UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES
MOHANLAL SUKHADIA UNIVERSITY, UDAIPUR
Dr. Sudha Choudhary
Prof. & Head,
Date - 26/09/2022
Invitation
Dear Scholar,
On behalf of the Indian Council of Social Science and Research, New Delhi I am glad to inform you that the Department of Philosophy is organising a National Seminar on December 9-10, 2022 on the theme “Revisiting the Trajectories of Indigenous Knowledge & Skills of Tribal Society (In the light of Art, Culture & Philosophy).
You are cordially invited to contribute a paper and participate in the Seminar.
I request you to send the complete paper till 15th November, 2022. Boarding, lodging and travelling expenses will be borne by the university as per the norms.
Regards,
Sudha Choudhary
Convener
Concept–Note with Sub-Themes
Mohanlal Sukhadia University, established to cater to the needs of higher education in Southern Rajasthan. This geographical area is largely dominated by indigenous tribal population. Many innovative programs and initiatives have been undertaken for forty two thousand tribal students enrolled under various disciplines and research work in the university. The university is also acutely aware about its social responsibilities of tribal welfare. BesideMohanlal Sukhadia University, established to cater to the needs of higher education in SMohanlal Sukhadia University, established to cater to the needs of higher education in Southern Rajasthan. This geographical area is largely dominated by indigenous tribal population. Many innovative programs and initiatives have been undertaken for forty two thousand tribal students enrolled under various disciplines and research work in the university. The university is also acutely aware about its social responsibilities of tribal welfare. BesideMohanlal Sukhadia University, established to cater to the needs of higher education in Southern Rajasthan. This geographical area is largely dominated by indigenous tribal population. Many innovative programs and initiatives have been undertaken for forty two thousand tribal students enrolled under various disciplines and research work in the university. The univs the academic eexcellence it strives to promote, preserve and develop indigenous research studies and expand the knowledge base. The university is also keenly interested in developing the skill and resource management capacities.
It has been observed that in Rajasthan the Tribal society is multi-cultural and multi-lingual. Though the rich assemblage of myriad cultures and languages of the state has attracted scholars and academics over the decades, very little headway has been made in the preservation, promotion and projection of their treasured cultural heritage, incredible indigenous knowledge system, etc. Despite the rich heritage of indigenous knowledge system, they have no idea or apparatus/mechanism to preserve it.
Indigenous knowledge is referred as traditional or local knowledge that encompasses the skills, experiences and insights of people, applied to maintain or improve their livelihood. It is not restricted to rural dwellers as it is inherent in all communities that have built a body of knowledge over generations. It is also known as local knowledge, folk knowledge, people's knowledge, traditional knowledge or traditional science that is unique to a given culture or societies. This knowledge is integral to cultural complexes that also encapsulate language, systems of classification, resource use practices, social interactions, ritual and spirituality. In spite of lacking formal education, indigenous population have continuously generated solutions to their problems using traditional indigenous knowledge as most mainstream solutions tend to be unaffordable for them. A number of scholars and development workers are gradually beginning to realize the importance of building on existing knowledge in seeking to achieve sustainable development. Indigenous knowledge refers to the understanding, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings. For rural and indigenous people, local knowledge informs decision-making about fundamental aspects of day-to-day life. It is native, ancestral knowledge that has been passed down generations through the collective memory of its people. It captures the essence of the people, of the place and the natural and built context they exist in. This knowledge started off being translated verbally through generations until it finally got formulated into texts. India has a variety of local therapies that have evolved over generations that can treat ailments ranging from insect bites to more serious diseases like jaundice, asthma and others. They range from home remedies related to treatment for minor illnesses, to more sophisticated procedures such as midwifery, bone setting and treatment of snake bites and mental disorders. These folk practices often had their own folklore that preserved and transmitted such knowledge. Some healing practices are associated with rituals that helped safeguard them. Cowherds, hunters, forest-dwellers and food gatherers, often hold within them indigenous knowledge of the plants around them.
Arts, craft, medicine, farming and other indigenous knowledge streams have been historically passed on from parent to child to understand, practice and eventually pass on. With the onslaught of formal education, the passing of indigenous knowledge to future generations is in great danger, as the education system does not accommodate skill training in its ambit, making the youth yearn for a more modern way of life. And yet, this knowledge is deep and relational. In fact, it is a wealth of indigenous knowledge that provides a link to our past, an integral part of our present, and a window to our future. It has survived centuries of change and though we fear the onslaught of technology, standardization and globalization, it will face these challenges as well and survive to tell the tale to many more generations to come. These unique ways of knowing are important facets of the world’s cultural diversity, and provide a foundation for locally-appropriate sustainable development.
Besides medicine, a variety of regional materials to has inspired man to evolve local arts and crafts. The crafts are often items of utility – tools, utensils, furniture and building elements rather than just artifacts of symbolic value. In the age of industrialization, product design and mass manufacturing, the indigenous knowledge behind these arts and crafts need an urgent nurturing and stimulus.
The sole urge of indigenous researches is preserving and using the knowledge of farmers and rural people around the globe to facilitate participatory and sustainable approaches to development. Though indigenous innovations originate mostly from indigenous communities by individuals who tend to lack funds and have little or no formal education, they may also be generated by other individuals educated in formal systems and from higher income groups, who are embedded to some extent in the same environment and thus possess some degree of Indigenous knowledge. It is passed from generation to generation, usually by word of mouth and cultural rituals, and has been the basis for agriculture, food preparation and conservation, health care, education, and the wide range of other activities that sustain a society and its environment in many parts of the world for many centuries. In spite of lacking formal education, indigenous populations have continuously generated solutions to their problems using traditional indigenous knowledge, as most mainstream solutions tend to be unaffordable for them. A number of scholars and development workers are gradually beginning to realize the importance of building on existing knowledge in seeking to achieve sustainable development.
But today, we witness the ways in which in the name of development, the Nexus between capital, religion, power and feudal remnants is engaged in plundering the tribal natural resources and their means of forest based livelihood.
Due to such development strategy, the indigenous knowledge traditions of the tribal and their cultural values based on nature preserve vision are rapidly disappearing. How to prevent this, how to preserve their indigenous traditions? How to maintain their organic farming and nature conservation sense? In what ways can their indigenous knowledge be used to enrich modern medical science? How can their indigenous traditions be saved from the attack of power-centres?
Hence, the task of investigating the above questions is a momentous one. The proposed seminar is fascinating endeavour to cover-up this epistemic urge. The objective of the present seminar is to contribute to the ongoing Indian discourse on tribal knowledge, and literature as well as searching new ways and methods of praxis in this area. The seminar will provide a much needed platform to bring together academicians, scholars, field experts, social scientists and professionals from different parts of the country.
Your participation will contribute in constructing the right perspective to study the domain of tribal studies.
You can contribute by preparing a research article on one of the Sub-themes:
Ontological trajectories of Indigenous knowledge
Philosophical Insight of Tribes through their Literature
Ethical Concerns of Tribes through their culture
Tribal Art through their traditions
Impact of Scientific Advancement on Tribal indigenous knowledge
Challenges and possibilities before the tribes for the preservation of indigenous knowledge, art and traditions
Ongoing debate on Tribal religion V/S Hindu religion
Political-Economy of development schemes of Tribes