Javeed Alam (12 August 1943 – 5 December 2016) was an activist and thinker who served as Chairman of the Indian Council for Social Science Research from 2008 to 2011.

Early life

Javeed Alam was born to Khadija and Alam Khundmiri in the erstwhile

State of Hyderabad Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

that was ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad. His parents were leftist activists in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and his family were deeply involved in the

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...

struggle of the peasantry. He completed his BA and MA degrees at

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...

, getting a gold medal for standing first in the MA. He did his PhD at the Indian School of International Studies (ISIS), Delhi, and got his doctorate from

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

(JNU) since ISIS was merged with JNU.

Activism and career

Alam, described as a Marxist, was associated with the

CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the nat ...

since the 1970s. His teaching career at Delhi University’s Salwan College was terminated since he married Jayanti Guha, a Hindu. This led to a larger agitation that was backed by the Teachers' association and defended the secular character of the University. From 1973 to 1999 he taught at

Himachal Pradesh University Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is an Indian public state university at Summer Hill in the state capital city Shimla. It is close to the vicinity of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. It is wholly financed by the government of Himachal ...

(HPU). He returned to Hyderabad in the late 1990s and taught at the

English and Foreign Languages University The English and Foreign Languages University known as EFLU is a central university for English and foreign languages located in Hyderabad, India. It is the only such university dedicated to languages in South Asia. The university offers the s ...

from which he retired in 2005. He was Chairman of the Indian Council for Social Science Research from 2008 to 2011.

Publications

* Dissent and Domination: Peasants and Politics (1985) * India: Living With Modernity (1999) * Who Wants Democracy? (2004) * Gandhi: A Philosophical Debate (Special Issue of Social Scientist, May-June 2006).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, Javeed 1943 births 2016 deaths