Workshop on ”Intellectual Property Rights in Universities”
4 March, 2008

The Intellectual Property Management Cell conducted a one day workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights in Universities” on 4 March, 2008. The aim of the said workshop was to expose the JNU community to the basic concepts of Intellectual Property Management and its strategic role in the context of Indian Universities through interactions with various experts. The workshop began with welcome remarks by Prof Ramadhikari Kumar, Rector, JNU, Prof. Rakesh Bhatnagar, Chairperson IPM Cell, Prof. S.K. Sharma, and Prof. V.V. Krishna. In the first session Dr. Anil Wali, Managing Director, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, IIT Delhi and Prof. Gopalakrishnan, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Chairman, Intellectual Property Cell, IISC Bangalore, shared their views and experiences. In the second session Dr. V Suresh, IC&SR, IIT Madras and Dr. Ramesh Mehta, Attorney, Mehta & Mehta Associates, Gurgaon, spoke on the role of universities in protecting IP and dealt with the legal aspects. The workshop focused on both the academic and legal implications of Intellectual Property Rights in universities.
The workshop was a huge success and faculty, students and researchers from different schools were present. The workshop was designed to achieve the twin objectives of learning from experience, as also to be a forum for interaction within the JNU community on management of IPR and innovation activities.

(Rakesh Bhatnagar, Professor, School of Biotechnology)

Talk on ”Speech Technology in India”
5 March, 2008

Functionally, the Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems are of three kinds uni-modal (those which process only written language), bi-modal (those which process written as well as spoken language), and multi-modal (those which process written and spoken languages with gestures). The complexity involved in design and development of such systems is directly proportional to their modality aspect as mentioned above. Such technologies are being researched and developed for their obvious advantages. In India, primarily the TDIL (Technology Development for Indian Languages) program of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has been planning and funding R&D in various Indian universities/institutes. A survey of the language technology R&D in India can be found in the November 2005 issue of C.S.I journal. The Special Center of Sanskrit Studies, JNU has been developing various tools and technologies for Sanskrit in Java servlet, RDBMS and Unicode on the Apache Tomcat platform. These tools can be tested at http://sanskrit.inu.ac.in.

Speech technologies are developed for recognition and synthesis purposes. The recognition is done at two levels - speaker identification and speech identification. The generation/synthesis of speech is called Text To Speech (TTS). In Vishvabharat, a TDIL journal, the roadmap for Indian languages speech technology has been outlined last year. This year, a working group has been setup by the TDIL program of MCIT for future course of action in this area.

On March 5, 2008 a talk on this subject was organized at the Special Center for Sanskrit Studies, JNU. The speaker Prof. Sanghamitra Mohanty from Utkal University has several years of teaching and research experience in the field. She specializes in Oriya language technology development in particular speech technologies. Prof. Mohanty began her talk by describing the elements of natural speech, its production mechanism, articulatory and acoustic properties. She then explained digital speech processing and speech synthesis TTS in particular which is her current focus. She also outlined the approaches and methods followed in particular the concatenated approach for studying the prosodic features of Indian languages. In this connection she referred to the sophisticated phonetic treatment in the traditional Indian texts the pratishakhyas and Paninian shiksha. In this context it is important to mention that the Indian tradition has treated linguistics (phonetics/phonology in particular) with tremendous significance right from the Vedic times.

(Girish Nath Jha, Assistant Professor, Special Center for Sanskrit Studies)

 

“Celebrity, Conservation and Capitalism”
lecture by Dan Brockington, The University of Manchester
5 March, 2008

The power of celebrity is a curious phenomenon, particularly to anyone who does not find fame or famous people necessarily appealing. Why should celebrity confer so much power and influence? It might be fascinating to watch our cricketers play their game, or it might matter what the great, good and beautiful are wearing, where they are going, who they are talking to, befriending or rejecting. But why does that make their ideas about politics, poverty, or tigers important? What could explain the extraordinary influence and respect which celebrities wield?

There is a well established sub-genre of celebrity studies which examines the rise of celebrity in contemporary society. These authors define celebrities as those whose private lives attract more attention than their professional lives and split them into four categories. There are those who are ascribed fame from birth, such as royalty; those who achieve fame through great deeds, such as athletes and sports stars, those who are attributed fame by the media, such as the competitors on Big Brother, there are also fictional characters who achieve fame, like Hercule Poirot, Alan Partridge or Mowgli. These are called celeactors in the literature.

This literature refuses to explain fame by virtue of the personal qualities, the beauty, talent or personalities of the stars. This is a poor explanation because there are so many people with great qualities do not win fame - and so many with none who do. Attributed fame can be manufactured out of nothing at all.

Changing technology is part of the explanation. Celebrity today is also different from fame of previous eras because of the explosion of mass media the proliferation of newspapers, television, and its channels, the internet and the growth of Hollywood and Bollywood. Robin Hood was famous in his day in England, but because of ballad singers and village gossip, and without any pictures of him. David Beckham has many more opportunities to be written about, and talked about in public and can circulate his image everywhere.

But we must not think that technology explains the change. This suggests that the media is important just because it is useful to celebrities. And that substantially misses a much more important relationship between the media and celebrity. Celebrities are produced, created, promoted and managed by the media industry to sell films, newspapers and magazines. The celebretariat (the word is Chris Rojek’s) are industrial products. They facilitate, increase and encourage consumption. They exist because they help other people make money. They facilitate the growth and spread of capitalism.

But why should there be such a ready audience for celebrity? Theorists suggest that celebrity provides imaginative means of escaping the drudgery of day-to-day life. In the west when we are young we are encouraged to believe that we could do anything with our lives, achieve all sorts of things, win extraordinary wealth and have amazing lifestyles. Most of us however fail to achieve those goals. But, particularly in societies characterised by high inequality, one of the coping mechanisms is to vicariously enjoy the wonderful lives of the fortunate few who are lucky enough to succeed. We experience the pleasure of their lives by watching and reading about them in all the intimate detail which celebrity gossip and magazines provide.

Other authors observe that celebrity today reflects the predominance of new urban industrial living. In Rojek’s words celebrity is ’partly a product of the world of the stranger, wherein the individual is uprooted from family and community and relocated in the anonymous city, in which social relations are often glancing, episodic and unstable’. Celebrities compensates for this isolation, filling the void with ’para-social relations’, intimacy constructed by the media, with people we do not know. This has crucial implications, as we shall see, for relationships with nature which are mediated by celebrities.

