Taking over as head, centre for Women's Studies

 Very happy to share with my family, friends, well wishers and students, that today I have taken over as the Director of the Centre for Women's Studies in the University of Hyderabad on 5th April, 2018. The order was issued on 2nd April and I will be in charge of the Centre for a three year period. I became very emotional and went back into memory lane as I stepped into the New Building of Women's Studies. We had struggled to have a Centre from 1984, but could never get one from the UGC. In between, I became so frustrated and luckily  went on Deputation to Maulana Azad National Urdu University as Director of their Women's Studies Program. When I returned to my University in 2007,our VC Prof. Sayed Hassnain  had set up the C.WS  with out UGC approval and I became its Director. Within a year we got the UGC approval. We had no building, no staff but lots of students. I was operating from my History office room for we had no building.  Malladi Subamma, an activist on Women's issues from Hyderabad then donated money to have this building constructed. She was not an industrialist, like Tatas , Ambani or Jindals . She was an ordinary middle class person like any of us and since her children were all settled and doing well she sold her house, her jewelry and opened a trust  and wanted to give it to an organization that worked on Women's issues. She gave us this money for the building. As I left this Centre in 2013to take up responsibility in the History Department we had lots of discussions on where this Centre should be located, what should be the building plan. Today  I stepped into this building for the first time  after it was completed two  years back. The building looks very bare and I  imagine a beautiful garden around it with lawns and lots of greenery. I see students lots of them loitering in those lawns and sitting under the trees, under the cool breeze discussing many issues. Today, I could not but remember Malladi Subamma who is no more,  but her passion for Women’s issues remains in the form of this Centre and it will be my endeavor to make her proud that she had done the right thing by giving this money to our University for she was toying with the idea of four Universities before she  finalised her choice. Today in this building I see her passion, her hard work, her commitment to Women's Studies, her jewellery, her house being sold for this. I just want you to be proud of your decision Malladi Garu where ever you are. I was very happy that few of my Ph. D students were with me today as I took over charge and thanks a lot for every one that supports women's issues.