"UNESCO-INDIA : COLLABORATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCES" BY YOGESH ATAL
UNESCO's fiftieth anniversary in 1995 coincided with the twentieth year of the establishment of UNESCO Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific. As one appointed to head this new Unit way back in 1974, this event was matter of particular gratification for the present writer.
At the time of joining UNESCO as its first Regional Adviser for Social Sciences, the author of this paper was Director of Research -- again the first -- at the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). It is in that capacity that he first came into contact with UNESCO. The reason being holding of UNESCO-supported first Asian Conference to discuss teaching and research in social sciences in the countries of the Asian region.
ASIAN CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SCIENCES AND INITIATIVE ON REGIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH COUNCILS The proposal to hold that Conference was mooted by the Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO. Under its Participation Programme, UNESCO gave a "generous"1 grant to India for this purpose. The National Commission, in turn, asked the ICSSR to take on the organizational responsibility for this Conference in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, which was to be the venue for this regional meeting. The ICSSR asked me to organize this important event which took place in Shimla
1 The amount granted was US$10,000 equivalent in Indian currency value to Rs.70,000 at that time.
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from May 21. through 25, 1973. That Conference was attended by fourteen countries, including India. The Conference deliberated on the definition and scope of social sciences, problems relative to teaching and research in social sciences, role of national social science councils, and prospects of regional cooperation and collaboration.2
The Shimla Conference was an. important landmark in the history of Asian Social Sciences. For the first time, social scientists of the region met to discuss their common problems and resolved that they would take steps to remove the academic distance that existed between them despite, geographical proximity and close affinity of their cultures. It was at this Conference that a resolve was taken to establish an Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC). A pioneering role in this regard was played by four prominent Indian social scientists, viz., Professor M.S. Gore (who was then the Chairman of the ICSSR), J.P. Naik (the founder Member- Secretary of ICSSR), Malcolm Adiseshiah (retired Deputy Director- General of UNESCO who led the Indian delegation to that Conference and thus became the Conference President), and S.C. Dube (then Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shim1a). Three of these stalwarts -- Naik, Adiseshiah and Dube -- are no more with us, but their vision and their commitment to the cause of social sciences and to regional collaboration has influenced in a variety of ways UNESCO's social science programme in the Asia-Pacific region, in general, and in India, in particular.
2 Besides India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia (Khmer), Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand took part. The national reports on the status of teaching and research in social sciences are contained in. Yogesh Atal, ed., Social Sciences in Asia (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1974).
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Let me reproduce a sample of statements made at the Shimla Conference by Gore, Adiseshiah, and Dube:
Gore: "As we begin this exercise we will find that we know so little about each other though, in a geographical sense, all the countries are neighbours and most of them are experiencing generally similar problems. It is a weakness in our scholarship that we know a great deal about countries of the developed world and their problems and so little about ourselves and our neighbours. Besides, whatever we do know about each other's countries we seem to learn from Western scholars. Without being chauvinistic, or parochial, I would like to say that this situation will have to be changed and we would need to learn to talk directly to each other and learn from each other's experience if we are to tackle our problems in mutual co-operation".
Adiseshiah: The social scientist "faces no economic problems, no sociological problems, no anthropological problems, local problems, and national problems which are multiple, calling for multiple policy instruments, multiple forms of interaction between the natural, agricultural and medical sciences, on the one hand, and social sciences on the other. And here we are totally unprepared and unequipped".
Dube: "The sterility in the Asian context, of some of the social science models that enjoy high prestige in the West is now all- too-clear. We must make a determined effort to decolonize the social sciences and to make them relevant to our needs. We, the countries of Asia, are too poor to afford the luxury of developing the social sciences as esoteric arts. Our social science teaching and research must enable us to meet the challenges of
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modernization and to fight the spectre of poverty and human degradation .... There is a great deal that we can learn from one another. There is a great deal that we can achieve by pooling our intellectual resources and by collaborating in a massive effort towards generating new perspectives and new understanding in regard to different facets of Asia's poverty and underdevelopment".
S. Nurul Hasan, then Minister of Education and Social Welfare, endorsed these views in his valedictory address to the Conference.. He admitted that "while the significance of science and technology for the developing nations is recognized on all hands, there is no corresponding recognition for the role which social sciences play in development .... Science and technology make a powerful and. visible impact on society, no doubt. But social structure and cultural values are equally instrumental in determining the development of science and technology and their full utilization. In other words, science and technology and social sciences have to develop simultaneously, each supporting and facilitating the other".
