It was in 1958; soon after the establishment of the University itself, the visionary leadership of Late Shri Bhaikaka realized the importance of establishing a full fledged post-graduate department of Political Science in the University. In the years that followed, late Shri H. M. Patel and all the academic leaders of the University till date have actively supported this department. Since Shri Bhaikaka and Shri H.M. Patel were themselves active in the politics of the day, this department has had the good fortune of being nurtured by them. The Department was started under the leadership of Professor Ms. Aloo Dastur, who later joined the Department of Civics and Politics in the University of Bombay and retired in the recent past as its head. Dr. Kshirsagar who had a Ph.D. from an American University followed her. |
PROPOSED INITIATIVES FOR FUTURE
PARMITA: Integrated Training for Women in Public Life
- With the constitutional amendment providing for reservation of seats for women in Local Self-Government Institutions, the women of our country have found a new area of making a significant contribution for the improvement of the governance, and thereby improving the overall quality of life in the local area of the concerned institutional jurisdiction.
- PARMITA, an Integrated Training programme for Women in Public Life aims to bridge this critical gap between the constitutional empowerment of women and their capacity acquisition in public life. This initiative will be an important attempt to train the women in public life, especially those elected for the first time in the institutions of local self-government. It is envisaged to be a self-financed programme, where the concerned local self-government institution may be approached to fund the training programme. The funding sources could also include other voluntary organizations, and philanthropists in the area.
- Centre for the Development of deprived and oppressed sections of society.
- Human rights for Dalits, Adivasis and Minorities (DAM) Awareness Programme.
SIDDHI: Enhancing Employability Potential of Youth
- One of the serious concerns of the higher education in India today is that the employability potential and capacity of a large number of university graduates in India is discouragingly low. This is all the more low for the graduates in social sciences and humanities. It may be argued that the changing nature of economy and skill-set are responsible for such a state of affairs. Nevertheless, it is equally true that the organization of the entire gamut of teaching-learning process, especially in the field of social sciences, requires vital rejuvenation, and needs to be harmony with the changing demands of the economic and employment landscape.
- SIDDHI, a training programme aimed at enhancing employability potential of youth is envisaged as a multi-disciplinary initiative integrating the intellectual and skill-enhancement training of the youth, especially in the disciplines of social sciences and humanities
- The programme shall have the class-room sessions, IT proficiency sessions, field visit, and possibly internship-driven project as its constituent. This will be a self-financed programme with possible infrastructural support and cooperation from Sardar Patel University