Two-Day National Seminar
Concept Note

On

‘Reviving the Indian Narratives on the
Traditional Communities Residing in the Hills and Forests’

🗓️: 15th-16th November 2023

📍: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi

In understanding the traditional Indian communities residing in forests, hills and plains, there is a
total paradigm difference between two perspectives: The Western and the Indian.

The Western
social scientists have labelled these communities as savages first, barbaric next, primitive later
and tribal even later, and now as indigenous people. This understanding is rooted in the colonial
and imperial ambitions and consequent invasions and oppressive strategies.
In the case of India, it is evident from the ancient texts of, Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads etc, that
the people of hills and forests have a strong and shared worldview, history, culture, and faiths with
the people residing in the plains.

Further, there was no mention of invasion, segregation, isolation,
occupation or forced subjugation of communities living in forests and hills by neighbouring
kings/emperors from plains. From ancient times, there has been continuous exchange of people,
ideas, knowledge, and wisdom between communities living in forests and hills with plains.

The
Western narratives on labelling these communities as savages, barbaric, primitive and tribal are
found to have originated from the missionaries of colonial masters. The recent Western narrative
of labelling the erstwhile savages (people of hills and forests) as indigenous communities are akin
to the old wine in a new bottle. The UN document1
says that the concept of ‘Indigenous Peoples’
emerged from the colonial experience whereby the aboriginal people of a given land were
marginalised after being invaded by the colonial powers, whose people are now dominant over
the earlier inhabitants.

The definition of ‘Indigenous Communities’ makes less sense in most parts of Asia and Africa,
where colonial powers did not displace the whole population of people and replaced them with
settlers of European descent. Further, separating the Asians or Africans into indigenous and
non-indigenous communities will give rise to two classes of peoples and the proposition would
promote separatism and violent movements dividing the societies and nations.

It is in this context, the current national seminar intends to bring academicians and research
scholars from different disciplines to discuss and deliberate on the following broad themes:
1. Defining the ‘Janjati’: The Need for an Independent Discourse
2. Origins, Myths and Cultural Universals and Uniqueness of Traditional Communities of India
3. On Janjati Communities in Ancient Indian Texts
4. Culture and Religion: The Shared Worldview(s)
5. Contributions of Janjati Communities for Humanity
6. The Colonial Ideas of ‘Backward’ and ‘Uncivilised’
7. The Colonial Approaches of Exclusion, Exploitation and Marginalisation
8. The Differential Impact of Approach: Autonomy and Integration
9. Situating the Scope of Schedule V and Schedule VI and Constitutional Provisions
10. The Sustainable Janjati Structure: Social, Cultural and Economic Fabric

Through the discussion and deliberations on the above mentioned themes, all efforts will be
made to encourage the Indian intellectuals to understand the traditional Indian communities in
the right perspective and consequently to revive the Indian narratives on the traditional Indian
communities residing in hills and forests.

Important Dates:

1. Last Date for Submission of Abstracts: 26th October, 2023
2. Communication of the Selected Abstracts: 29th October, 2023
3. Submission of full paper: 10th November, 2023
4. Date of National Seminar: 15th – 16th November 2023

Send your abstracts & queries to:

seminar.jsignca@gmail.com