(i) Major Emphasis on the programmes
of teaching at Under-graduate level:
Keeping in view the interdisciplinary
nature and contents, the courses of defence studies have been improved and necessary
changes made in the courses for teaching at the undergraduate level. Such changes
have been made in accordance with a realistic approach towards the study of the
problems of national security and defence in the prevalent strategic milieu.
Major
emphasis of teaching and thrust areas at the undergraduate level are : the evolution
of the Indian art and science of war since the Vedic age to date : western art
of war : evolution of strategic thoughts : national security and defence mechanism
of India and some other modern states : problem of war and peace : insurgency
and counter - insurgency : defence sychology : strategic geography of India :
Arab-Israeli wars and the peace process : Indian's civil defence in the nuclear
Age, remote sensing and national defence : and Ballistics and Operations Research.
(ii)
Major Emphasis on the Programmes of Teaching at Post-graduate level:
The
existing programmes of teaching at the post graduate level are in full conformity
with the recommendations of the UGC committee on Defence / Strategic Studies (1987).
Major emphasis is on the following :
Theory and practice of war : national
security : war and international relations : evolution of modern warfare (Indian
and Western) : problems of war and peace with reference to regional and global
arms control and disarmament : defence economics : science, technology and national
security : defence psychology : area studies and national security : armed forces
and society : international humanitarian law (IHL) and conflict among nations
: research methodology and dissertation (on the problems of national and international
security and area studies).
(iii) Major Emphasis on Research Programmes:
The
Ph.D. programme at the department of defence studies was started in 1976 with
a constant bearing on the interdisciplinary nature and contents of the subject
of defence and strategic studies. The main emphasis is given on the national and
international security-oriented problems, regional and global arms control and
disarmament , evolution of national security, policies, conflict resolution and
international relations, international humanitarian law and Human Rights, continuity
and changes in the regional and global security, war and other kinds of conflicts
and their impact on society, and so on.
For research programmes the staff
members of the department have always maintained close linkage with other research
institutions and national and international centres of strategic studies.
For
its future programmes, the department specifies to undertake such projects that
are relevant to the idea of "national security and development as two faces
of a single coin" and , at the same time, giving thoughtful attention to
the issues of regional and international importance in the post - cold war period
and ongoing developments in the 21st Century.
(iv) Linkage with Regional
and National Development:
In the journey of over five decades of our
independence, India has faced may ebbs and flows in the fields of defence and
development. In the current strategic environment, it is imperative to promote
more serious thinking and works on national security and strategic studies in
the existing University departments in the country, giving thoughtful attention
to the problem of national and international life. The UGC committee on Defence
/ Strategic Studies (1987) has gone a step further to mark that "Universities
may be asked to assign an academic papers on 'National Security' in order to motivate
the young generation to study the issues connected with national security of the
country." (UGC Report, 1987, P.9)
The department of defence studies
at this university is seriously engaged in playing a pioneering role in the regard.
