The Department of Sociology, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), established in 2014, is guided by the University’s mandate of democratizing higher education with a distinctive commitment to Urdu-medium learners, women, and socially and economically marginalized communities. Anchored in the constitutional principles of equity, social justice, and inclusive citizenship, the Department seeks to cultivate a critical sociological imagination that meaningfully connects knowledge production with transformative social engagement. The Department offers programmes at multiple levels, including Undergraduate (FYUG), M.A., Ph.D. (Regular), Ph.D. (Self-Financed Part-Time), and Post-Doctoral Studies. Its academic environment combines theoretical depth and methodological rigor with an inclusive and dialogic culture of learning. Students are trained to become independent, reflexive, and ethically grounded scholars capable of engaging with complex social realities and contributing substantively to academia, civil society, governance, and development sectors. In addition to its regular teaching faculty, the Department has strengthened its academic profile through distinguished visiting appointments. Notably, Prof. Ibrahim Alladin, formerly of the University of Alberta, Canada, has been appointed as Visiting Professor for the period 2024–November 2026. His international academic experience further enhances the Department’s global engagement and research collaborations.

Academic Vision and Pedagogical Approach

The department emphasizes:

• Strong theoretical foundations grounded in classical and contemporary sociological traditions.
• Rigorous fieldwork-based research engaging with lived experiences of communities.
• Interdisciplinary dialogue across social sciences, public health, education, gender studies, urban spaces & segregation and development studies.
• Critical engagement with public policy, inequality, and social transformation.

Pedagogically, the department integrates theory with practice through seminars, research colloquia, writing workshops, and methodological training. It conducts regular Research Methodology Workshops in offline mode for postgraduate and doctoral students from across India, often in collaboration with leading research organizations and institutions. These workshops strengthen empirical skills, data analysis competencies, and academic writing.

Areas of Specialization and Research Strength

The department has developed distinct academic strengths in the following domains:

1. Minority Studies and Sociology of Muslims: With its unique institutional location, the department contributes significantly to the sociology of minorities, particularly Muslims in India. Research focuses on social stratification and inequality, caste-like hierarchies among Muslims, segregation, citizenship, education, health, and inclusive public policies.
2. Sociology of Health and Medicine: Scholars engage with themes such as health inequalities, medical pluralism, reproductive technologies, stigma and menstruation, public health governance, sanitation labor, and the sociology of pandemics. The approach integrates structural determinants of health with community-based perspectives.
3. Sociology of Education and Development: Research examines educational access, institutional cultures, language and pedagogy, marginalization in higher education, and the relationship between education, mobility, and social change. Development is analyzed critically through the lenses of capability, social justice, and participatory governance.
4. Sociology of Gender Studies: The department foregrounds gender as a structural category intersecting with caste, class, religion, and region. Areas include feminist theory, labor and care work, reproductive politics, and gendered citizenship.
5. Urban and Rural Studies: Faculty and research scholars study urban marginality, migration, informal labor, rural transformation, agrarian change, and urban governance, situating these within broader processes of neoliberal restructuring and globalization.
6. Caste, Occupation, and Social Stratification: A major research thrust engages with caste dynamics across communities, occupational hierarchies, mobility patterns, and structural inequalities, contributing to debates on social exclusion and inclusive policy frameworks.

Faculty Strength and Scholarly Culture

The department comprises a dynamic team of experienced professors, associate professors, and assistant professors with diverse specializations across health, education, minority studies, gender, development, and urban sociology. The faculty maintains active research profiles, supervise doctoral and post-doctoral research, publish in reputed journals, and participate in national and international academic forums. Their combined expertise ensures a strong mentorship culture and sustained research engagement. They have professional associations with subject bodies like Indian Sociological Society, CESI, IASSH, and the ISA and so on so forth.

Academic Engagements and Intellectual Life

The department organizes a vibrant calendar of academic activities throughout the year to critically engage students with contemporary social questions. These include:

• International and National Conferences
• Symposia and Webinars
• Invited Lectures and Research Colloquia
• Intensive Research Workshops
• Research Scholars Colloquium

A flagship annual event is the Prof. Imtiaz Ahmad Memorial Lecture, instituted in honor of the eminent sociologist Imtiaz Ahmad in 2024, whose work on caste, stratification, Indian Muslims and south Asian societies continues to shape contemporary sociology.

Over the years, the Department has been privileged to host a wide range of distinguished scholars and public intellectuals, including Imtiaz Ahmad, Vivek Kumar, Anand Kumar, Mohammad Talib, Sujata Patel, Maitrayee Chaudhuri, Geetha B. Nambissan, S. Srinivasa Rao, G. Nagaraju, Arvinder Ansari, Azra Abidi, Zoya Hasan, Sukhadeo Thorat, B. K. Nagla, Indira Ramarao, Vinod Jairath, Aparna Rayaprol, Ajailiu Niumai, Mohammad Akram, Abdul Matin, Syed Zainuddin, Abdul Wahid, Mujtaba Hussain, N. Purendra Prasad, Sampath Kumar, and M. A. Kalam, along with many other eminent and emerging sociologists from India and abroad. Their lectures, interactions, and scholarly engagements have significantly enriched the department’s intellectual life, deepened theoretical and methodological debates, and strengthened national and international academic networks.

Significance and Broader Contribution

Situated within a Central University with a distinctive linguistic mandate, the Department of Sociology plays a crucial role in:

• Advancing knowledge on marginalized and underrepresented communities.
• Contributing to evidence-based policy debates on education, health, minority rights, and inclusive development.
• Promoting Urdu-medium higher education within mainstream social science discourse.
• Fostering socially committed scholarship rooted in ethical responsibility and constitutional values.

By integrating theoretical depth, methodological rigor, and normative commitment to social justice, the Department of Sociology within School of Arts & Social Sciences at MANUU has emerged as an important center for critical sociological inquiry in India. It continues to shape scholars who are not only academically competent but also socially responsive, ethically grounded, and engaged in the pursuit of a more inclusive and equitable society.

Role and Responsibilities