Department of Sociology

About the Department

Brief History of the Department

The Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, NEHU which was placed in the SAP-DSA I of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the year 2015 has had a long and distinguished history. A cursory glance at its history would be in order.

The teaching of Sociology in NEHU was started in 1976 in the erstwhile Department of Sociology and Anthropology with a Professor, a Lecturer and 21 M. A. students and an initial faculty strength of five. It was housed in a private bungalow in a residential area and the classes were held in the garage, where only 20 chairs could be accommodated. The UGC granted five more positions in December 1976 for the Fifth Five-Year Plan period. Thus, the strength of the faculty turned out to be: Professors-2, Readers-4 and Lecturers-4. However, the effective strength of the Department continued to be seven, while the total number of students had reached 60 by 1980. The Department has been offering Master of Arts (M.A.) Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) programmes.

The Department was started with the joining of Prof. G. S. Aurora to NEHU, who was instrumental in recruiting two Readers (Dr. A. P. Sinha and Dr. A. C. Sinha) and two Lecturers (Mr. C. Nunthara and M. K. Rao). Subsequently, a number of teachers such as Dr. V. Xaxa, Mr. Nikhilesh Kumar, Mr. C. L. Imchen, Dr. M. N. Karna, Dr. P. M. Chacko, Dr. P. S. Dutta,   Dr. I. L. Aier, Mr. A. K. Nongkynrih, Prof. Tiplut Nongbri joined the Department in different capacities and at different points of time. Some of them left the Department after a few years of serving the Department. The Department of Anthropology was established in 1982 and Dr. A. P. Sinha left the Department of Sociology and joined the Department of Anthropology, NEHU. The 20th century ended with a good augury for the Department as the UGC selected it for its Departmental Research Support (DRS) programme. The new century saw long due promotion to Professorship to Dr. P. M. Chacko, Dr. Nikhilesh Kumar and Dr. C. L. Imchen. The Department has further been enriched with the joining of faculty members: Prof. D.V. Kumar; Prof. B. Panda; Dr. Rekha M.  Shangpliang and Mr. Md. Yusuf Khan.

The Department was placed in the SAP-DRS III in the year 2009 with Prof. C. L. Imchen and Prof. D. V. Kumar assuming Co-ordinatorship and Deputy Co-ordinatorship respectively. With the assistance from the UGC through the SAP, the Department began to conduct seminars/conferences and carry out research projects and publications (both books and articles) on a regular basis. The Departmental library too has grown into a well-stacked one. In recognition of its serious research output, the Department was elevated to SAP-DSA I in the year 2015 with Prof. D. V. Kumar and Prof. B. Panda assuming Co-ordinatorship and Deputy Co-ordinatorship respectively. It is with a great sense of pride it is to be mentioned that some scholars of national and international repute such as Prof. Andre Beteille, Prof. L.P Vidyarthi, Prof. A. R.  Desai, Prof. D. N. Dhanagare, Prof. T. K. Oommen, Prof. T. N. Madan, Prof. R. K. Jain, Prof. N. Jayaram, Prof. Avijit Pathak and others visited our Department either as keynote speakers in seminars or as Visiting Fellows. Our Department was immensely enriched by their presence. It is also a matter of pride that some of the books of our faculty which are products of sustained research are prescribed in some universities’ syllabus. It may also be mentioned that the Department conducted two Refresher Courses in Sociology (the first Refresher Course in the Department of Sociology was conducted in the year 2009 with Dr. D. V. Kumar as the Co-ordinator and the second one was conducted in the year 2011 with Dr. B. Panda and Dr. Rekha M. Shangpliang as the Co-ordinator and the Deputy Co-ordinator respectively) which contributed to the professional growth of teachers in the discipline of Sociology.

With the retirement of a few teachers and the unfortunate demise of Prof. A. K. Nongkynrih in 2021, the effective strength of the Department has been reduced to four. But our Department continues to work with the same vigour and dedication for providing quality education to the students.  Efforts are constantly made to pursue serious engagement with critical sociological questions.  Courses are constantly revised which keep in view the universal, national and regional traditions. A conscious and sincere effort is being made to promote critical and reflexive imagination among the students of the Department.

Courses offered

1.  M. A
2. Ph.D

Others

The Academic Council of the University has assigned ‘Social Change’ as the academic thrust of the Department. With this thrust, the Department has instructed M.A., M. Phil and Ph. D.  to thousands of students during the last 48 years. The Department is interested in developing research and instructional excellence in the spheres of inquiry with emphasis on the following:

• Emerging Social Inequality
• Political Dynamics
• Social Movements
• Ethnic Identity and Relations
• Demography, Ecology and Environment
• Development
• Modern Organisations

Student intake