I became interested in the topic because celebrity seemed to be proliferating within conservation, as we have most recently witnessed in the NDTV tiger campaign. This proliferation arises for three reasons. First, conservationists have to promote their message using the most mediagenic methods possible. They need the publicity celebrities bring. Second, celebrities want to be associated with conservation because it is a good cause. Third, in industrial urban societies increasingly separated from nature, people seek to reconnect with nature by vicariously participating in the activities conservationists and associated celebrities support. People need celebrities to get close to nature for them when they themselves cannot.

I find it interesting partly because it is important to understand what sorts of conservation celebrity endorsements are likely to empower. In East Africa, where I have worked, it was quite possible for respected conservationists to speak out in favour of conservation causes (such as the preservation of wilderness, parks or species) to select audiences of the great and the good, and receive substantial funds and publicity for their cause. And yet the negative side of conservation policies, the exclusion and displacement that can so often accompany them received no media attention. Celebrity conservation brings into the spotlight worthy attractive causes: wilderness, charismatic species or involving indigenous peoples or particular heroes more easily than other types of conservation work. It would take a determined journalist to see through the representations offered at such events. This can disadvantage conservation which is not so mediagenic.

Even more surprising is when celebrity conservationists can promote an imagined world which, although it does not always exist, can be created through their support. Wilderness can be created by removing people, charismatic animals restocked into the ecosystem, all funded by celebrity-raised money. The world is not saved through such interventions. It is actively created anew.

But perhaps the most insidious and pervasive influence is on countless individual’s relationships with the wild. At a time when conservationists are calling for people to restore their relationship with the wild, many people are doing so simply by following the exploits of celebrity conservationists. This substitution of other’s experience for one’s own is probably not what conservationists had in mind. Relationships with nature which are mediated by the TV or the internet are bound to be weaker than those which involve a bit more mud and effort. It is difficult, however, to imagine an alternative.

(Madhav Govind, Assistant Professor, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, SSS)

Conference on “Narrating Nations: A Dialogue of Cultures”
5-7 March, 2008

An International Conference “Narrating Nations: A Dialogue of Cultures” was held at the Centre of Russian Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies from March 5 7, 2008. This conference was co-sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The conference was attended by many foreign and Indian experts including the very eminent Russian grammarian Prof. Oleg Georgievich Ultsiferov. The conference deliberated for three days on the two major concepts that have been dominating academic discourse for the past few years i.e. the concepts of Globalization and Multiculturalism, the opposition that could be said to exist between these concepts and the impact that these concepts and their ’opposition’ may have on teaching foreign languages, literature and culture.

The papers read at this conference covered a wide range of deliberations. While some delegates spoke of the impact of globalization on national languages and linguistic processes, others spoke on the conflict of cultures in translations. The questions of Russian identity in the context of globalization and multiculturalism, cultural dialogues and foreign language teaching, the influence of the internet on language, the use of computer technology for research, Russian and Indian mass culture, Russian and Indian relations through the years and many other vital issues that shape the discipline today were discussed during the ten sessions held over the three days. The conference ended on a positive note with the delegates expressing a desire to continue the debate generated by the papers presented.

(Ritoo M. Jerath, Associate Professor, Centre of Russian Studies, SLL&CS)

International Seminar on ”Cities in Medieval India (1200-1800)”
6-7 March, 2008

An international seminar on the theme ”Cities in Medieval India (1200-1800)” was held on 6-7 March, 2008. It was organized by the Centre for Historical Studies with organizational support of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Study, Academic Staff College, Fundação Oriente (Lisbon/Goa), IICT (Lisbon) and ICHR (New Delhi). An array of scholars from India and Portugal presented well-researched papers on different coastal and mainland cities highlighting various aspects of urbanization in Medieval India. Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, Director, JNIAS welcomed the academic gathering. Prof. Kunal Chakrabarty, Chairperson (acting) of CHS, JNU initiated the academic discussions. Spread over nine sessions, the inaugural address was delivered by
Prof. Satish Chandra wherein he referred to various problems and issues related to the study of cities of medieval India.

Prof. Harbans Mukhia presided over the first session in which Prof. Paulo Varela Gomes used Portuguese sources and the European accounts to understand how European perception of Portuguese settlements in India was colored by the western urban ethos. The second paper presented by Prof. K.K. Trivedi used Persian sources to discuss the city of Agra and its evolution as an imperial capital, a hub of commerce and culture during the Mughal period.

The second session was chaired by Prof. K.K. Trivedi. The study on Cannanore by Prof. K.S. Mathew underlined its growth to the role played by shipping facilities and geo-morphological reasons. Prof. S. Inayat A. Zaidi discussed foundation and expansion of Bikaner in relation to topography, migrations of marginalized groups and Rajputs, social composition and trade. The perspectives of urban economy in context of early modern India were brought to light by Prof. Rajat Datta wherein issues like proto-industrialization and early modernity, growth of small towns, qasbas, demographic trends, agriculture, commercialization, monetary system, the global phenomenon of inflow of precious metals, Jagirdari system were examined. Dr. Manuel Lobato’s theme gave a critical appraisal on the position and function of Goa and the role of Goanese merchants and sailors in the financial structure of Estado da Índia.

Prof. K.S. Mathew chaired the third session. Important facets of urbanization of Pondicherry were explained using the English, Dutch and French plans of the city between the years 1673 and 1824 by Prof. Jean Deloche. Dr. (Capt.) Manuel Malhao Perreira examined the meteorological and physical characteristics of the harbours of Goa, Daman and Diu besides elucidating various navigation techniques. The third theme, presented by Dr. Shama Mitra Chenoy, pertained to various aspects of Shahjahanabad that used morphology to study cultural paradigms. Dr. Najaf Haidar’s presentation pertained to problems and prospects related to historiography of urbanization in India wherein he emphasized the need to study social history of the cities.

In the fourth session, chaired by Prof. Vitor Rodrigues, Dr. Rakesh Kumar’s work examined how the linkages between urban and rural centres, flows of services, money, population, transportation etc. had led to the growth of Ahmedabad and its surroundings. Dr. Gulati’s paper discussed the growth of Multan, as an international trading centre and its association with the celebrated Sufi order of the Suhrawardis during the period of Delhi Sultanate. Thus, the first day of the seminar concluded with an insightful discussion of various cities along with problems in historiography and the sources.

