Hyderabad: Why kill OU Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies & ask for a new one?

Hyderabad: "When there is no ocean here, why should Telangana have a Centre for Indian Ocean Studies (CIOS)?" This was how babus in corridors of power after the formation of Telangana had queried when the Osmania University sent an SOS seeking funds to continue its CIOS centre.

Recollecting, how the UGC CIOS, Osmania University had to be wound up, a former faculty member said, "the CIOS was started in 1983 to study and carry out research on 54 countries of Indian Ocean." The mandate for the institute was to study and conduct research in urban and rural development, industrialisation, trade and commerce, exports and imports, environment, education, health, maritime issues, border security and bilateral issues among the Indian Ocean countries.

It drew researchers from geography, economics, political science and sociology to conduct studies in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary mode.

The CIOS had also submitted several reports to the Ministry of External Affairs. They include studies related to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana. Besides, Singapore, Malaysia and developments in Israel and Plastain social issues. possible issues faced by the Indian Navy relating to maritime security, GATT, geopolitical and international relations, urban and regional planning, economic and regional cooperation, cultural ethic studies and environment and climate change issues. The centre was publishing a quarterly journal, Indian Ocean Digest. The CIOS was run by seven faculty members with a department head till July 2012. The 25-year old institution had hosted several international conferences like 'India-Sri Lanka Relations', 'Changes in the Indian Ocean Region: Geopolitics, energy and security and the like.

Experts, like Prof Sike Hampson, Professor of Geography, Middle East Center, University of Utah, US visited the centre as it had established linkages with similar institutions existing in India and abroad.

The Centre and OU tried to keep it alive. Despite the dwindling funding from the UGC and the State government, said Prof. R Sidda Goud, Professor of Economics and former Director of UGC CIOS. However, the hopes have died for sustaining the centre after the formation of Telangana because the UGC stopped funding. The government did not support making fresh appointments of faculty on retirement of existing faculty.

Against this backdrop, the OU had sent an appeal to the State Higher Education Department, when the remaining two faculty members were about to retire and to save the CIOS from dying.

But the efforts had met with insults by some babus asking, why should Telangana have an ocean studies centre? Their logic was, when the State has no ocean, and they let the centre die," said another faculty member.

Cut to 2021, the same OU and Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), led by Telangana State Planning Commission vice-chairman B Vinod Kumar have approached the ministry to start a centre for Indo-Pacific Studies at OU.