Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 11: Department of Sociology, University of Jammu, today organized XIth Prof S C Dube Memorial Lecture on “Tribes and Indigenous Peoples: Perspective from Below”.
Dr Tiplut Nongbri, Professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and former Director of North-East India Studies Programme, JNU, was the guest speaker on the occasion.
She started her lecture by emphasizing the importance of social-anthropology in the improvement of the conditions of SC/ST and other marginalized sections of society. Tribe, she said, is not a naturally given entity but a social construct by administrators and colonial rulers who placed them in a position lower to the caste groups existing in Hindu society. Moreover, the term is not found anywhere in the writings prior to the emergence of colonialism, she said and added that such a tendency to demean the indigenous people is also visible in the writing of Orientalism by Edward Said wherein people particularly of Asia and Africa are considered occupying degraded strata of intellectualism, scholarship, rationality and culture. Quoting Andre Beteille, she said the Government here is more interested in identifying them rather defining them.
Prof R D Sharma, Vice Chancellor of JU, chaired the session and in his presidential remarks, emphasized the discriminations caused by social marginalization in society and how important it is to give them opportunity to come up. Referring to Prof Dube, the Vice Chancellor said he was a towering figure in the intellectual world and administration and as the Vice Chancellor of Jammu University he showed courage and conviction in his working.
Earlier, Prof Abha Chauhan, HoD Sociology, spoke about the academic acumen of Prof S C Dube and some of her earlier experiences with her when she was a student. Dr Vishav Raksha, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, narrated about the life and achievements of Prof S C Dube and Dr Hema Gandotra spoke about Prof Tiplut.
Dr Sapna Sangra, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, presented vote of thanks. The proceedings of the lecture were conducted by Juhie Mohan, the research scholar of the department.
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