. 55-67
  13. Gellnerian Theory of Nation and Nationalism : A Critical Appraisal.   Sociological    Bulletin, 59(3) : 392-406, 2010
  14. Explaining Mizo Ethnicity : The Relevance of  Oppositional Approach,  Man in  India 89(1-2) : 2009.  37-49
  15. Engaging with Modernity: Need for a Critical Negotiation, Sociological Bulletin, 57(2): 2008, 240-254
  16. Interrogating Development- in J.K.Patnaik (ed.) Peace and Development in Mizoram: Role of the State and Civil Society. Aizawl : Department of Political Science, Mizoram University, 84-93, 2007
  17. Modernisation and Ethnicity: Interrogating Theoretical Perspectives, The Eastern Anthropologist, 59(3-4): 2006, 339-357
  18. Secularism : An Empirical Exploration,  Man and Development, XXV (3).Sep. 2003, 147-160.

Papers presented in Conferences/Seminars 

  1. Sociology and Marxism – Paper presented at a National Seminar on   Sociology
    and Society organized by the Department of Sociology, S.V.University, Tirupati,
    18-19 March. 1997.
  2. The Oppositional Approach: An Explanatory Model to Understand Mizo   Ethnicity –   Presented at a National Seminar on Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in North-East India organized by the Department of Political Science, Guwahati University, Guwahati, 15-16 Feb. 1997.
  3. Ethnicity and Economic Development – Paper presented at a Workshop on   Perspective Development Studies for Mizoram organized by the Department of Economics, North-Eastern University Campus, Aizawl, 20 June, 1997.
  4. Ethnic Groups and Human Rights – With Prof. D. Venkateswarlu   (S.V.University, Tirupati)- Paper presented at a National Seminar on Human Rights held at S.K.University, Anantapur, 12-13 Jan. 1999.
  5. Urbanisation and Modernisation: A Critical Appreciation of their Interrelationship – Paper presented at a Seminar on Urbanisation in Mizoram           organized by the Department of Geography, P.U.College, Aizawl, 17 April 1999.
  6. Modernisation and Ethnicity : Interrogating Different           Theoretical    Perspectives  –  Paper presented at the XXVII All India            Sociological Conference, 8-10 Dec.2002, Department of Humanities and           Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
  7. The State and Civil Society in Mizoram – Paper presented at a National Seminar
    organized by the Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi at Aizawl, 4-5 Dec.         2002
  8. Interrogating the Interlinkages between Education and Society : A              Sociological Perspective – Paper presented at the Regional Seminar on “Reforming Education in Mizoram” organized by the Department of Education, Mizoram University, 21-22 Dec. 2002.
  9. Interrogating development – Paper presented at a National Seminar on “Peace and Development in Mizoram” organized by the Department of Political Science, Mizoram University, Aizawl  on the 31st October and 1st November 2007
  10. An Ethnic Movement and Social Change: The Context of Mizos – Paper presented at a National Seminar on ‘Social Change in North-East India: Processes and Responses’ organized by the Department of Sociology, NEHU, Shillong on the 25th and 26th November 2008 at NEHU, Shillong.
  11. Development in North-East India : Issues and Challenges – Paper presented  at          the ISS Conference held on the 27th and 28th December 2008 at Jaipur, Rajasthan
  12. The State and Civil Society in Mizoram : Situating the Young Mizo Association (YMA)-Paper presented at a National Seminar on Voluntary Sector, Civil Society and Social Transformation in India, NEHU, Shillong, on the 18th and 19th November 2009.
  13. Urbanisation and Modernisation : Paper presented at the 36th All India Sociological Conference held from the 11th December to 13th December 2011 at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  14. Ethnicity, Nationalism and Modernity : Exploring the Linkages : Paper presented at a National Seminar on Modernity and Ethnic Processes in India  held on the 14th and 15th March 2012 at the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
  15. Development in the North-East India : A Sociological Study : Paper presented along with P. Haokip at  a National Seminar on Socio-political Dynamics in North-East India
    held on the 25th and 26th March 2013 by the Department of Political Science, NEHU, Shillong
  16. Interrogating the New Educational Policy: Participated in a one-day national level panel discussion on National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 organised by the North-Eastern University Teachers’ Association in collaboration with the Department of Education, NEHU, Shillong on the 14th September 2021.
  17. Interrogating the Challenges of a University: Was a keynote speaker in one of the sessions of International Conference on Higher Education in India: Opportunities, Challenges and solutions organised by the Department of Sociology, Kakatiya University, Warrangal, Telengana on March 20 and 21, 2022 â??

