For some decades now CSDS has contributed to thinking about policy issues such as the nature of Indian democracy, the distinctiveness of Indian secularism, and the drivers and sources of violence in Indian society. Since the 1980s some members of the faculty began delving into non-party political processes and social and ecological movements, thereby providing alternative perspectives on policy and planning. The Centre has been involved in debates on backwardness, social justice and affirmative action, as also questions relating to minority rights and aspects of primary and higher education. CSDS has also housed projects on the mapping of electoral constituencies, ecological democracy, alternative media and change, and has hosted a series of policy dialogues with different stakeholders.