RBU Journal of Library & Information Science, Vol 25, 2023

Lalruatpuii & Ngurtinkhuma Indigenous Knowledge in Doctoral Dissertations …
Findings
1. Among the 45 Central Universities of India,
University of Delhi was the leading producer
of doctoral theses in Social Science and Arts
& Humanities in Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
during the year 2002-2021 with 15 (17%)
theses. This is followed by Banaras Hindu
University with 12 (13.6%) doctoral theses
and Jawaharlal Nehru University and
Nagaland University with 9 (10.2%) doctoral
theses each in the third position. 7 (7.9%)
doctoral dissertations were produced from
Jamia Millia Islamia.
Thus, the data shows that three
universities from Delhi produced doctoral
theses remarkably on the stated area of
research, which undoubtedly showed that
Delhi was the hub for studies on Indigenous
Knowledge. It was interesting to observe that
Nagaland University from North East India
was among the top producing university
within the stipulated year.
2. In the year 2019, 19 (21.5%) doctoral theses
were produced which is the most produced
during the year 2002-2021; in IK from
different universities such as Banaras Hindu
University, Aligarh Muslim University,
Jamia Millia Islamia, Visva Bharti
University, University of Hyderabad, Indira
Gandhi National Open University, Assam
University, Nagaland University, Central
University of Kerala which was highlighted
in Table 1.
The data also shows the leastproducing
year of doctoral thesis, and it was
observed that only one (1) doctoral thesis was
produced each in the year 2003, 2004, and
2005. All of which were produced from
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Further,
during the stipulated year, no doctoral thesis
was produced in the year 2002, 2006, 2007
and 2008.
On an average, 4.4 doctoral theses
were produced in every year during the
stipulated time, i.e., 2002 – 2021.
3. During the year 2002-2021, among the
Central Universities of India, Department of
Education has produced the highest number
of doctoral theses (16, i.e., 18.1%) in IK in
the field of Social Science and Arts &
Humanities which was highlighted in Table 2
and Table 3 along with the universities name.
Social Science Department stood in 2nd
position having produced 11 (12.5%); and
followed by Sociology Department having
produced 8 (9%) doctoral theses.
Out of the departments highlighted, the least
producing departments produced only one
(1) doctoral thesis each during the 20 years
study period. They were the departments of
Museology, Fine Arts, Teacher Training and
Non-Formal Education, Journalism & Mass
Communication, Philosophy, Home Science,
Human Development & Family Studies,
Physical Education, Agricultural Economics
& Business Management and Anthropology.
The data (Table 2) also shows that
Social Science Department was the pioneer in
producing doctoral theses on Indigenous
Knowledge within the stipulated time period
(2002-2021), the Department produced one
(1) doctoral thesis each on IK in the year
2003, 2004 and 2005; other departments
produced on the stated subject only from the
year 2009 by departments such as Geography
and Management Studies.
4. The least produced theses Central
Universities on Indigenous Knowledge were
University of Allahabad, Tripura University,
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University,
Sikkim University and Central University of
Gujarat producing 1 (one) each in the
selected years.
5. Among the 88 Research Guide, there are only
8 (9%) who produces two doctoral
dissertations in the selected year and subject
of study where all the other guide each
produces one doctoral thesis.
Conclusion
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https://lisrbu.wixsite.com/dlis/rbu-journal-of-lis
Indigenous knowledge provides a distinct view of the
world by different indigenous peoples. It offers
different perspective on nature and science that
generally differs from traditional Western science. It
thus introduces different outlook on nature and the
human in nature. As such a huge need of studying
Indigenous Knowledge in various forms arises. This
data discussion offers a more in-depth knowledge into
doctoral dissertations of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
on Social Science and Arts & Humanities among the
Central Universities of India during the year 2002-
2021. The study shows that doctoral dissertations on
Indigenous Knowledge were not produced much
during the selected year and within the selected scope
of subject. Therefore, the study of Indigenous
Knowledge itself is not commonly undertaken and
thus, there is a huge research gap within this particular
area.