The second day of the seminar comprised of five sessions. Prof. Paulo Varela Gomes chaired the fifth session. Prof. Vitor Rodrigues explained how the municipal council of Goa indulged in undertaking construction work in Goa for its defense. Baçaim, its hinterland and the role of the missionaries were examined by Dr. Andre Teixeira. Prof. S. Azizuddin’s paper studied the city of Jalali in which its history was traced from the medieval period to the British period.

The sixth session, chaired by Prof. S. Inayat A. Zaidi, saw Prof. Sunita Zaidi explaining the growth of commercial cities in the Rajput states byy undertaking a case study of Pali. Dr. Madhu Trivedi examined the growth of Lucknow as a centre of art and culture with its distinctive characteristics from the 18th century, and showed how it developed due to the role rendered by the Shiate Nawabs and European exposure. The layouts and defense mechanisms of the Portuguese settlements of Baçaim, Chaul and Tana were examined by Dr. Sidh Daniel Losa Mendiratta from the mid 16th century to 1739.

Prof. R. Chamapaklakshmi chaired the seventh session. Dr. Arvind Sinha discussed the French urbanization of the town of Pondicherry and the development of international trade and commercial system in the 18th century. In the subsequent presentation, Dr. Nandita Prasad Sahai attempted to examine caste system in a multidimensional aspect and sought to understand the subaltern voices of resistance within the mohallas of Rajasthan. The next paper, by Dr. Ranjeeta Datta examined the growth of the town of Srirangam that was associated with the Sri Vaishnava community of south India in early medieval period.

The penultimate session was chaired by Prof. Kunal Chakrabarti. Prof. Gautam Bhadra enlightened the gathering with his views on urban culture and interpreting its subtle nuances through the particular usage of words and language. Prof. Himanshu P. Ray brought out the archaeological perspectives of Vijayanagar by exploring the spatial dimensions of the city that highlighted check dams, wells, terraces and agricultural facilities.

The final session was chaired by Prof. Rajat Datta. Dr. Rameshwar Bahuguna discussed the city of Benares and the discourses of Bhakti movement that ensued on its ghats and other places between the 13th and 18th centuries. Dr. Pius Malekandathil examined the nature of the spatial articulation of medieval Delhi that eventually facilitated its evolution as a long-term power centre for different political houses. This led to the conclusion of the intellectually stimulating two-day international seminar in which various aspects of urbanism were understood. Being geographically diverse and varied in chronological framework, the study of different cities thus contributed to a deeper understanding of urbanism in Medieval India.

(Yogesh Sharma, Associate Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, SSS)

National Seminar on ”Studying Ambedkar : Issues in Methodology”
6-7 March, 2008

The Programme for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion with Dalit Intellectual Collective, Mumbai, organised a two day National Seminar on “Studying Ambedkar: Issues in Methodology”. The objective of seminar was to discuss and unfold the philosophical status of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The seminar was also aimed at foregrounding the universal dimension of his thought. The two day discussion centered around the need to discuss the epistemological foundation, hermeneutic calibre and historical significance of Ambedkar’s thought. The seminar could modestly claim success in focusing sharply on the methodological perspective. The discussion in the seminar suggested that Ambedkar’s idea formed a vital part of universal philosophical/theoretical concern and methodological standardisation. This affirmation was warranted because; the scholars on theory/thought have grossly neglected his thought and ideas.

The first session was chaired by Prof. Rajeev Bhargava, Director of the Programme of Social and Political Theory at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. Prof. Gopal Guru, Director, Ambedkar Studies Unit, delivered introductory remarks. Among the speakers were Prof. Upendra Baxi, faculty member at the University of Warwick, who elaborated on ’The Politics of Bare Life: Ambedkar and Agamben’ and Prof. Valerian Rodrigues, Centre for Political Studies, JNU, who enlightened the audience with his excellent presentation on ’Ambedkar Hermenuetics’. The second session was chaired by Prof. Gurpreet Mahajan, Centre for Political Studies, JNU. Prof. Pradeep Gokhale, Department of Philosophy, University of Pune, presented a paper on ’Methods and Orientations in Ambedkar’s Philosophical Thought’ during this session. This was followed by a paper on ’Fleeing to Freedom?’ presented by Aditya Nigam, noted researcher and practitioner of Dr Ambedkar’s ideals.

The first session on day 2 was chaired by D.L. Seth, Honorary Senior Fellow and former Director, Centre for the Study of the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. Among the speakers were Prof. Sundar Surukkai, faculty of Philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, and Dr. Umesh Bagade from Babasaheb Ambedkar University, Maharashtra. Prof. Sunder Surukkai spoke extensively on ’Conceptualising Untouchability’. Dr. Umesh Bagade dealt with the subject, ’Ambedkar’s Historical Method: A Non- Brahminic Critique of Positivist History’. The other session was enlivened by the lecture of Prof. Manindra N. Thakur, Centre for Political Studies, on ’Dr. Ambedkar’s ideas on Religion and the Epistemology of Consciousness’. Needless to say, the subject was highly interesting so was the presentation.

The second session Day 2 was chaired by Prof. Valerian Rodrigues. Prof. Gurpreet Mahajan gave an illustrious presentation on ’Reflections on Studying Ideas’ during this session.

A total of 150 scholars from disciplines of Political Science, Philosophy, History, Sociology, Literature participated from Delhi University, Jamia Millia, IGNOU, JNU in the seminar which served as a potential resource and orientation for further research in the Ambedkar Studies Unit.

(Gopal Guru, Professor, Centre for Political Studies and P.M. Kulkarni, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, SSS)

National symposium on ”Contemporary Environmental Problems and Biotechnological Applications in their Management”
7-8 March, 2008

A two day National Symposium was organized in the School of Environmental Sciences, on 7-8 March, 2008. The symposium was organized for interaction among physicists, geochemists, biologists and socio economists to understand basic structure, resource, eco-physiological processes and application of biotechnological methods to find out possible solution for various issues/problems related to the environment. It was initiated to discuss multidimensional and multidisciplinary areas of environmental sciences, basic remediation methods and management practices, and generation of human resources for this purpose. The symposium highlighted important environmental problems, and conservation practices for sustainable development of the environment.

More than 130 students, 32 faculty members and delegates from many institutes/universities participated in the symposium. The symposium consisting of 32 lectures from invited speakers (under eight sessions). Eminent scientists of the School of Environmental Sciences, School of
Life Sciences, School of Social Sciences, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi, University of Delhi, and Indian Agriculture Research Institute, Pusa, delivered lectures. A poster session was organized in which more than 50 posters were displayed and more than 100 students and faculty members contributed subject matter in poster preparation. Five best posters were selected for award to encourage young researchers of the country.

