Pilli Alfred James

P. Alfred James (1931–1983)[2] was an Indian Academic,[8] best known for his association with the Kakatiya University,[9] a State-run University u/s 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 where he was Professor and Head of the Department of Public Administration in the 1970s.[5] He was also a member of the Indian Institute of Public Administration[10] in which he was an active member, chairing sessions of its annual workshops. The Institute condoled his sudden death in 1983.[11] As part of his research forte, he also used to contribute his writings (see section on writings below) to many journals and was also a book reviewer in the Indian Journal of Public Administration.[12]

Professor[1]

P. Alfred James

Ph.D. (Osmania)[2]
Born(1931-08-17)17 August 1931[2]
Narasapur,[2] Andhra Pradesh
Died3 May 1983(1983-05-03) (aged 51)[2]
Warangal, Telangana
Resting placeChristian Cemetery, Hanumakonda
17°59′17.5″N 79°33′00.1″E
NationalityIndian
Other namesPilli Alfred James,P. A. James[3]
CitizenshipIndian
EducationB. Sc. Honours (Andhra),[2]
M. A. (Nagpur),
LL.B.[2] (Nagpur),
Ph.D.[4] (Osmania)
Alma materAndhra University, Waltair (Andhra Pradesh)[2]
Nagpur University, Nagpur (Maharashtra),
Osmania University, Secunderabad (Telangana)
Known forBuilding up Kakatiya University[2]
AwardsAndhra Pradesh State Best Teacher Award (1980)[5]
Scientific career
FieldsPublic administration
InstitutionsWarangal (Telangana)
Thesis
  • Municipal administration in Andhra Pradesh[6]
Doctoral advisorM. A. Muthalib[4][7]
Other academic advisorsM. P. Sharma[2]

It was only in 1976 that the Kakatiya University was founded in Warangal with Kailasa Venkata Ramiah as the first Vice-Chancellor. The faculty were much inspired to take their respective departments to new heights by improvising on the academics and contributed much towards scholarship.[13] The public administration department was one such faculty which gave impetus to new Scholars.[14] Alfred James broke new ground[14] in research and mentored[13] many Scholars.[15]

Alfred James had a cross-cultural academic record studying in three different universities and had been guided and mentored by various Scholars. The Old Testament Scholar, E. C. John, a recipient of the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research fellowship in the 1960s wrote that it had been a tradition[16] in Germany for students to study in as many universities as possible under different Scholars and deepen their understanding and inculcate a sense of scholarship.[17] Such has been the academic pursuit of Alfred James, that he had not only been a Scholar in north India studying under able Scholars, but also studied in south India and gained profound knowledge and a flair for research from his Professors. Later on in his career, he could easily relate himself in national proceedings in matters of public administration where his contribution has been substantial.[18]

Early life and studies

Alfred James was born in Narsapur, West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh on 17 August 1931[2] and was raised a Christian as a member of the Lutheran[2] community. After scholastic studies, he pursued sciences at Andhra University, waltair, where he graduated with a B. Sc. (Honours) in 1951.[2] Prof. M. Kistaiah, writing in the memorial volume to his honour, brings out the fact that Alfred James was for sometime employed in Ceylon.[2]

He then showed interest for pursuing higher University education and enrolled at the Nagpur University for a postgraduation in Public Administration under Professor M. P. Sharma, a notable academic.[2] After passing through with an M. A., he also seemed to have pursued a course in jurisprudence leading to LL.B.[2]

Professor Alfred James began his doctoral studies at Osmania University where he submitted his dissertation entitled Municipal administration in Andhra Pradesh[6] and was awarded a Ph. D. in the year 1966[18]

Teaching

Alfred James began teaching at his alma mater, Osmania University in the Department of Public Administration[19] where he initially was a Lecturer.[20] Later, he became a Reader[21] He was active in the local academic forums.[19]

From 1972 to 1976,[5] Alfred James was Professor and Head of the Post graduate Centre, Warangal. He later became Head of the Department of Public Administration.[22]

During his tenure at the Kakatiya University, Prof. James was of the rank of Professor[9] and guided many students in their doctoral studies.[23]

Legacy and reminisce

With the sudden death of Alfred James in the University on 3 May 1983,[2][11] colleagues and students came together and instituted[2] an annual Endowment[24] in honour of P. A. James by which annual lectures are taking place at the Kakatiya University through public discourses by doyens of public administration, who are being invited[25] to lecture. During the 12th endowment, Prof. D. Ravindra Prasad of Administrative Staff College of India presented[26] a paper entitled Our urban futures: Towards Good Governance and Sustainability.[27] The said endowment lectures continue to benefit[28] not only the new Scholars in their research,[29] but also to the emerging trends in public administration.[30]

A couple of years' after his death, colleagues of Alfred James, who once were his students,[13] came again together and contributed essays[13] to his memory which was published in 1986 under the title, Public policy and administration: Essays in memory of Prof. P. A. James. This was simultaneously reviewed in The Indian Journal of Political Science in 1986[31] and Yojana in 1987.[13] The contributory volume has reached far and wide and available in nearly 50[32] major university library holdings across the globe.

