RONO HILLS, 27 Feb: A two-day national seminar on ‘Reviving and Reimagining Indigenous Knowledge Traditions in Contemporary Discourses’ began at Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) here on Thursday.
During the seminar, being organised in the blended mode by RGU’s English department, around 50 presenters hailing from different parts of the country will deliberate strategies for reviving indigenous knowledge traditions and its significance in contemporary discourses.
Addressing the opening ceremony, RGU English Associate Professor Dr Doyir Ete pointed out how the seminar would “contribute largely to a reorientation of our understanding of indigenous knowledge systems and help to uncover our rich heritage.”
RGU Vice-Chancellor (i/c) Prof SK Nayak, who chaired the inaugural programme, in his address stressed on the need to document indigenous narratives, “so that the knowledge and wisdom contained in them can be preserved for posterity,”and added that the seminar would “bring to the fore important aspects related to indigenous knowledge systems.”
Former Tezpur University cultural studies HoD Prof Debarshi Prasad Nath drew attention towards “the need to look back at our indigenous practices as storehouses of solutions to present maladies that are caused by neo-liberal practices.” Referring to certain classical texts and practices, he threw light on how indigenous practices have the potential to improve sustainable growth and help maintain ecological balance.
RGU Languages Faculty Dean Prof SS Singh also spoke.
The inaugural programme was attended by deans, heads of departments, faculty members, administrative officers, research scholars and students from other departments.