Inaugural Session
The symposium began with introductory remarks by Professor I.S. Thakur, Convener of the National Symposium. The acting Dean of the SES, Professor A.K. Attri, welcomed the delegates, and Professor Ramadhikari Kumar, Rector, JNU, inaugurated the symposium. Professor Attri highlighted the inception of environmental sciences and narrated various environmental issues and problems raised in international forums including United Nation conferences on environment Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki (Australia), the Guest of Honour, delivered a talk on Great moments in Science and Environment and explained various global environmental problems in a very simple way. Dr. B. Sengupta, Member Secretary, CPCB: Environmental issues (Chief Guest), spoke about environmental problems, and role and efforts made by the Central Pollution Control Board for the management of environmental problems. He also explained the Act and statutes enforced by Government of India to contain the environmental pollution.

Oral and Poster Presentation
The first Scientific Session was chaired by Professor S.K.Tandon, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, and Professor Rajamani, School of Environmental Sciences. The main theme of the session was Physical and Chemical Principles in Environmental Processes. The other invited speakers of the session were Professor V.S.Parmar, Head, Department of Chemistry University of Delhi, Professor Ruplal, Head, Department of Zoology, DU, and Dr. Milap C. Sharma, JNU, who spoke on application of remote sensing in environmental management.

The Second Scientific Session related to “Pollutants: Fate and Effects in Environmental Processes”, was chaired by Prof. M. Deb, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, and Dr. Madhuban Gopal, IARI, New Delhi. The other invited speakers of the session were Prof. Mukesh Khare: IIT, Delhi, Dr. Asha Juwarkar, NEERI, Nagpur, Dr. Ashok Priyadarshan Dimri, SES, JNU, They spoke on air pollution problems, problems due to mining and the role of phytoremediation and other remedial mechanisms adopted by various agencies, and climate changes.

A poster session was also organised where more than 50 posters were displayed related to environmental problems and role of biotechnology in their management. The third Scientific Session related to “Socioeconomic Perspectives in Environmental Management” where Prof. Bharat Desai: delivered a talk on “Multilateral environmental law making”, Dr. S.Sreekesk: on “Socio-Economic concerns in Environmental Management”, and Dr. R.V.Shukla, CMD College, Bilaspur on “Ecological Poverty in Chhattisgarh”.

Environmental biotechnological applications for management of environment was the major topic for the deliberations on the second day. Prof. Kasturi Datta, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, and Prof. Sreekrishnan, IIT, New Delhi, chaired the first session of the day. Dr. S.L.Govindwar, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, delivered a talk on the scope of Environmental Biotechnology in the country. Prof. Sreekrishnan spoke on modeling of biological treatment processes, and explained how modeling can be used during treatment of industrial effluent by using bioreactors. Dr. Anushree Mallick, IIT, Delhi, delivered her lecture on role of co-aggregating bacteria in sewage treatment.

The second session of the day was chaired by Prof. B.N.Johri, Professor Emeritus, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, and Prof. R.K.Saxena, University of Delhi. Prof. B.N.Johri spoke on belowground microbial diversity in sustainable development and role of microbial ecology and environmental applications, and Prof. R.K.Saxena on hydrolases, a class of enzymes, as a potential tool for environmental management. He told how proteases and other hydrolases could be used in tannery industries. Prof. T. Satyanarayana, University Delhi, spoke on microbial enzymes in environmental management and Dr. Ashwani Pareek, SLS, JNU, delivered his talk on phytoremediation-towards raising crop plants for saline lands employing gene tailoring while Dr. C. Ghosh, University of Delhi, spoke on flow pattern of troposphere ozone.

The third session began with a presentation by Dr. Surya Prakash, SLS, JNU. During his presentation he exhibited several butterflies of JNU and other related biotata of the campus. After discussion related to industrial problems, the valedictory function was held. Five best posters were selected and awards were given to Prasant Kumar Jaishwal, S. Kulshreshtha, S.Chattarjee, Madhuri and Vinod Kumar.

(I.S. Thakur, Professor, School of Environmental Sciences)

Session on ”Dynamics of Glaciers in the Himalayas”
8 March, 2008

A one day “Brain Storming Session on the Dynamics of Glaciers in the Himalayas” was organized at the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University on 8 March, 2008 by Dr. AL. Ramanathan, under the aegis of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

The session was attended by eminent glaciologists with a wide representation from organizations and universities that are involved in the study of Himalayan Glaciers in India for quite a few decades. Dr. D. R. Sikka, former Director of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, chaired the meeting along with Mr. Jagdish Bahadur, former Director (Himalayan Glaciology Programme), DST as the Co-Chair. The Chairman pointed out at the outset that though India was first in highlighting the inter-relationship between Himalayan snow accumulation and monsoon, we are lagging behind in systematic glacier research. The entire Trans-Himalayan Region comprising of India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan is important from the point of view of glacier-climate interactions. The Gangotri glacier recession is of great concern not only from the point of view of water resource depletion but also from the view point of our cultural heritage. The warming trend in Western Himalayas has doubled in the last 30 years. In the light of these facts, the Chairman asked the Scientists and experts present to formulate best practices that would lead to a meaningful reformulation of the National Programme in Himalayan Glaciology.

Dr. Deepak Srivastava, Deputy Director General, Geological Survey of India, presented the Inventory of Himalayan Glaciers. Mass balance and hydrological studies undertaken by GSI in some glaciated basins has shown that 80% percent of discharge is from glacier melt, while 20% is contributed by monsoon. Dr. Milap Chand Sharma, JNU, discussed the status of glaciological studies in India. Dr. R. K. Mazari from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology presented mass balance studies and field measurement of Himalayan Glaciers and Dr AL.Ramanathan apprised about his group’s research activities on Chotta shigri Glacier mass balance and the tracer techniques application in Gangotri glacier sub channel studies. Dr. Snehamani from Snow and Avalanche Establishment (SASE) gave an interesting presentation on ’Modern Techniques in Glacier Monitoring’. Dr. Rasik Ravindra, Director, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) gave a detailed note on Ice Core Studies and their Implications in Glaciology. Prof. V.K. Gaur, Professor Emeritus at NGRI gave an insightful paper on “Glacier dynamic system”. Prof. Gaur emphasized the need to differentiate the effect of natural warming of earth from the human induced warming on glacier retreat. He also spoke of specific approaches towards developing ’A Glacier Response Model’ in which surface slopes, basal drag, glacier outward flux and internal temperature field are incorporated as essential components. This model needed to be calibrated with the help of observed parameters on specified glaciers. Dr. M. Prithviraj, Scientist F and Director, Department of Science & Technology, presented the proposed plan for Himalayan Cryosphere Programme. He briefly outlined the background of the proposed programme beginning with the meeting held on September 10, 2007 on receding of Himalayan Glacier at the office of Principal Secretary & Advisor to Prime Minister. The mandate given to DST by the Committee of Secretaries is to establish a nodal knowledge institution for focused research on Himalayan Glaciology, to develop institutional capacity, to develop human capacity through various training programmes, to form a virtual network of knowledge institutions under the administrative control of various ministries and mount a nationally coordinated effort. Apart from the proposed Institute of Glaciology, under the new programme a framework with climate change in mind will be formulated and proposals invited.

After discussions led by Prof. V.K. Gaur and Dr. D. R. Sikka, the Chairman read out the recommendation of the meeting for developing an advanced Glacier research program including climate change impact in India to be submitted to the Secretary, DST towards which will ultimately help them to formulate the future DST Programme on the Dynamics of Himalayan Glaciers.

(A.L. Ramanathan, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Sciences)

National Symposium on ”Brain Cognition and Behaviour”
14-15 March, 2008

The Centre for Linguistics, SLL&CS, organised a symposium on Brain Cognition and Behaviour, jointly with the University of Utrecht, Netherlands on 14 15 March, 2008.

Three major themes were identified for the symposium namely: Brain Imaging, Cognition-Perception-Motor Control, and Processing Language and the Architecture of the Language Faculty.

The participation from the University of Utrecht included 12 members of the faculty from University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU), Helmholtz Institute, and Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS. The faculty specializing in the following areas participated: Experimental Psychology, Experimental psychopathology, Linguistics including logic, Physics of Man, Neurology, Biomedical Image sciences.

There was a major participation from several institutions across the country namely All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), English and Foreign Language University(formerly CIEFL), Hyderabad, National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, University of Delhi (DU). There was active participation from within JNU from the other schools especially the School of Life Sciences.

Brain Imaging
Brain imaging plays a prominent role in cognition studies and in biomedical studies. The UMC Utrecht has a large programme in imaging for medical research, diagnosis and prognosis, and treatment planning, guiding and evaluation, with MRI as main modality. The subjects covered in discussion at the symposium included high-field MR brain imaging (structural, functional, MRI, DTI, perfusion imaging, spectroscopic imaging), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), neuroimaging of human action selection mechanisms, imaging of cognitive impairment in the elderly, and brain image analysis.

Cognition-Perception-Motor Control
The ability to process sensory input about various aspects of our environment is crucial for effective behaviour. Indeed, sensory processing for perception and its interaction with motor control is a central topic within (cognitive) neurosecience. In this symposium various research projects on a variety of topics, which included psychophysical investigations of visual perception and visuomotor control, neurophysiological studies of retinal and cortical visual processing and neuropsychological studies of visual, somatosensory and sensorimotor impairments after brain damage, were discussed.

Processing Language and the Architecture of the Language Faculty
Linguistics investigates the systems underlying language, speech and language use. We put the following general question as central in our study of language: which are the cognitive faculties underlying the structure and use of human language, what is their internal structure, and which principles govern their interaction? Thus, in addition to the study of these faculties per se, research explores the interfaces between the faculties underlying human language and their division of labour, including the interfaces the language system and the language external systems of interpretation and use. Centrally positioned in this domain is the study of the relation between the cognitive system and the linguistic setting that is crucial for language acquisition.

In this workshop the Utrecht research projects studying the linguistic processing underlying the processes of language acquisition and language processing, and its modeling, were discussed.

The symposium thus paved the way for research projects across disciplines, across institutions and setting new research agenda for the years to come.

(Vaishna Narang, Professor, Centre for Linguistics, SLL&CS)

National Conference on ”Revitalising Rural Institutes”
15-16 March, 2008

Even in the era of globalisation, India remains predominantly an agrarian economy with the majority of Indian population still living in rural areas. From the First Five Year Plan, the government has made sustained efforts towards ameliorating the conditions of the rural poor. The focus continues and the 11th FYP has laid great emphasis on achieving the goals of inclusive growth. Programmes such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) reiterate the government’s firm commitment in creating a brighter and vibrant India with better opportunities for the rural India. Mahatma Gandhi had laid great emphasis on rural reconstruction and subsequently many rural institutions came up with the objective of revitalising the rural society and economy. In the new era, there is a continued need to take a fresh look at some of these institutions in order to create sustainable livelihood.

In the backdrop of the above, the National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI), Hyderabad, a premier agency of the Ministry of HRD, Government of India, in association with JNU organized a national conference on “Revitalising Rural Institutes: Problems and Prognosis” at New Delhi. The two-day event was inaugurated by Union Minister of HRD Shri Arjun Singh on March 15 at Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, Rajghat. Shri B.L. Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, and noted Gandhian Shri Ram Chandra Rahi also attended the inaugural function. Shri Singh said there was an urgent need to bring back vitality of rural development oriented agencies and organisations. Shri Singh also recommended that it was time Planning Commission worked out ways to ensure good funding towards revitalization of rural institutions.

The two-day national discourse provided an opportunity of dialogue among policy makers, educationists, constructive workers and organizations in the context of challenges and opportunities with reference to rural India today. This will help NCRI kickstart the process of consolidating, networking and developing institutions engaged in propagating Gandhian basic education.

A host of reputed institutions including Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Mahatma Gandhi University, Gramodaya Vishwavidyala, Gujarat Institute of Development Research (Ahmedabad), Institute of Gandhian Studies (Vardha), Avard (Delhi), Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya (Chitrakoot), Planning Commission, AMR (Hyderabd), Osmania University (Hyderabad), Centre for Social Research (Delhi), Centre for Scientific Studies for Village (Vardha), Gandhigram Rural University (Tamil Nadu), IIT Kanpur, IIT, Delhi, IGNOU, Amity University (Noida), Mahatama Gandhi University (Kottayam), Bangalore University, and Giri Institute of Developmental Studies (Lucknow), participated in this conference Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD Smt. D. Purandareswari participated in the valedictory session. She said Gandhian notion of Nai Talim, which emphasized on value and ethics was the critical missing link in modern education system and there was an urgent need to bring it back. The minister added that there was an urgent need to design innovative courses which were relevant for varied rural needs. ”For long, the blood of our village has been inflating the arteries our cities. It’s time we gave villages back their dues,” said the minister.

In the concluding session Dr. S.V. Prabhath, Chairman, NCRI, urged Gandhian workers and rural development scholars to continue their engagement with each other as well as the national effort towards revitalization of rural institutes. Prof Anand Kumar, JNU, convener of the seminar, suggested immediate interventions by Gandhians and academicians to check the growing drift in our national policies due to the pressure of metro oriented middle class and called upon policy makers to re-look at the consequences of new policies for rural masses.

(Anand Kumar, Professor, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, SSS)

International Seminar on ”India and the Mediterranean Region”
18-20 March, 2008

The Centre for West Asian & African Studies, SIS, organized a three-day International Seminar on India and the Mediterranean Region. The purpose of the seminar was to project India’s perspective on the contemporary developments in the region in the backdrop of our longstanding historical and cultural relations with the countries on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. A number of area-specialists, historians and diplomats from the region participated in the seminar. The inaugural address was given by Ambassador C. R. Gharkhan, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for West Asia and Middle East Peace Process. Dr Alexander Spachie, Deputy Chief of the Delegation of the European Commission, New Delhi, delivered the keynote address.

Comparatively small, covering only 969100 sq. mile body of water from the straits of Gibraltar to the Syrian coast, the Mediterranean is the junction point of several critical areas: Western Europe, the Balkans, West Asia and North Africa. It encompasses countries that differ significantly in size, level of political and economic development, military potential and geopolitical interests as well as cultural, social and religious traditions. Out of some 20 independent Mediterranean actors, nine have direct West Asian connections of which seven are Arab and eight are Muslim. The Mediterranean has played a crucial role in human history, being a springboard for the dissemination of cultures and civilizations, as well as for military campaigns, conquests, and discoveries. It is the West’s gateway to the Black Sea and a traditional Russian expansion route since Catherine the Great. As part of NATO’s southeastern flank, the region was a barometer of the international political climate during the Cold War. With the end of bipolar rivalry, the Mediterranean has emerged as a new conflict zone torn by old hostilities and ethno-territorial strife.

India’s interests in the Mediterranean region are both strategic as well as economic. These interests need to be viewed in the context of India’s aspirations, in keeping with its huge growth potential, to emerge as a major power to reckon with in post-Cold War era. The geographic location and the heterogeneous character of the Mediterranean underline the region’s strategic saliency and conflict potential. Given its age-old ties, outward economic orientation and overriding security concerns, India cannot afford to ignore the developments in the Mediterranean Basin, especially the efforts of the European Union towards building an integrated regional community through its Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP). Accordingly, one full session of the seminar was devoted to the discussion of the EU’s regional cooperation programme and its implications for India. Whereas the first session focused on the geo-strategic significance of the Mediterranean and the second on the regional conflicts, the last session covered India’s past ties, present state of relations and its prospective role in the making of a Mediterranean region. The seminar is the part of our initiative towards developing a special Mediterranean Studies Programme in the School.

(Aswini K. Mahapatra, Associate Professor, Centre for West Asian and African Studies, SIS)
 

National Seminar on ”Globalization, Consumerism and Protection of Consumer Rights in India”
28-29 March 2008

A two-day National Seminar on “Globalization, Consumerism and Protection of Consumer Rights in India” was organized the Group of Adult Education, SSS. An Exhibition-cum-Audio-Visual Show on “Jago Grahak Jago, Apne Adhikar Jano” was also organised for the Aam Aadmi in the campus (near Ganga Dhaba) for generating awareness among the consumers about protection of their rights and how to safeguard. The Bureau of Indian Standards, National Consumer Helpline and Consumer Voice collaborated in it.

 DAY-I: While introducing the theme, Prof. Paul, coordinator of the conference, said that a paradigm shift is taking place under the mantra of neo-liberalization and globalization with the opening up of Indian economy. Society is getting polarized by the free-market forces that follow their own logic and ideological principles of growth and profit, including promotion of goods and services even through deceptive advertisements, packaging etc. It is in this context that consumer rights education and awareness movements, as part of fundamental rights, become very significant. India has over billions of consumers belonging to different socioeconomic strata and everyday they face multifarious challenges and anxieties in protecting their rights under the prevailing circumstances. In fact, the consumers are increasingly duped everyday, misled or deceived in terms of quantity, quality, safety or security of goods and services etc. in the market places; and often they do not get things worth the value they paid for and their grievances go unheeded.

Thus consumer marginalization is now widespread in almost all types of goods and services as new economic growth and free-market mantra have failed to enhance the distributive justice in regards to realization, promotion and protection of consumer rights unlike in the developed free-market societies. In fact, India’s evolving free-market is thriving on the uninformed-consumer behaviour syndrome. The problem becomes more acute when the rule of law is either discounted or throttled, and corruption in governance is underestimated. The effect of consumerism, of many lifestyles products with several ill-effects on health, particularly among
the youth and children belonging to different uninformed sections of society are quite visible. Centuries ago, Kautilya’s Arthasashtras had prescribed many penalty clauses and stringent actions for defaults of the marketers. These are quite relevant in India today. Hence, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the civil society and the media should come closer in a big way to collectively tackle the menace of free-market and safeguard the rights of consumers as ’principal beneficiary’.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof. B.B. Bhattacharya expressed satisfaction at holding the seminar at a crucial juncture of India’s neo-liberal agenda-based activities. He highlighted how several unscrupulous day-to-day malpractices cause tremendous harm to common consumers. This includes deceptive advertisement strategies adopted by the free-market forces unlike USA market economy. He strongly felt that the consumer rights education and awareness movements is the need of the hour since Indian market economy is becoming more exploitative; no doubt under globalization they offer wider choices but do not always ensure what they advertise; and they show reluctance to protect consumer rights. Prof. Bhattacharya suggested that as academicians we can only generate awareness and knowledge by undertaking interdisciplinary studies, by initiating academic courses, and organizing seminars to raise awareness about the violations of consumer rights.

