The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) or more informally, the Centre, is one of India’s leading institutes for research in the social sciences and humanities. Since its inception in 1963, the Centre has been known for its critical outlook on received models of development and progress; it is animated by a vision of equality and democratic transformation. The Centre’s scholarship
has challenged tendencies in academic and policy regimes to seek and prescribe standardized pathways to social and political change. The Centre has done this by attending to the patterns of difference, diversity, and creativity that emerge from the ways people survive in and reinvent the contemporary world and generate alternative practices and imaginations. In contrast to the development economics profile of most social science research institutions, the Centre is singular in its multi-disciplinary approach. Scholars of political studies and political philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, and legal and media studies have populated the Centre over the years, giving it a live interdisciplinary context. CSDS has been supported by the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi under the Ministry of Education, Government of India since 1969.
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![[INVITATION] Lecture by Elise Klein on ‘Towards a Global South Public Policy’ on 29 April 2026. (Zoom Link: https://bmu-...](https://img3.ngos1.com/577/489/1463639155774890.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Lecture by Aparna Agarwal on ‘Ecologies of Waste and Caste: Dependence and Value-Making at the Bhalswa Land...](https://img3.ngos1.com/061/025/1448618860610253.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Book discussion on ‘Punjab Sounds: In and Beyond the Region’ on 13th April 2026 at CSDS, Delhi. For Details...](https://img3.ngos1.com/086/713/1446050000867139.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Lecture by Shikha Jhingan on ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai: Lata Mangeshkar’s Voice and Female Bodies on S...](https://img3.ngos1.com/590/033/1429051415900331.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Lecture by Jayati Ghosh on ‘Growth, Inequality and Public Policy in Contemporary India’ on 23rd March 2026 ...](https://img3.ngos1.com/267/803/1427941092678030.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Lecture by Imre Bangha on ‘What can we know about Hindustani under the Mughals’? on 17th March 2026 at CSDS...](https://img4.ngos1.com/667/588/1421295856675887.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Lecture by Penelope Deutscher on ‘Revocability's 'Not Rights': A Lexicon for Reproductive Politics After Do...](https://img4.ngos1.com/352/856/1419435773528562.jpg)
![[INVITATION] Book Discussion on ‘Seeking Allah’s Hierarchy: Caste, Labor and Islam in India’ on 9th February 2026 at CSD...](https://img4.ngos1.com/700/505/1384670827005057.jpg)
