Studying East Asia at the School of International Studies: China, Japan, Korea

This article examines the origins, development, expansion and impact of the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University. While decolonization, international power realignments and critical issues of war and peace constituted the larger backdrop for the establishment of the Area Studies centres at SIS, regional complexities and India’s challenges on the China front in particular, provided a compelling need to focus on the historical, intellectual and strategic dimensions of India’s engagement with East Asia. This article delineates the evolution of CEAS, comprising three divisions specializing in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Studies, and shows how it has grown from modest beginnings into a nationally and internationally recognized institution. It offers an understanding of the Centre’s interdisciplinary teaching and research on the history, politics, economics and international relations of China, Japan and Korea. This has, in turn, contributed to informing and influencing national policy on the one hand, and the introduction of similar programmes of study on China, Japan or Korea in other parts of the country. Despite notable achievements, greater investment and attention need to be directed towards building more diverse expertise, language training, immersive, field-based research and increased engagement across borders if we are to create the requisite knowledge base for the changing times.