The Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi completed 71 years of functioning on August 6, 2026. It was formally established by the Government of India in December 1954, and inaugurated by the first Prime Minister of India, on 6th August 1955, making it the first area studies department in Asia and Latin America. It was initially conceived as a specialised training centre for the Indian Foreign Service, before evolving into a full academic department under the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The department’s inauguration coincided closely with the Bandung Conference of April 1955, at which India played a leading role in articulating a common platform for the newly independent and aspiring nations of Asia and Africa. The department’s founding mandate, to build a deeper Indian understanding of Africa beyond immediate political and commercial concerns, aligned closely with the spirit of Afro-Asian solidarity that Bandung had set in motion, positioning the department from its very inception as an academic counterpart to India’s wider diplomatic engagement with the developing world.
The department’s foundation rested on the premise that genuine solidarity with Africa required a fuller understanding of the continent, one that extended beyond politics and economics to its history and cultures. This premise has guided the departmental academic programme through seven decades of expansion. It now offers a Master of Arts in African Studies, a doctoral programme with more than 250 active researchers, and certificate and diploma courses in Swahili language. In the 2022-23 academic year, it introduced a Post Graduate Diploma in International Trade with Africa, aimed at equipping students with practical skills for trade and development work.
The department has also built a set of platforms linking its academic work to diplomatic practice. The University Diplomatic Dialogue brings African diplomats and scholars to the university for direct discussion. The Scholars on Africa (SOAF) platform enables students and faculty to publish short analytical commentary on contemporary African affairs. Since 1992, the department has published the Indian Journal of African Studies, a peer reviewed journal covering Afrocentrism, African governance, and South-South cooperation. Together, these platforms keep the department’s scholarship aligned with India’s evolving diplomatic priorities toward Africa, underscoring its continuing relevance as a bridge between academic research and foreign policy practice, seven decades after its founding.
The research output of the department over seven decades spans a wide range of subjects. Doctoral theses have examined liberation movements, the political economy of natural resources, and agricultural development, while comparative studies have addressed federalism, judicial systems, and climate vulnerability across African regions. Significant research has also covered the human history of India-Africa migration and diaspora formation, alongside more recent work on maritime security and renewable energy cooperation across the continent. Reflecting this diversity, departmental scholarship continues to combine academic research with engagement in policy matters, a combination that has been the hallmark of the department since its inception and remains central to its standing within the institutional framework in India for the study of Africa.
Recently, in May 2026, the department hosted a two day international conference, titled “Africa in the Digital Age: Emerging Trends, Global Realignments, and India-Africa Partnerships”, bringing together scholars and diplomats to discuss regional cooperation, technology exchange, and the African Continental Free Trade Area. The discussions were viewed as a precursor to the India-Africa Forum Summit planned later in 2026. The research has gained added significance in light of India’s diplomatic engagements in 2026. India is currently holding the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for the 2025-2027 term, which includes hosting the 10th Indian Ocean Dialog and the 26th Council of Ministers Meeting. The research on maritime security in the South West Indian Ocean, bears directly on this role. Its research on South-South development and local currency trade speaks directly to the 18th BRICS Summit and the IBSA trilateral consultations to be held in New Delhi. The departmental scholarship on African Union integration and resource diplomacy across the continent is expected to inform preparations for the rescheduled fourth India-Africa Forum Summit and the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami. This sustained, region-wide scholarship, attentive to Africa’s diversitygives the department its growing importance in India’s geopolitical calculations and positions it as an academic anchor for India’s engagement with Africa across multilateral platforms such as BRICS, the G20, IBSA, and the SACU (Southern African Customs Union), etc. As it enters its eighth decade, the Department of African Studies stands as much a diplomatic asset as an academic one, its area-specific scholarship continuing to shape India’s evolving ties with the continent.
Authors:
Dr. Manish Karmwar, Professor (Assistant)
Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi
Ms. Smita, Senior Research Fellow
Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi
