Valerian Rodrigues (born 29 July 1949) is an Indian political scientist. He is known for his influential work on Babasaheb Ambedkar,[1] and for his formulations of themes in Modern Indian Political Thought.[2][3] Rodrigues has made substantial contributions to the debate on the working of the Indian Parliament,[4] constitutionalism in India,[5] and agrarian politics in India.[6] As a Professor at the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi,[7] he was popular for his lectures on Indian Political Thought and Intellectual History, and critically reading the same through political concepts of modernity, secularism and nationalism. Before joining JNU, Rodrigues taught at the Department of Political Science at Mangalore University, Karnataka, India.[8]

Born 29 July 1949

He has held the first Ambedkar Chair at the Ambedkar University Delhi, has been ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations) Visiting Professor at the University of Erfurt Germany, Visiting Professor at the University of Würzburg Germany, Visiting Professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada and Fellow at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Studies, Germany.[9][10]

Rodrigues is a regular political columnist and commentator with The Hindu and The Indian Express.

Early life edit

Rodrigues was born in Loretto, Bantwal Taluk, Karnataka.[8] He received his MA from the University of Pune, and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. As a political activist in the 1970s, he was influential in securing land titles for landless farmers and farm workers of Coastal Karnataka under the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1974.[6]

Academic career edit

After receiving his MA from the University of Pune, Rodrigues first taught at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College, Ujire, Karnataka. He received his PhD from the Centre for Political Studies, JNU, India, in 1986, and was Agatha Harrison Fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford from 1989–1991.[11] He was also a senior fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, from 1999–2001.[12] Rodrigues taught Political Science at Mangalore University, Karnataka from 1982 to 2003 before moving to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where he was Professor of Political Studies from 2003 to 2015. He is also National Fellow of the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR).[13]

Selected works edit

References edit

  1. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (2003). The Essential Writings of B.R.Ambedkar. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-567055-4.
  2. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (2011). "Reading Texts and Traditions: The Ambedkar-Gandhi Debate". Economic and Political Weekly.
  3. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (2011). "In Search of an Anchor: Muslim Thought in Modern India". Economic and Political Weekly.
  4. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (2011). The Indian Parliament: A Democracy at Work. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-806772-6.
  5. ^ Bhargava, Rajeev (2008). Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-569255-6.
  6. ^ a b "Political Power and Democratic Enablement". Economic and Political Weekly. 49 (25): 7–8. 5 June 2015 – via www.epw.in.
  7. ^ "JNU Faculty Directory".
  8. ^ a b "Vice-President Ansari Releases Book by Mangalore's Prof V Rodrigues". www.daijiworld.com.
  9. ^ "Democracy and Religious Minorities in India" (PDF).
  10. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (2014). "Elections and Civil Society in India". Würzburger Arbeitspapiere zur Politikwissenschaft und Soziologie (Waps); 4. doi:10.25972/OPUS-10500 – via opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de.
  11. ^ Garimella, Subramanium (2001). "Untouched..By Change". The Hindu.[dead link]
  12. ^ "IIAS Fellow Archive".
  13. ^ Rodrigues, Valerian (29 July 2015). "Reclaiming a space for the Church". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.