Malcolm Adiseshiah - MIDS

MIDS

Just before his return to Madras (as Chennai was then named), in Sep. 1970, he and his wife Elizabeth registered in Paris a trust fund for starting Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS hereafter). MIDS was conceived to undertake studies and research on developmental issues on the economy, polity and society with special reference to Tamil Nadu state. MIDS started functioning from Jan. 1971 in one of their properties in Gandhinagar, Adyar, a Chennai suburb, with Adiseshiah as its first Director. From its inception, Adiseshiah totally identified himself with the Institute and immersed himself completely with its activities. He started publication of ‘Bulletin – Madras Development Seminar Series’ from Feb. 1971 and wrote every month its editorials without a break for nearly a quarter century covering international, national and Tamil Nadu issues till it ceased publication after his demise in Dec. 1995. ‘This surely’ wrote, Prof.S. Subramanian, in the prolegomena of the special issue of the Bulletin bought out after his demise, ‘is the stuff of which archives are made’10

Soon the Institute became a beehive of academic activities. Annual inter-disciplinary research methodology workshops were conducted for the Ph.D. scholars and guides; by an arrangement with Indian Council of Social Science Research, (ICSSR) annual meeting of the scientists of southern universities was conducted; and annual compilation of the census of social science research in the four southern states was undertaken. A monthly seminar series conducted in the Institute created a link between scholars and the general public. He was keen on bringing out quality research publications. Under his stewardship, the Institute’s research activities, documentation and publications established its creditable reputation in the country and abroad. He took a keen interest in the growth of MIDS library. The Adiseshiahs’ contributed liberally to it, and had the satisfaction of hearing scholars declare that it was one of the best source of reference on social sciences in Tamil Nadu State.

It was at the Sixtieth Anniversary Commemoration lecture of the economics department of the Madras University, delivered by K. N. Raj on Nov. 16, 1976 with Adiseshiah as Vice Chancellor presiding, that Raj recalled Prof. Gilbert Slater, the first Professor, initiating village studies in the department in 1916 itself. Adiseshiah kept it in his memory. Soon this led to the resurvey of ‘Slater villages’ in MIDS and in other places. Because of the resurveys at different points of time, now we have a continuous record of changes in villages in South India over a period nearly ninety years!

J. P. Naik, then Secretary of Indian Council of Social Science Research, proposed in 1975 that MIDS should be reorganized as a national research centre within the framework of ICSSR. After negotiations, Adiseshiah accepted the proposal and in Mar. 1977, MIDS was reconstituted as a national institute under the joint sponsorship of ICSSR and the government of Tamil Nadu. The Adiseshiahs’ gifted the new national institute land, a building, a library, furniture, equipment and also a generous endowment. Adiseshiah relinquished Directorship of the institute in 1978 and handed it over to Professor C. T. Kurien.

In that year, he was appointed Chairman of its Governing Council and continued in that position till his death. He devoted considerable time and effort to discharge his duties as Honorary Fellow and Chairman of MIDS. He made outstanding contribution in material, organizational and intellectual terms to its expansion and progress. He was immensely fulfilled by his association with MIDS as evidenced by his ‘biographical notes’ which began by avowing that he was Honorary Fellow and Chairman of MIDS. When he was in station in Chennai, he would never fail to visit his office in MIDS unless some other official duty (of which he had several) demanded his presence elsewhere. His presence in the monthly seminars was equally certain.

As Chairman, he evinced keen interest in all activities of the Institute. The way he conducted the meetings of the Governing Council, the meticulous care with which he handled the agenda items, the intense attention he paid to every detail, the insistence that the minutes of the meetings should be made available to the members within three days and the concern he had to attract highly qualified faculty to the Institute from all regions of India were all reflections of his exceptional caliber as an institution builder. At the same time, he never interfered in the day to day activities of the institute which were within the administrative province of the Director. The faculty and staff had easy access to him. But they had to finish their business with him as quickly as possible since he would signal his craving to return to his unfinished work the very next moment after their business was heard or resolved!

As Dr. Barbara Harris-White of IDC, Oxford University writes,

In early 1990s he apprehended that the Central and State governments might not fulfil their financial commitments to the Institute to the fullest extent necessary. It made him sad. With his wide contacts, he, who had succeeded in finding resources for UNESCO’s huge technical assistance programme, could have easily raised additional resources for the Institute had he solicited for it. But he was reluctant to ask. He who insisted that all departments of Madras University should combine both teaching and research programmes failed to introduce a teaching programme in his own institute. Nor was he successful in construction of accommodation for the doctoral scholars of his institute.