Prof. M. Kistaiah in [2] the preface to Public policy and administration: Essays in memory of Prof. P.A. James, which was published in 1986, reminisces,

The Teacher and serious Researcher in him had left an indelible mark on the minds of his numerous students and associates. A distinguished Social Scientist and a thorough gentleman. Professor James had a perfect harmony in his life as a devout Christian of the Lutheran order.[2]

Articles published

In books
  • James, P. A. & Amrutha Rao, A. (1991). "Chester I. Barnard". In Ravindra Prasad, D.; Prasad, V. S. & Satyanarayana, P. (eds.). Administrative Thinkers. Sterling. pp. 136–150. ISBN 9788120709614.
  • James, P. A. (1983). "Politics-Administration Nexus in India: A Note". In Kaushik, S. L. & Sahni, Pradeep (eds.). Public Administration in India: Emerging Trends. Kitab Mahal.
  • James, P. A. (1979). "Apartheid— Its Legal Framework and Political Impact". Twentyfifth Annual Report 1978-1979. Indian Institute of Public Administration.
  • James, P. A. (1975). "State control through supersession and dissolution". In Sharma, S. K. & Chawla, V. N. (eds.). Municipal Administration in India: Some reflections. International. pp. 175–187.

In journals

See also

References
  1. Universities Handbook: India, Volume 21, 1979, p.431
  2. M. Kistaiah (Edited), Public policy and administration: Essays in memory of Prof. P.A. James, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1986.
  3. Report on the All India Seminar on Examination and Other Educational Reforms, 3rd & 4th January 1981, The Board of Intermediate Education, Hyderabad, 1981, p.53.
  4. P. Samuel Sudhakar (Compiled), Centenary Birth Celebrations of Pitta Samuel, Self-published by the author, Kothagudem, 2011.
  5. Union Public Service Commission, Report, Volume 33, 1982, p.95
  6. Itihas, Volume 5, 1977, p.xxiii
  7. Bulletin of Research Theses and Dissertations, Issue 5, National Archives of India, New Delhi, 1966, p.95.
  8. Commonwealth Universities Yearbook, Issues 3–4, 1984, p.1612
  9. Universities Handbook: India, Volume 22, 1984, p.372
  10. Indian Institute of Public Administration, Twenty-fifth annual report 1978-1979, 1979.
  11. Indian Institute of Public Administration, Annual Report presented to the Annual Meeting of the General Body of the Institute, 1983, p.20.
  12. The Indian Journal of Public Administration, Volume 26, 1980, p.204.
  13. Navin Chandra Joshi, Book review: Public policy and administration: Essays in memory of Prof. P. A. James in Yojana, Volume 31, Number 4, 1–15 March 1987, p.32.
  14. Two-day National Seminar, Building Positive Employment Relations in India: The Way Forward, 2013.
  15. Teaching and research in public administration in India: papers presented at the Workshop on Teaching and Research in Public Administration in India held at S.V. University, Tirupati, in February 1980, Sri Venkatesvara University, Tirupati, 1980, p.19.
  16. Yuri D. Tretyakov, Graduate level education in Natalia P. Tarasova (Edited), Quality of Human Resources: Education, Volume II, Eolss publishers, Oxford, 2009, p.73.
  17. E. C. John (with Juliane Hanna John nee Ehrenberg), To Tell of the Struggle is a Struggle: Resistance, Protest and Witness during the Third Reich, Self-published by the Authors, Bengaluru, 1999.
  19. Itihas, Volume 1, January to July 1973
  20. Annual Report – National Institute of Community Development, 1968, p.47.
  21. P. A. James and V. Bhaskara Rao, Unionism in P & T and Audit Departments in Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 7, Number 3, January 1972, pp. 465–472.
  22. G. Haragopal, V. Sivalinga Prasad, K. Murali Manohar (Edited), Grassroots planning for development, Kakatiya School of Public Administration, Warangal, 1985, p.ix.
  23. Kakatiya University, Public Administration Department – List of Ph. D. Awardees.
  24. Kakatiya University, NAAC Re-accreditation 2014 report, Kakatiya University, Warangal, 2014.
  25. Kakatiya University Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 2, July 2007, p.2
  26. The Hindu, Centre should come out with urban policy soon, 31 March 2016.
  27. Kakatiya Vivechana, Volume 11, Issue 2, July 2016, p.14
  28. Arvind Sharma, Prof. P. A. James Endowment Lecture 2007, 2007
  29. V. S. Prasad, Quality in Higher Education, the Content and Concerns, Prof. P. A. James Eighth Memorial Endowment Lecture, Kakatiya University, 9 December 2002.
  30. S. Venkateshwarlu, Research Trends in the Discipline of Public Administration in Universities – A Study, IJIRMPS, Volume 3, Issue 4, 2015, p.28.
  31. S. Elangovan, Book review: Public policy and administration: Essays in memory of Prof. P. A. James in The Indian Journal of Political Science, Volume 47, 1986, p.297.
  32. WorldCat: Public policy and administration : Essays in memory of Prof. P.A. James.

Further reading
  1. Two-day National Seminar, Building Positive Employment Relations in India: The Way Forward, 2013.
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