Yogesh Atal (9 October 1937 – 13 April 2018) was an Indian sociologist. He held a Ph.D. degree in

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

and a D.Sc. (honoris causa).

Career

He joined UNESCO in 1974 and retired in 1997 as Principal Director in Social Sciences. He was honoured by the

Maharana Mewar Foundation Maharana is a variation on the Indian royal title Rana. Maharana denotes 'king of kings', similar to the word "Maharaja". Ruler title in British India Salute states (all in present India) The gun salutes enjoyed by the states that acceded to th ...

and the Indian Social Science Association for his contributions to social sciences. The author and editor of a number of books on development related themes, he edited a trilogy of books on Poverty. After retiring from UNESCO, Atal functioned for a year as Director-General of the

Indian Institute of Education Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, Pune and as Chairman of the Programmes Committee of the Indian Association of Social Science Institutions (IASSI). He was a member of the ICSSR Council and of the Governing Board of the Gobind Vallabh Pant Institute of Social Sciences, Allahabad. He was on the Governing Board of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare. He served on the High-Powered Committee appointed by the

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of R ...

in 2007 to examine the Demand of

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

s for a Tribal Status. He also served as Member of the National Advisory Committee for the

International Symposium on Human Genomics International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

ISHG 2009, organised by the

Anthropological Survey of India Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is the apex Indian government organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural ...

in March 2009. Professor Yogesh Atal was Program Advisory Board member at Sunstone Business School and Visiting Professor at the

Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Sciences Madhya (Sanskrit for 'middle') may refer to: * Madhya Pradesh, occasionally Madhya for short, a state in India * Madhya, the middle tala in Indian classical music * Madhya, the middle octave in Indian (especially Hindustani) classical music See ...

, Ujjain.

Books

His books include:Yogesh Atal books and articles on Unesco docs
/ref> * ''Changing Frontiers of Caste'' * ''Local Communities and National Politics'' * ''Building a Nation'' * ''Social Sciences: the Indian Scene'' * ''MaNDAte for Political Transition'' * ''The Poverty Question : Search for Solutions'' * ''Indian Sociology : From Where to Where – Footnotes to the History of the Discipline'' * ''Understanding the Social Sphere : The Village and Beyond'' * ''Changing Indian Society'' * ''Education and Development'' * ''Entering the Global Village'' A

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

honouring him was published under the title,
Emerging Social Science Concerns
' (, edited by Surendra K Gupta).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atal, Yogesh 1937 births 2018 deaths Indian sociologists Place of birth missing Place of death missing