It is this recognition of the role of social. sciences, and the prevailing communication gap amongst the social scientists of the vast Asia-Pacific region, that prompted the Shimla Conference to resolve to establish an Association of Asian Social science Research Councils (AASSREC) with the following functions:
- Exchange of information among Asian. social Scientists; - Exchange of scholars; - Promotion of research opportunities for the junior social scientists; and - Promotion of joint research programmes.
While expressing its indebtedness to UNESCO for providing assistance in convening the assembly, the Conference also expressed its regrets over "a declining trend of UNESCO's
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programme in the Asian region and that social scientists of this region are largely ignorant about the scope and activities of UNESCO". The Conference requested UNESCO to "provide assistance and co- operation in the setting up of Social Science Research Councils in the countries where they do not exist, and strengthening the councils where they exist". It welcomed the proposal of UNESCO to create the post of a Social Science Adviser for the Asian region. The Indian Council of Social Science Research offered to host the interim secretariat. of the newly created Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC); Adiseshiah was elected as the first President of AASSREC, and the present writer was nominated to act as its first Secretary-General.
This Conference, thus, laid the foundation for the development of UNESCO's programme in the field of social sciences in. Asia. Acting on the recommendations of the Shimla Conference, UNESCO created the post of a Regional Advisor for Social Sciences in Asia and the Pacific in September 1974. The Office was first set up in Jakarta, Indonesia, but after two years, it was moved, in February 1977 to Bangkok where it functions as an integral part of the principal Regional Office.
1954 ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL RESEARCH
CENTRE Even prior to the Shimla Conference, India has been involved in UNESCO's work in the Social Sciences. Way back in 1954, UNESCO convened a Round Table Conference oil Teaching of the Social Sciences in South Asia". It was held in, New Delhi from February 15
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through 19, 1954 and was attended by delegates from eight countries.3 Although the terms of reference of that Round Table were extremely wide, the discussion concentrated on the unity of social sciences, conditions affecting the position of social sciences, and on methods of teaching. The Round Table gave the impression "that the differences seemed likely to outweigh the similarities. This was partly due to the fact that these differences came as something of a surprise to participants whose intimate knowledge of the problems of the `region' was largely confined to conditions of their own country or at most in one or two out of the seven". It is in view of such lack of understanding of each other that the Chairman of the Round Table, T. H. Man, hall remarked: "There are certain forms of co- operation between universities and between countries which can take the same shape all the world over, but which can be more effective if organized within a limited geographical area; communication is easier and meetings are less expensive."
Perhaps the outcome of this Round Table became the basis for the decision taken at the eighth General Conference of UNESCO, held in 1954, to set up, in 1956, a Research Centre on the Social Implications of Industrialization in Southern Asia in Calcutta where it functioned until 1961 when it was moved to Delhi with a changed nomenclature as Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Southern Asia. The Centre was an, integral part of the UNESCO secretariat and served thirteen countries.4
3 These countries were Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia, Malaya (now Malaysia), Pakistan, Singapore, and Thailand.
4 Afghanistan, Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaya (now Malaysia), Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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It was created to: (a) conduct social science research into problems of social and economic development in the participating countries; (b) provide expert advice and assistance to the participating countries on problems of social and economic development; (c) provide library and documentation services and act as a clearing house of information and literature on the subject; and (d)provide opportunities for training social scientists in the region in research methods and techniques.
In pursuance of the above functions -- the Centre undertook several research projects. To mention a few of them: (i) Social aspects of industrialization: role of small-scale industries in the country's economy and social changes accompanying their growth; (ii) Changing social structures: groups within the social structure which operate as carriers and promoters of development; (iii) Leadership in rural areas: the role of rural leaders in introducing social and economic development at community level; (iv) Education and society: impact of education on economic development; (v) Subjective assessment of social status: social status as distinct from the picture provided by statistics; and (vi) Social aspects of the distribution of income: study of the relevance of income distribution in a rapidly changing society to the problem of social and economic development.
The Centre also organized or sponsored seminars and conferences on development problems which included: (i) regional seminar on techniques of social research (1958); (ii) regional seminar on the public administration problems of new and rapidly developing towns in Asia (1969); (iii) conference on social research on small industries in India (1962); and (iv) a round-table conference on the emerging patterns of rural leadership in Southern Asia (1964).
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Under the auspices of the Centre, ten young social scientists received individual training lasting about nine months. Five of them came from Asia and another five from outside the region. In 1966, the Centre organized the first regional training course on the sociology of development which was attended by 20 participants from nine countries of the region. The Centre developed library and documentation services and sent librarians to several countries to advise on the organization of such services in social science research institutes.
