CHENNAI: Dr Satish Deshpande , Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, has been named the recipient of the Malcolm Adiseshiah award for the year 2012-2013. This was disclosed at a press meet held at the Malcolm Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust (MEAT) office, Mylapore, by its executive trustee Dr HBN Shetty IAS (Retd). The award includes a cash grant of `2 lakh and a citation.
Dr Deshpande, who hails from Dharwad, Karnataka, has a heavy curricular profile which is the reason for his nomination for the coveted award. He got his BA and MA in Economics, after which he pursued another PG degree in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He researched in sociology and got a PhD from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He served at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, taught at the Sociology Board, University of California, and at the University of Hyderabad. He has headed several research projects, authored four books and chaired seminars and conferences all over the world.
Prof Dr Malcolm Adiseshiah (1910-1994) was a veteran economist, social activist and the vice-chancellor of the University of Madras from 1975 to 1978. He instituted MEAT in 1996. The trust functions under the guidance of Economics guru Dr C T Kurien, Prof V K Natraj, Dr HBN Shetty and Sashi Kumar Menon. It funds research projects and activities of the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) Chennai, and provides financial backing for college projects. MIDS was established by Malcolm Adiseshiah in 1970.
Dr Deshpande is the 12th recipient of this award. He will deliver a memorial lecture at the award ceremony on November 21, 2012 which marks the death anniversary of the late Prof Malcolm Adiseshiah.