30-07-2025
Social historian and cultural anthropologist Badri Narayan Tiwari new vice-chancellor of Mumbai's TISS
Prof Badri Narayan Tiwari from the GB Pant Social Science Institute, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, is set to take over as the vice-chancellor of the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) in Mumbai, nearly two years after the institution's previous full-time head stepped down.
A copy of an order issued by the GB Pant Social Science Institute relieving him of the charge of its director states that this is consequent upon his appointment as the vice-chancellor of TISS.
Prof Badri Narayan Tiwari, a social historian and cultural anthropologist, will be the first vice-chancellor appointed as per the new regulations that took effect after TISS came under the purview of the Central Government. Till then, the institute was headed by the director picked by a governing body appointed by the Tata Trust, the sponsoring organisation. The governing body used to establish a selection committee that included a nominee from the University Grants Commission (UGC).
In September 2023, Prof Shalini Bharat stepped down from the post of vice-chancellor after completing her term of five years. Professor Manoj Tiwari, Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Mumbai, was then given additional charge of the TISS vice-chancellor.
UGC rules stipulate that deemed-to-be universities receiving over 50 per cent of their funding from the Government will have their heads appointed by the Central Government.
An executive council has replaced the governing council at TISS, with the government-appointed vice-chancellor serving as its chairperson. The sponsoring body is no longer the primary authority in vice-chancellor appointments.
As per the changes, the Ministry of Education appointed Professor Dhirendra Pal Singh as chancellor of the TISS in April 2024 for five years.
The search process for a new vice-chancellor was ongoing for a long while. After gaining momentum during late 2024, the process again stalled for a while, until Prof Badri Narayan Tiwari's appointment is now finalised.
Educated at the University of Allahabad, Prof Badri Narayan Tiwari earned his MA and PhD in modern history. He was formerly associated with Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion. His research spans social history, cultural anthropology and Dalit studies. He has held prestigious fellowships: Smuts (Cambridge), J Gonda (Leiden), HGIS (Amsterdam) and a Fulbright Senior Fellowship (Chicago, unavailing).
Prof Badri Narayan Tiwari received the Bharat Bhushan Puraskar (1991), Banarasi Prasad Bhojpuri Samman (2002), and Kedar Samman (2006), among other awards.
