The Council for Social Development has the proud privilege and honour of inheriting the legacy of Dr Durgabai Deshmukh, a pioneer in the field of social development. CSD was one of the several institutions she built to integrate the dimensions of social development into the planning process for India’s development. The goal of ‘wiping every tear from every eye’ articulated so powerfully for the nation by Mahatma Gandhi is the philosophical core of the Council. Through our research, advocacy and training activities, we have tried to contribute to the formulation of policies and designing of programmes and build capacity in the areas of social development, particularly education, health, rural development and human rights. We are concerned at the recent retreat of the state from the building of institutions and provisioning of services in the social field. Without the state’s active involvement, it will not be possible for us to live up to the social contract enshrined in the Indian Constitution and place the nation on the trajectory of sustainable development. In the coming years, we intend to persist with our endeavours dedicated to the socially disadvantaged groups — dalits, adivasis, minorities, women, children, poor farmers and workers in the unorganised sector.
 
A historic institution, CSD is as vital and necessary today as it was in 1962 when its doors first opened.
Prof. Muchkund Dubey
President, Council for Social Development

 

A leading research and advocacy institution that puts equality and justice at the core of social development