Confy @ Vidyasagar

UGC Sponsored SAP, DRS Phase II National Conference on

"Dalit and Tribal Identities, the Nation, and Globalization"

on

29 and 30 March 2017

organized by

Department of English

Vidyasagar University, West Bengal

Concept Note

In India, the concern with identity has been more practically oriented for a very long time rather than being a matter of intellectual analysis. As if in reflection of this, most Indian languages have no word conveying the idea of identity; the words used as equivalents convey the meaning of uniqueness or identification. In the light of the increasing scholarly concern with the idea of identity, especially of the dalit and tribal people of the country, this conference seeks to engage in a problematic dialogue on it. Complex philosophical arguments about the nature and significance of the individual, self, or person aside, the Hindus, by and large, demand strict conformity to social norms and conventions from the individual. Not surprisingly, therefore, the answer to the question “Who are you?” is invariably in collective terms. Depending on the situation, the individual draws from his/her repertoire of identities to answer this question.

The dynamics of social relations in India are characterized by two interrelated processes: the perception of one’s own identity in a given situation; and the reaction of others in terms of the perceived identity of that individual. To the extent that a social situation is traditionally or otherwise ordered and there is a consensus about the norms and values governing that order, social transactions through identity marks or symbols are routine and facile. However, in the light of various forces of social, economic and political change in operation at the national and transnational levels, there arise situations that are fluid or that challenge the traditional norms (for example, when a member of the ex-untouchable caste group is appointed as a temple priest). There also arise anomic situations characterized by sudden breakdown of norms, as during communal conflicts. The asymmetry that once characterized the paradoxical clash between liberty of the state and the servility of its specific socio-cultural groups requires to be reviewed now.

Perhaps the most visible of the identity marks of individuals in India are the prefixes and suffixes to their names, which has neither been uniform across the country nor remained fixed. As part of a process of their upward socio-cultural mobility, members of the lower-caste groups dropped their old vernacular names in preference for the Sanskritic names. However, in the context of a growing caste and tribal consciousness, many people have been reverting to their caste-specific jati names as suffixes. While religion is the broadest community category of identification, the process of ascriptive identification starts with the primordial group affiliations. Conversion from Hinduism to religions like Christianity, Islam and Buddhism does not secure the convert from the politics of discrimination that he/she suffered before. Identity in terms of geographical space, language, economic status and gender within a community and across communities is a plural heterogeneous idea that is constantly in flux in these days of globalization.

Talks and discussions will include but will not be restricted to the following issues:

• The development of the concept of identity in India

• Caste versus class in India

• The state and its citizens, especially the Dalit and the Tribal people

• Religion, conversion and changing identities

• Politics and Dalit and Tribal identities

• Concerns of Identity in Dalit and Tribal literary and cultural texts

• Environment and Dalit identity

• Environment and Tribal identity

• Effect of globalization on tribal livelihood and consciousness

• Caste and social mobility

• Casteist identity versus tribal identity

• Mass media and identity: the Dalit and Tribal contexts

• Gender identity in Dalit and Tribal communities

First Keynote Address by: Prof Sharan Kumar Limbale

Director, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Pune

Second Keynote Address by: Prof Maya Pandit-Narkar

Department of ELT

EFL University, Hyderabad

Plenary Speakers:

1. Prof Sankar Prasad Sinha, Retired Professor of English, Vidyasagar University

2. Prof Dipak Roy, Department of Bengali, Raigunj University

3. Dr Samantak Das, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University

4. Dr Kiran Keshavamurthy, Department of Cultural Studies, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata

Registration fee per participant: Rs 500/- (includes two luncheons and seminar kit)

Contact:

Prof Debashis Bandyopadhyay (09163183015):

debashis@mail.vidyasagar.ac.in

Dr Joyjit Ghosh (09434321580): pathu_ghosh@yahoo.co.in

Mr Mir Ahammad Ali (09046425106):

mirahammadali1990@gmail.com