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International Area Studies Review
[ Article ]
International Area Studies Review - Vol. 28, No. 3, pp.245-262
ISSN: 2233-8659 (Print)
Print publication date 25 Sep 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69473/iasr.2025.28.3.245

Seventy Years of Scholarship: The History of the Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi, India

Manish Karmwar ; Anushka Srivastava*
Faculty, Department of African Studies, University of Delhi, India
Doctoral Candidate, Department of African Studies, University of Delhi, India

Correspondence to: *Email: anushka6469@gmail.com

Abstract

Area studies shape knowledge, influence policies, and enhance cross-cultural understanding. Area studies programs have produced valuable knowledge and espoused radical critical thought in the past sixty-five years. Established in 1954 and inaugurated on 6th August 1955, the Department of African Studies, University of Delhi, celebrates 70 years in 2025, enhancing comparative and area studies on African politics, history, anthropology, culture, economy, languages, and religion. Many countries have African Studies centers/departments, with India hosting three major ones at Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Mumbai University. As the year 2025 marks 70 glorious years of the Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi, it is the best time to showcase the importance and value the department holds at the academic helm. The New Education Policy has introduced the concept of multidisciplinary studies in recent times, but the Department has had this approach for a long time. This article focuses on situating the Department’s establishment within a historical framework by utilizing the University of Delhi archives, libraries of PMML, ICWA, ICHR, ICCR, Parliament Library, Academic Council, and Executive Council documents, and conversations with Professors, Alumni, and officials. The first and holistic article about the Department was written by Wayne Fredericks in 1960. In the 70th year of its inception, it is important to examine the department’s evolution over time, highlighting its contributions to the academic understanding of India-Africa relations and its interdisciplinary approach to research and education.

Keywords:

African studies, Area studies, India- Africa relations, University of Delhi, Research, New education policy

List of Abbreviations

E.C. : Executive Council
H.E. : His/ Her Excellency
ICCR : Indian Council for Cultural Relations
ICHR : Indian Council for Historical Research
ICSSR : Indian Council for Social Science Research
ICWA : Indian Council of World Affairs
IFS : Indian Foreign Service
IJAS : Indian Journal of African Studies
JNU : Jawaharlal Nehru University
MA : Master of Arts
M.Phil. : Master of Philosophy
OATD : Open Access Theses and Dissertations
OAU : Organization of African Unity
Ph.D. : Doctor of Philosophy
PMML : Prime Ministers Museum and Library
UDD : University Diplomatic Dialogue
UGC : University Grants Commission
UNESCO : United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
UoD : University of Delhi

AI Acknowledgment

Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were not used in any way to prepare, write, or complete essential authoring tasks in this manuscript.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. No external funding was received for conducting this study or for the preparation of this manuscript. The research and writing were carried out independently by the author(s) without any financial support from institutions, organizations, or agencies.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This study does not involve any experiments on human participants or animals. As it is a historical and institutional account based on archival sources and publicly available information, ethical approval and participant consent are not applicable.

Competing Interests

The author(s) declare that there are no conflicts of interest—financial or otherwise—that may have influenced the research or its presentation.

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