Although the Centre served a useful purpose it ceased to be a UNESCO Centre when it got merged, in January 1967, with. the Institute of Economic Growth (India) upon the completion of ten years during which UNESCO subvention was provided. UNESCO, however, continued to provide support to the Institute of Economic Growth for the organization of regional training seminars on "Development" until 1975.
ICSSR AND AASSREC After the closure of the Research Centre in Delhi in 1967, UNESCO's presence in the social science field in Asia became somewhat less visible. The Institute of Economic Growth took over some of the functions of the Centre, including the organization of training seminars on sociology of development and publication of Asian Social Science Bibliography. This work continued until 1972. The 1973 Shimla Conference was, thus, a fresh step, at the initiative of India, to enhance UNESCO's visibility in social sciences in this region. That Conference became a pace setter for regional co-operation. AASSREC, created by the Shimla Conference, began its activities with a membership of three councils: the Indian Council of
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Social Science Research, the Philippine Social Science Council, and the National Research Council of Thailand. The other countries that participated at that Conference either did not have an equivalent of a national Council, or did not carry the mandate to join the new Association. ICSSR sent missions to various other countries to enlist membership and to promote AASSREC activities. It also, drafted a Constitution for AASSREC and took steps to convene the first Conference which was held in Tehran,Iran, in the beginning of 1975. That was technically the first Conference of AASSREC where its Constitution was adopted and where,, in addition to the three member- councils that already joined AASSREC at its founding Conference in Shimla two other countries -- Republic of Korea and the Philippines -- joined the Association. India was again elected for the position of the President. Over the past 22 years, AASSREC held eleven biennial conferences, while its membership increased from 3 to 16.
ICSSR has, thus, been very active in the establishment of AASSREC. It has hosted the secretariat of AASSREC for a number of years, and published its Newsletter, AASSREC Panorama.5 The 11th biennial Conference of AASSREC, marking its 22nd anniversary was hosted by it in the 50th year of UNESCO, in 1995 in New Delhi. For the biennium 1993-95, India acted as the President of, AASSREC. ICSSR also arranged for the publication of the first few monographs in the UNESCO-sponsored AASSREC Series on "Introducing Asian
5 The countries that have joined AASSREC are: Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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Societies" that includes a monograph on India.6 ICSSR's other major contribution to the promotion of regional co-operation in social sciences under UNESCO auspices is in the field of Social Science Information and Documentation, Currently, the Director of the National Social Science Documentation Centre of ICSSR -- Dr. K.G. Tyagi -- is President of the International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation (ICSSD) which is affiliated with both UNESCO and the International Social Science Council.
OTHER ASPECTS OF COLLABORATION Indian collaboration with UNESCO in the field of social sciences has taken several forms Let me recount them.
Involvement in the work of AASSREC As noted earlier, AASSREC was born in India, and the Indian Council of Social Science Research has nurtured it by serving as its secretariat for a number of ears, during which it published AASSREC Panorama - A Newsletter. India has participated in all the 11 biennial conferences of AASSREC held so far. Over these 22 years of AASSREC's existence, its membership has grown from 3 to 16. Even other countries which. have not so far joined (for example Fiji, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, People's Democratic Republic of Korea)
6 Other publications of AASSREC brought out with the assistance of ICSSR are: Social Sciences in Asia (1974); Urbanization in Asia: the Future of the City (1983); Social Sciences in Asia in the 1980s: Tasks and Challenges (1983); Social Sciences and the Government (1987); Youth in Asia -- Viewpoints for the Future (1988); and Culture Development Interface (1990).
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have been attending AASSREC conferences as observers. ICSSR has benefited from this networking.
Involvement in APINESS In collaboration with AASSREC, UNESCO created an Asia-Pacific Information Network in Social Sciences (APTNESS) in 1987. The National Social Science Documentation Centre (NASSDOC) of ICSSR is its member from the beginning and has attended all the meetings of the APTNESS Regional Advisory Groups (RAG) held every two years. ICSSR hosted the Third APINESS/REG meeting in 1992 in New Delhi. APTNESS Newsletter is also brought out by ICSSR/NASSDOC with financial support from UNESCO.7 Participation in this network has facilitated exchange of social science documentation among the network members. Other collaborative arrangements have also been made. NASSDOC has hosted the visit of a documentalist from Vietnam for training. NASSDOC Director went to UNESCO Bangkok for a month to organize social science documentation of the Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific.