CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: The two-day national seminar on “Unsung Tribal Heroes in the Indian Freedom Struggle: A Re-reading of Regional History,” organised by the Faculty of Humanities and Liberal Arts of Scope Global Skills University (SGSU), Bhopal, and sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, concluded. Historians, academicians and research scholars from various universities and institutions across the country presented research papers on different aspects of tribal history, resistance, regional history and folk traditions.
The inaugural session was chaired by Santosh Choubey, Chancellor of Rabindranath Tagore University, Chairman of the AISECT Group, storyteller and poet. He said that to understand the history of the Indian freedom struggle in its entirety, the struggles, resistance and sacrifices of tribal heroes must be given their rightful place in the mainstream discourse of history. Describing the re-reading of regional history as an important process of historiography, he stressed the documentation of local memories, oral traditions and folk narratives.
SGSU Chancellor Dr Siddharth Chaturvedi said such academic events focused on regional and tribal history play an important role in connecting diverse historical experiences with wider discourse. He said these events provide a meaningful platform for dialogue and research for scholars and academicians. SGSU Vice-Chancellor Dr Vijay Singh said research and academic dialogue are necessary to understand the contribution of tribal communities to the freedom movement. The seminar gave research scholars and students an opportunity to understand tribal resistance and regional history from different perspectives.
SGSU Registrar Dr Sitesh Kumar Sinha said such academic events play an important role in promoting research, dialogue and knowledge exchange on regional and tribal history. He said by bringing research scholars and academicians from different institutions onto one platform, such programmes are important for understanding diverse historical sources, local traditions and the contribution of tribal communities to the Indian freedom struggle.
Bhopal’s senior archaeologist and Padma awardee Dr Narayan Vyas highlighted the need to preserve archaeological and regional sources related to tribal history and to conduct their scientific study. Regional historian Dr Anand Singh Rana underlined the need to connect local history and tribal movements with the wider stream of national history. Prof Ravikant of CSDS, New Delhi, said the history of the Indian freedom struggle cannot be fully understood without understanding the history, memories and traditions of resistance of tribal communities. Dr Rakesh Mishra, Head of the Department of Gandhi and Peace at Wardha University, emphasised understanding tribal struggles in the context of social justice, peace, cultural identity and the rights of communities.
In the technical sessions of the seminar, research papers were presented on tribal resistance, local historical sources, education, social concerns and socio-cultural contexts. Research scholars and academicians from various universities and institutions across the country discussed different dimensions of tribal history and regional historiography.
The valedictory session was chaired by Prof Sudhir Pratap Singh of the Centre of Indian Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He said tribal history should not be confined only to written records but should be understood in connection with local memories, oral traditions and everyday life. Prof Ajay Ghosh of the Department of History, Barkatullah University, described an interdisciplinary research approach as important in the study of tribal history.
Various sessions of the seminar were conducted by IQAC Coordinator Dr Aashi Dixit, Dr Mousami Parihar and Dr Alok Jha. The programme convener and Head of the Faculty of Humanities and Liberal Arts, Dr Prince Kumar Singh, expressed gratitude to all guests, speakers, research scholars and participants. The two-day seminar provided a platform for meaningful academic discussion on the contribution of tribal heroes to the Indian freedom struggle, tribal resistance, local history, folk traditions and the importance of regional sources.
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