Two-Day National Seminar on Tribal & Dalits Concludes at JU

The two-day national seminar on “Social Exclusion/Inclusion in North West Region: Regional Transformation among Tribal and Dalit Groups” organized by Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), North Western Regional Centre, Panjab University, Chandigarh and in collaboration with Directorate of Distance and Online Education (DD&OE), and Department of Economics concluded today at University of Jammu. In the valedictory function, Prof. Rajeev Rattan, Director, Colleges Development Council, JU was the Chief Guest. Prof. Supran Sharma, from School of Business Studies, SMVDU, Katra was the Guest of Honor. Prof. Raj Kumar Mahajan, formerly HoD Economics, Regional Centre, Bhatinda, Punjabi University, Patiala delivered the keynote address. Prof. Mahajan underlined the need to empower the scheduled castes and disadvantaged groups for their socio-economic amelioration and effective participation in all aspects of society. In fact, caste has become a persistent feature of the social life in India and it continues to determine the socio-economic status of a person even after 75 years of independence. Varan Vyvstha was conceived in the Vedic period as the division of labour but at present it is opposite to the Vedic varna system which has hindered the persons from achieving a higher level of development. In the present context, these systems have to be revisited and Indian of socio-culture foundations have to be adopted. The Guest of Honor, Prof. Supran Sharma, highlighted the need for empirical studies in the context of tribal and Dalit groups for their socio-economic upliftment. The chief guest of the valedictory function, Prof. Rajeev Rattan, accentuated on the development of marginalized and minority communities from an economic perspective for inclusive growth. There is a need for policy interventions that can promote a more inclusive economic trajectory, ensuring that growth benefits all segments of society. Prof. Jasbir Singh, Seminar Director presented the seminar report and the future plan to disseminate the findings of the seminar by publishing an edited volume from a reputed national publisher, Dr. Manoj Bhatt presented the vote of thanks and Dr. Jasleen Kour conducted the proceedings.

 In the morning and afternoon parallel sessions fifty empirical papers were presented on different sub-themes including educational marginalization, cultural and heritage reconstruction, tribal women, Dalit empowerment, social networking among disadvantaged and Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, their marginalization in the health and employment sector. More than 200 participants from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Chandigarh attended the seminar. Faculty of DD&OE, Department of Economics and research scholars of the Department of Economics graced the occasion.