Dr B Manjula MCJ ( Kerala), M.Phil. (JNU), Ph.D. (Jamia Millia Islamia) Associate Professor and Chairperson CMCS e-mail: manjula[AT]tiss.edu

Dr. B. Manjula is Associate Professor and Chairperson, Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has a Masters degree in Communication, M. Phil in Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences (focusing on governance and the media in Kerala). She is involved in media production, teaching and research. Her areas of research include local governance, gender and micro- credit programmes, political economy of the media and development communication. She has published and presented papers in these areas in many national and regional conferences and is also involved with various voluntary organisations working in the areas of governance and media.

Dr. Manjula has been actively involved in studying the democratic decentralization process and the Panchayati Raj System in India for over 10 years. She had been an active participant of the People’s Plan in Kerala in various capacities like State Faculty and Key Resource Person (KRP) (1996- 2001). She is in charge of conceptualising and conducting Micro- Level Planning (MLP) in different Blocks of Leh District in Jammu and Kashmir as a part of the Tata-Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Development Support Programme ( June, 2004- till date). This planning exercise is incorporated in the District plan of Leh. The MLP processes in a tribal district like Leh was taken as a benchmark by the Central Government in its policy formulations and development interventions of the District Planning in the Sixth Schedule areas. As part of this initiative, she has also brought out reports on People’s Initiatives in Leh and has also produced orientation and conscientisation documentaries on the process of MLP in Leh.

Recognising her work in Leh, Dr. Manjula has been nominated as the member of the Expert Committee on Decentralised Planning for the Sixth Schedule Areas by Government of India. The committee is in the process of bringing out a report, which will form the basis for policy decisions on District Planning, in tribal areas, especially in the north- eastern regions of India. She has also been nominated as a member of the Central Advisory Committee on Panchayati Raj by Government of India to advise the Central Ministry of Panchayati Raj, on policies and practices in different States, in order to institutionalise good practices and to strengthen local governance and democratic decentralization in India. She is also involved in the process of finalising the programme guidelines, for the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), for the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in specific districts in India, to redress regional imbalances in development.

She has directed documentaries on Tata Institute of Social Sciences
( Towards a People Centred Tomorrow) and on Theatre and development ( Spect- Actor- Theatre for Development)

Her recent publications include:

Dr. B. Manjula is involved with the following organisations:

Some relevant Links:

Thoray: Planning for a People Centered Future, Leh Report.....

Blog: People Centered Initiative in Leh......