GUWAHATI, Feb 3 ? Ford Foundation of USA has sanctioned a grant of $450,000 to the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Research to carry out an extensive study on the socio-cultural and trade relations, between the North East India and South and South East Asian countries in the context of economic liberation.
The study which began on January 1 2003, is expected to be completed within three years. Informing this, director of the institute Abu Nasar Saied Ahmed today told newsmen that a Centre for North East India, South and South East Asia Studies (CENISE would be created with the grant.
?North East India which has always had socio-economic and trade relations with the South and South East Asian countries, can play a vital role in effecting a more cordial and productive relationship with these neighbours,? Ahmed said and added that the study would keep in perspective the strategic location of the region and the emerging needs of the people.
The institute?s another major exercise on the offing is to create an endowed chair for Professor of Peace Studies for the North East. The chair, which will study methodically the problems of peace in the trouble-torn region, will analyse the genesis of the malaise, document all the initiatives and steps taken since 1953 to establish peace and to reduce conflict, and also organise seminars and conferences on the major issues of peace besides publishing documents and books on the related subjects. For this project, it has got another grant of $ 25000 from Ford Foundation.
An autonomous research organisation covering the eight North Eastern States, it is one of the 27 research centres of excellence sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), and is funded partly by the Assam government. However, failure of the state government to release its fund over the years has hampered its functioning, Ahmed said.
Lack of a permanent building has been another constraint for the organisation which is currently functioning from a rented house at Silpukhuri. ?The government, after it had promised to give 100 bigha land and after a lot of persuasion from us, finally allotted just two bighas at Six Mile,? Ahmed said, adding that ?two bigha is too small for our purpose and we need five to ten bighas for setting up a hostel, guest house, library, conference hall, staff quarters, etc, besides the main building? The ICSSR will provide Rs 5 crore for the five-storey building.
The institute which has certain thrust areas of research such as population studies, tribal studies, women studies, environment and ecology studies, local governance and planning, ethnicity and politics, and South East Asian studies, has so far completed more than 120 micro studies and 30 major studies, published four books and recently brought out is first research journal.