Research in social sciences being given a raw deal: Najeeb Jung

HYDERABAD: Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung on Friday praised the research being carried out in pure sciences in the country but regretted that social sciences was not being given the same attention.
The government and the educators have failed to draw students to take up study in humanities and social sciences, he said. Professional courses like medicine and engineering were being given importance even by parents and as a result, development of social sciences and languages was taking a beating.
He was speaking after releasing a book, A Cartographic Profile of the Deccan, prepared and published by the H K Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu).
Jung, whose grandparents are from Hyderabad, said the purpose of the colleges and universities should be to go beyond mere awarding degrees. They need to educate students and encourage them to acquire knowledge.
Quoting Omar Khayam, Iqbal and Majaz he said he expected the students of Manuu to become a boon for the entire country with their dedication to research.
Presiding over the function, Manuu vice-chancellor Mohammed Miyan agreed with Jung that pure sciences were being given more preferences by universities at the expense of social sciences. He said Manuu would soon be setting up a Centre for Central Asian Studies and a Documentation Centre for Urdu periodicals.
Honorary director of HKS CDS Salma Ahmed Farooqui outlined the features of the book which has been simultaneously published in English and Urdu and has 135 maps and nautical charts, some of which are as old as 500 years. “The maps are in Portuguese, Dutch, French, English, German, Italian, Latin, Catalan, Arabic and Chinese languages. The oldest map belongs to Catalan, a language predominantly spoken in Spain and France in the 13th and 14th centuries. The evolution of the maps shows the change in interest of the Europeans and others in trading, conquering and later colonizing India, particularly the Deccan. It is a fascinating story told with the help of researched texts,” she said.