Strengthening International Studies in India

Abstract

This report takes stock of the state of the field of international studies in India and recommends a vision and measures to strengthen the field and make it equal to those in leading institutions and programmes around the world. The ultimate goals of the measures recommended in the report are to: a. make India a leading centre of knowledge and education in international studies; b. produce a substantive pool of Indian scholars doing cutting-edge work that contributes to the production and accumulation of knowledge; c. produce first-rate graduates to meet the demands and opportunities arising from the modernization and rise of India in a changing world; and d. ensure that Indian IS scholarship contributes to increasing the knowledge base on India’s international role as a responsible power fostering peace, security, good governance, economic development and resolution of a wide range of problems in its immediate region and the world. The vision, measures and strategies here would reform and build on existing institutions as well as create new ones by drawing on the best practices in leading institutions in India and other countries.