Convener of National  and International Conferences organized :

  1. Was the Convener of a National Seminar on ‘Social Change in North-East India: Processes and Responses’ organized by the Department of Sociology, NEHU, Shillong on the 25th and 26th November 2008 at NEHU, Shillong. The seminar was sponsored by the North-Eastern Council (Shillong), ICSSR (Delhi), ICSSR-NERC and the Anthropological Survey of India (Kolkota).
  2. Was the Co-convener of a National Seminar on Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Ecology : The Conext of North-East India organized by the Department of Sociology, NEHU, Shillong on the 14th and 15th October 2009. It was sponsored by the North-Eastern Council and ICSSR-NER (Shillong).
  3. Was the Convener of a National Seminar on Modernity and Ethnic Processes in India held under the SAP-DRS (Phase III) of the UGC on the 14th and 15th March 2012 at the North-Eastern Hill Univesity, Shillong. Part of the funding also came from the ICSSR (North-Eastern Region) and NEHU.
  4. Was the Convener of an International Conference on Revisiting Social Theory: Challenges and Possibilities held on the 16th and 17th of November 2022 in the virtual mode.
  5. Chaired a session on Media and Disability and Representation in an International Conference Children and Media held on the 5th and 6th of December 2022 organised by Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab.

Book Review:                  

  1. The Romance of the State: The Fate of Dissent in the     Tropics by Ashis Nandy, for Man and Society: A Journal of North-East Studies, 11 (1), 154-161,  2005, Shillong.
  2. Ethnic Activism and Civil Society in South Asia, David N. Gellner (ed.) for Sociological Bulletin : 59(3). 2010 : 427-429
  3. The Politics of Belonging in the Himalayas : Local attachments and Boundary Dynamics, Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka and Gerard Toffin (eds.) : (Governance, Conflict,  and Civic Action – Volume 4) for Sociological Bulletin and also for Man  and Society ( A Journal of North-East Studies)
  4. The nation form : Essays on Indian nationalism, New Delhi : SAGE publications India, 2012, xxi + pp., Rs. 795 (hb). ISBN 978-81-321-0733-0 for Sociological Bulletin, Vol.61, no.3, 2012
  5. Facing Globalization in the Himalayas : Belonging and the Politics of the Self by Gerard Toffin and Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, 2014, 2014 for Sociological Bulletin

Popular Articles:

  1. Engaging with the Idea  of JNU, The Shillong Times. 8th April, 2024
  2. Secularism : Need to reaffirm it, The Shillong Times, 21st April, 2023
  3. Violence-Its self-defeating nature, The Shillong Times, 5th November, 2022
  4. Let there be true and authentic celebration of Independence, The Shillong Times, 13th August, 2022
  5. The Present Global Ranking of Universities Problematic, The Shillong Times, 12th of June, 2021
  6. The Sociology of Covid – The Shillong Times, 21st of March, 2020
  7. Need for Civic Engagement – The Shillong Times, 14th of June, 2018
  8. The Idea of JNU - The Shillong times, 27th November, 2019
  9. Recovering the Real Idea of Nationalism – The Shillong Times, 20th September, 2016
  10. JNU – Anti-National? Come on, let us grow up – The Shillong Times, 21st February 2016
  11. In Defense of NEHU – The Shillong Times, 9th September 2015
  12. The State and Civil Society – The Shillong Times, 14th April 2011
  13. Communal Ideology and Violence – The Shillong Times, 15th October 2008
  14. Who is the Real Adversary? - The Shillong Times, 5th August 2008
  15. Modernity, Identity and the N.E.- The Shillong Times, 11th July 2007
  16. Reflections- Newslink, Aizawl, 8th June 2004.

Ph. D Awarded/Supervised:  8
M. Phil. Supervised /Awarded : 1

Other Important  Assignments:

  1. Was the Co-Coordinator for the U.G.C. sponsored Refresher Course in Research Methodology in Social Sciences conducted by the Mizoram University from    09-10-2003 to 29-10-2003  
  2. Was an Academic Councellor for Sociology, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Regional Study Centre, Aizawl, Mizoram from 1996 to 2004.
  3. Was a member of the Organising Committee which conducted a Seminar on      Urbanisation in Mizoram at the Pachhunga University College, Aizawl, Mizoram on  the 17th April, 1999.
  4. Was a Resource Person for the Interactive Radio Counseling   Programme by the IGNOU Regional Office, Aizawl
  5. Was instrumental in activating an informal discussion group called “Interact” at the Pachhunga University College, Aizawl. This forum is presently active at NEHU, Shillong also. 
  6. Chaired one of the Technical Sessions of the Workshop for Young    Social Scientists organised by the Indian Sociological Society and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development, Chennai at the National Institute of Rural Development, North-Eastern Regional Centre, Gawahati on the 8th and 9th September 2007.
  7. Was a Resource Person in the Orientation Programme for the Master Trainers of KVS, NVS and CBSE affliated Schools on use of New Social-Science text books for Class VII developed by NCERT, held at NERIE, Shillong from 4-9-07 to 7-9-07.
  8. Was the Co-ordinator of the 1st Refresher Course in Sociology, Department of Sociology, NEHU from  September 1 to September 21 2009 at the Academic Staff College, NEHU, Shillong.
  9. Was the  Deputy-co-ordinator of the UGC sponsored SAP-DRS (phase III)  programme from 2009 to 2014. Presently the Co-Ordinator of the SAP-DSA I.
  10. Invited by the UGC as an expert to review SAP-related work of the Department of Sociology of different Universities in January 2017.
  11. Invited by the UGC as an expert for a mid-term of review of major projects in February 2017. 
  12. Co-ordinator, SAP-DSA I of the University Grants Commission (2015-2020), New Delhi

2024, North-Eastern Hill University
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