3-Day Tribal Workshop Organised by IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K

3-Day Tribal Workshop Organised by IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K

The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), IIT Jammu, in collaboration with the Tribal Research Institute (TRI), J&K, organized a three-day workshop on “Tribal Praxis: Understanding Literary, Linguistic and Socio-cultural practices of the tribal communities of J&K” from 4th-6th July, 2022. The main objective of the workshop was to provide a platform for assimilation of ideas, theory and practice while developing a roadmap for fruitful collaboration between IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K. The Inaugural session to the three day workshop deliberated on the action points of the MoU between IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K, Tribal chair, and the targets and deliverables of the Tribal Project.

The welcome address to the inaugural session was delivered by Dr Amitash Ojha, Head of the Department (HSS, IIT Jammu), wherein he highlighted the importance of the collaboration between IIT Jammu, and TRI, J&K and the establishment of a Tribal Chair with the goals of comprehensively gathering tribal data, transcreating, digitizing, disseminating, and studying the tribal culture from a research-oriented perspective through workshops, conferences, field trips, seminars, cultural programmes, and exhibitions.

Dr Quleen Kaur Bijral, Assistant Professor & FIC, Oral Narrative Center (Zuban-e-Kalam) HSS, IIT jammu, elucidated the theme of the workshop as how to achieve its targets, and provide tangible and satisfactory outcomes. Dr Quleen highlighted that before the initiation of any project, planning should be of primary focus. This is wherein the hindsight advantage of experience of the session experts can be an eye-opener to foster an interactive confluence of ideas enabling one to learn, reinforce and find the best course of action.

Professor Manoj Singh Gaur, Director, IIT Jammu talked about the vision of IIT Jammu in trend-setting research and the significance of the MoU with the Tribal Research Institute in taking it a step further. He further emphasized that IIT Jammu's mission has been to meet the diverse demands of various sectors from entrepreneurship, cultural diversity, artisanship, arts and craft of J&K, including notably the young brigade of students from various locales of the region and to fulfill the responsibility to develop strategies to strengthen the regional diversity of J&K.

Dr Javaid Rahi, Chief Editor, J&K Academy of Art and Culture, painted a vibrant picture of the culture and essence of the indigenous tribes of Jammu and Kashmir through his words. He shared his rich experience of working with the two prominent tribal communities of Gujjars and Bakerwals of J&K and the uniqueness of their Socio-economic structure.

Dr Abdul Khabir, Deputy Director, Tribal Affairs Department and Nodal Officer of the Tribal Research Institute eloquently summarized the very heart of this collaboration in the sense that both IIT Jammu and TRI are premier institutions and share the same spirit of research and service. Dr Khabir emphasized that the faculty and research scholars from IIT Jammu, and research fellows of TRI, J&K comprises a team better equipped to re-discover regional tales, songs, music and indigenous knowledge, and subsequently creating opportunities for techno-enabled societal interventions.

The theoretical framework interspersing the theme of the workshop consisted of Literary study of tribal cultures, logistical analysis of tribal language, and socio-cultural understanding of tribal populations as well as policies and initiatives targeted for their holistic development. Tangible outcomes of this collaboration between IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K can be perceived in the form of collection, transcreation, and dissemination of data, and consequently, development of a website, an extensive repository, and more such research panels and workshops in the future.

Expert Sessions: Brief Mentions

Before the initiation of any project, planning should be of primary focus. This is wherein the hindsight advantage of experience can be an eye-opener on errors, caution and techniques, etc., further encouraging an interactive confluence of ideas enabling one to learn, reinforce and find the best course of action. It also allows avenues for peer review and constructive criticism.

The Inaugural session to the three day workshop deliberated on the action points of the MoU between IIT Jammu and TRI, J&K, Tribal chair, and the targets and deliverables of the Tribal Project. The theoretical framework interspersing the theme of the workshop consisted of Literary study of tribal cultures, logistical analysis of tribal language, and socio-cultural understanding of tribal populations as well as policies and initiatives targeted for their holistic development. Tangible outcomes of this collaboration can be perceived in the form of collection, transcreation, and dissemination of data, and consequently, development of a website, an extensive repository, and more such research panels and workshops in the future.

The faculty and research scholars from IIT Jammu, and research fellows of TRI, J&K comprises a team better equipped to re-discover regional tales, songs, music and indigenous knowledge, and subsequently creating opportunities for techno-enabled societal interventions. Herein, the enthusiastic Btech students of IIT Jammu are an asset in brainstorming and developing technological solutions to social problems. From a broader perspective, this three-day workshop is an initiation to accepting, appreciating and achieving cultural diversity and tolerance, getting out of echo-chambers, and strengthening amical bonds of cultural bonhomie.

Professor Manoj Aggarwal shared his extensive experience and knowledge about the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as the challenges that he and his team faced during his stay there. This facilitated a cognizance of the bottlenecks associated with studying tribal populations and ways to navigate the same.

Professor Bipin Indurkhya shared his expertise on General Research Methodology, guidelines and tools, with a specific focus on Qualitative research. His insight on complex situations wherein there are many themes that are interlinked and cannot be considered in isolation if one is to develop a comprehensive picture of the community in question, by taking a bird’s eye view as well as a focused perspective simultaneously is essential to streamlining studies on tribal populations.

Professor Bijoy Boruah discussed the philosophy of tribal ethos, culture diversity and language richness. It led to a very fruitful dialogue between the participants regarding the implications of the word ‘tribe’, identity and marginalization.

Professor Uma Shankar delivered an insightful and thought-provoking session on research ethics and the essence of integrity. The crux of his session can be eloquently summarized as ‘a researcher needs to be morally right and not politically right’.

Dr Amitash Ojha elucidated metaphors, and its importance in the context of tribal narratives. His session was a valuable insight on language and its essentiality in various contexts. This discussion was further enunciated by Dr Apurva from IIM Jammu, who discussed complex theories of linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity. Such concepts are extremely relevant to understanding tribal narratives and folklores.

Ms Farhat Choudhary who has worked with Bakerwal women has extensive knowledge of their cultural and socio-economic issues. We also had Mr Gorkh Nath, an artist and representative of Gaddi tribes, who divulged into the essence of the art and culture of the Gaddi tribes.

Date: Wednesday, July 06, 2022