Chairs

BS Bhargava Chair on Decentralized Governance and Development

The Prof. B.S. Bhargava Chair on Decentrailsed Governance and Development was instituted at the Centre for Rural Management (CRM), Kottayam in 2019. The Chair was established in memory of Prof. B. S. Bhargava who devoted the major part of his life on the studies on Decentralisation, Local Governance and Development.

Prof. (Dr.) Baleshwar Sahai Bhargava was born in Uttar Pradesh on 01 November 1937. He had post graduate degrees in Political Science and History and post graduate diploma in Public Administration from the University of Lucknow. Further, he obtained Masters’ Degree in Public Administration from The Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands. He secured the Ph. D. from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani.

Dr. Bhargava served on the faculty of Regional Institute of Technology (now renamed as National Institute of Technology), Jamshedpur for 13 years. In 1975, he was handpicked by Prof. VKRV Rao to the service of the newly established Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru and appointed as Associate Professor in Development Administration unit. Dr. Bhargava retired as Professor and Head of Development Administration Unit, ISEC, on 31 October 1997.

Prof. Bhargava is called by many as the “Father of Panchayati Raj Studies in India”, as he started his studies on the subject at a time when Panchayati Raj was not on the mainstream of academic discourses. He has innumerable publications including books, monographs, edited volumes and research papers in nationally and internationally reputed journals. A number of Ph.D. scholars had been benefited by his scholarship. The Chair stands as a glowing tribute to the eternal memories of the astute scholar, Prof. B.S. Bhargava.

Chair Professor

Dr. T M Joseph,
Hon. Professor,
BS Bhargava Chair on Decentralized Governance and Development,
Centre for Rural Management (CRM), Kottayam, Kerala
(Mob): 9447851808
e-mail id- tmjnirmalacollege@gmail.com

Dr. T. M. Joseph is the first Chair Professor of  B.S. Bhargava Chair on Decentrailsed Governance and Development. He was the former Principal of Newman College, Thodupuzha (2008-2016) and Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha (2016-2019). He served as the President of the Kerala Principals’ Council during 2018-2019 and its General Secretary during 2015-2018. He is a member of the NAAC peer team and has already assessed three institutions across the country. He is a research guide in Political Science at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam and successfully guided four research scholars to the Ph.D. Degree. He has completed four research projects funded by UGC and ICSSR. He is currently serving as the Principal of Mount Carmel College, Kothamangalam.

Dr. Joseph obtained his postgraduate degree in Political Science from Mahatma Gandhi University with 2nd rank in 1985. He did his M. Phil. at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram during 1986-1988 and Ph. D at Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru during 1988-1993. He joined the faculty of Political Science at Newman College, Thodupuzha in 1993. While serving at Newman College, he got an opportunity of being a Visiting Researcher at Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan during 1998-2000. He has six books to his credit and published nearly 60 research papers in reputed national and international journals and edited volumes. He frequently contributes to periodicals in Malayalam and English. He organised a number of national seminars and conferences in the fields of Political Science and Public Administration. He presented papers in nearly 40 national and international conferences. He had the distinction of being the sole representative of India in the international conference on Religious Freedom, convened by European Parliament at Brussels in 2010.
At the administrative level, he was instrumental for the face lifting of Newman College, Thodupuzha and Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha during his Principalship. He steered the NAAC accreditation activities of both these colleges, during his tenure. He is a resource person for the accreditation activities of many institutions in Kerala.

Mahatma Gandhi Chair on Decentralization & Sustainable Development

Shri. Ali Manikfan
Hon. Professor by Practice,
Mahatma Gandhi Chair on Decentralization & Sustainable Development,
Centre for Rural Management (CRM), Kottayam.
(Mob):8281145601
e-mail id manikfan@gmail.com