While chairing the Technical Session-I on “Globalization, Consumerism and Consumer Rights in India” Prof. K.N. Kabra presented a broad historical overview of globalization process and its inherent tendencies of crass consumerism, leading to changes in occupational structure and income inequalities. Prof. Shakti Kak discussed Globalization and Consumerism in the neo-liberal Era. Lt. Col. Anil Bhat presented a paper on the effects of globalization and consumerism on national security. Prof Atreyi Majumdar spoke on the impact of consumerism on migration via consumerism. Prof. Bharat Desai’s presentation highlighted the making of right choices: Needs versus greed.

Technical Session-II on “Consumer Awareness/ Educational Strategies and Consumer Rights Movement in India” was chaired by Prof. J. S. Gandhi. Brig. Manaktala presented on NGO: Consumer Forum’s activities and problems. Dr. Roopa Vajpeyi focused on NGO: Consumer Voice’s activities for last 25 years. Dr. M.S. Adil analyzed the Consumer Protection law and its loopholes. Prof. N.K. Chaddha and Dr. Rajesh presented a paper on Role of Community-based Organization in Education and Awareness of Consumers in Delhi.

Justice J.D. Kapoor, President of Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, chaired Technical Session-III on “Jurisprudence, Consumer Protection Laws and Grievance Redressal Mechanism: Issues and Problems”. Justice Kapoor spoke on various issues of jurisprudence, consumer protection laws and the manner in which he has passed several novel verdicts to creatively using the clauses of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 highlighting several service deficiency cases of LIC, Railways, Aircraft, Banking, Telecom Services and NDMC by passing pro-consumer judgments, providing adequate relief and compensation to the consumers, as per Consumer Protection Act etc.

Dr. Surinder Verma presented a paper on the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (Amendments in 2002). Dr. B. Zutshi and Prof. M.C. Paul’s paper discussed the Status and Position of Consumer Disputed Redressal Forums set up in the country under the CP Act. Sri Debasis Bagchi presented the Real-life Experiences of Violation of Consumer Rights.

DAY II: Prof. Anand Kumar chaired Technical Session-IV on “Role of Media, Ethics and Advertisement and Competitive Law”. Prof. Anand Kumar underscored that there is greater need for awareness as consumers suffer violation of consumer rights and these issues and concerns should find central place in academic discourse. Prof. Abhilasha Kumari presented a paper on Privatization, Media Policy and Consumer Rights: A case of FM Radio. Dr. Savita Hanspal spoke on Protection of Consumers by Regulating Combinations: Provisions and Implications. Dr. Sheetal Kapoor presented a paper on Deceptive and Misleading advertisements. Prof. Sriram Khanna critically discussed several issues and problems of anti-competition practices and competition law in India.

Prof. D.N Rao chaired Technical Session-V on “Globalization, Consumerism and Environmental Issues”. Dr. P. K. Saroha discussed the Consumer Protection Act and Service rendered by Medical Practitioners. Dr. Nitya Nand spoke on Globalization, Consumerism and the Environment. Dr. D.D. Aggarwal and Dr. Geetu Uppal presented a paper on Consumerism, Income Inequality and Environmental Issues. Prof. D.N. Rao presented a paper on Globalization, Consumerism and Ecological Footprints. Dr. Sudhir Singh spoke on how consumer rights is human rights.

Sri Debasis Bagchi chaired Technical Session-VI on “Quality Assurance and Comparative Testing of Goods and Services: Issues and Concerns”. Paramjit Singh presented on Laws of Comparative Testing of Products and Services: Some Basic facts and Issues. Dr. Sheetal Kapoor presented on the Status of Comparative Testing and Empowerment of Consumers. Dr. Narinder Singh focused on the Role of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Dr. Meenu Agarwal & Dr. Juhi Gupta presented on the role of education and awareness in protecting consumer rights.

 Valedictory Session-VII was chaired by Professor Emeritus T.K. Oommen. The panel discussion was on Globalization, Consumerism and Protection of Consumer Rights in India. The first speaker was Sri G.R. Bhatia, Former Additional Director General of Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and Competition Commission of India. The other speakers were Sri Prashant Bhushan, senior advocate of Supreme Court of India; and the third speaker was Prof. D.N. Rao. As a part of Chairperson’s remark Prof. T.K. Oommen, Professor Emeritus and a recipient of Padma Bibhusan, highlighted how historically the culture of consumerism in India emerged in India among certain upper echelons of society only. He expressed deep concern over the present consumerism pattern where greed is taking over the need for consumption both in urban and rural areas; how people are getting affected by globalizing free-markets; why preventive measures needs top priority rather than the protective measures; referring Gandhiji, he pleaded for self restraint as mantra.

Last but not the least, a Vote of Thanks was extended fittingly by Dr. Ajay Kumar, GAE, SSS.

(M.C. Paul, Professor, Group of Adult Education, SSS)

Training workshop on ”Technology Foresight Methodologies in Agricultural Innovation System”
31 March-10 April 2008

A ten day training workshop on Technology Foresight Methodologies in Agricultural Innovation System was organised by the Centre for Studies in Science Policy, SSS. The main objectives were to train participants towards future oriented thinking and for identifying preferred futures in the agricultural sector. The TF methodologies were designed to cater to the needs of agricultural scientists engaged in R&D and S&T planning in different sectors of Indian agriculture. Foresight is an essential, but neglected component of S&T planning, especially in the Indian context. Such analyses inform critical choices and are essential for policy decisions such as setting priorities for research and development (R&D) efforts, understanding and managing the risks of technological innovation, exploiting intellectual property, and enhancing technological competitiveness of products, processes, and services. This workshop was mainly attended by the scientists from the Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi. Many distinguished TF and science policy scholars delivered lectures during this period.

(Pranav N. Desai, Professor, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, SSS)
 

Discussion on “1857 and Bhagat Singh”
15 April, 2008

’Bhagat Singh’s vision of Indian freedom was much broader. In his view Swaraj was not enough. Revolutionary transformation of India as a socialist society was a must.’

This is how Professor Irfan Habib, eminent historian described Bhagat Singh’s role in India’s freedom struggle. Professor Irfan Habib was in J.N.U. to take part in discussion on ’The Significance of the 1857 War of Independence and Bhagat Singh in the Context of the Indian Struggle for Freedom’. Professor Habib underlined the advance thinking of Bhagat Singh evident in his writings, where he had discussed even the problem of the gap between ’manual and mental labour’ in post revolutionary society. He said that Bhagat Singh wanted to build his revolutionary party on Bolshevik principles and he created Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Lahore Students Union as open mass organizations for mass propaganda. Professor Habib said that Bhagat Singh wanted to create mass organizations of peasants and workers as well. Bhagat Singh was bold enough not to disown his revolutionary acts of either killing Saunders or exploding a bomb in the Delhi Assembly ’to make the deaf hear’. Prof. Habib said that ’Why I am an Atheist’ was the ’last testament’ of Bhagat Singh and had it been given proper place in post independent Indian society, there never would have been the cancerous problem of communalism and sectarianism.

Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, another eminent historian and Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research, spoke about the 1857 struggle in popular imagination. He said Indian academics had not written much on 1857 till recently. He underlined the unity of Indian people at every level during the struggle and said that it was a remarkable event in this context. Professor Chaman Lal, convenor of the discussion and editor of Bhagat Singh’s documents, introduced the theme and emphasized that Bhagat Singh’s image of ’just a brave patriot’ needs to changed on the basis of his writings, which prove beyond doubt that he was a brilliant revolutionary socialist thinker. This was echoed by Vice Chancellor Professor B.B. Bhattacharya who said that had Bhagat Singh been allowed to live, he would have provided enlightened leadership to the national freedom movement. Professor Bhattacharya said that JNU was happy to have the historic Bhagat Singh Chair in JNU and lauded the efforts made by Sh. Shashi Bhushan in this regard.

Shashi Bhushan, President Freedom Movement Memorial Society and a freedom fighter himself, underscored the need for writing the history of those who had laid down their lives and made tremendous sacrifices for the country, rather than writing the ’history of killers of freedom fighters’. The few words coming from the core of his heart stirred the audience. Professor Mridula Mukrejee, historian and Director Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, in her presidential remarks referred to the fact that the killing of Saunders was to ’avenge the national insult’ perpetrated by the killing of the tall national leader Lala Lajpat Rai by the colonial British police. She said 1857 and Bhagat Singh both hold significant place in the freedom struggle of India.

Earlier Sh. Daljit Sen Adel welcomed the distinguished scholars who came to participate in discussion.

(Chaman Lal, Professor, Centre of Indian Languages SLL&CS)

‘My Experiences in translating Adha Gaon and Raag Darbari in English’
Lecture by Gillian Wright
22 April, 2008

Gillian Wright, an eminent translator and writer delivered a lecture on ’My Experiences in translating Adha Gaon and Raag Darbari in English’ in SLL&CS. The talk focused on the problems of translation. Raag Darbari by Shri Lal Shukla and Adha Gaon by Rahi Massom Raza are two significant novels of Hindi, which pose great challenges for the translator. Gillian Wright took up the challenge of translating these into English at the behest of Penguin. Wright had her Hindi and Urdu training from London University and her English translation of these classic novels was a huge success.

Addressing a large gathering of faculty and students, Wright focused more upon Adha Gaon, which presents Muslim culture of pre-partition Ghazipur district of U.P. She said that to understand the cultural nuances of the novel she spent a long time in Lucknow and took part in Muslim festivals and rituals. She took help from Raza’s sisters to know the exact meaning of some culture specific words in the novel. She also narrated her experiences of translating of Raag Darbari, whose chief strength is satire. This novel was published in abridged form and she received a lot of flak about its translation. Wright admitted that she made many errors in translation of this novel, and she said that translating Bhisham Sahni’s stories was relatively easy, which she did under the title ’Middle India’.

Professor Chaman Lal of Centre of Indian languages, while introducing the author to audience, spoke about the problems faced by translators. He narrated his own experiences of translating Punjabi poet Paash in Hindi. A lively discussion took place after the lecture.

(Chaman Lal, Professor, Centre for Indian Languages, SLLCS)
 

International Conference on “Reconstruction Process in Afghanistan”
23-24 April, 2008

Afghanistan has been in the process of recovering from the torment and sufferings of more than two decades of conflict. The world community has come forward in assisting the reconstruction process. The government of India has also been forthright in contributing towards the reconstruction to a tune of USD 750 million. Despite the fact that millions of children have returned to school since 2002, and the economy is growing, majority of the Afghans continue to live in utter poverty without access to safe drinking water, electricity or opportunities to improve their lives. In addition the opium terror is a glaring fact representing almost 32 percent of the country’s total (licit and illicit) gross domestic product. More than six years have passed since the Bonn agreement was signed. What are the ground realities today? How far have the objectives been met with? How secure is Afghanistan today? What are the major security concerns today and how to address them? These were some of the issues that were deliberated in the two-day International Conference on ’Reconstruction Process in Afghanistan’. The Conference was organized by the Centre for South, Central, Southeast Asian and Southwest Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi from 23-24 April 2008. The conference was supported by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and was held at the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Aruna Asafali Road, New Delhi. The deliberations of the conference lead to certain policy prescription for the future direction towards the reconstruction process.

The conference had six technical sessions in addition to the inaugural and valedictory session. The technical sessions were ’Challenges to Reconstruction’, ’Indian and International Initiatives’, ’Strategic and Security Concerns’, ’Economy and Society’, ’Drug Trafficking, Terrorism and Resurgence of Taliban’, and ’Regional Concerns and Vulnerable Groups’. There were 163 participants with 30 panelists, of which 7 were international delegates from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conference was attended by the Ambassadors and diplomats from the Embassy of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Office of Pakistan’s High Commission, Governor of Rajasthan, Officials of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, faculty and students of various academic institution and universities. The consolidated conference reporting was covered by Dr Anuradha Banerjee, faculty, CSRD, School of Social Sciences, JNU.

The inaugural session was presided over by Prof. B. B. Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor, JNU. Dr. Mondira Dutta, the Conference Coordinator, introduced the conference theme stating that the conference particularly focused on the Indian and the International initiatives in Afghanistan. She emphasized its geo-strategic significance and the importance of India’s role in the reconstruction process. Prof. P. Sahadevan, Chairperson of CSCSEA&SWPS extended a warm welcome while referring to the challenges and the whole range of crisis issues currently faced by Afghanistan. Prof. Pushpesh Pant, Dean, SIS, JNU highlighted on the importance of studying Afghanistan in SIS, JNU stating that inspite of innumerable hurdles the Indian assistance to Afghanistan’s development efforts do play a very constructive role.

Dr. T C A Raghavan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, delivered the keynote address. He stated that the main aim of India was to develop the absorptive capacity for taking over completed projects towards its logical end. He elaborated upon several issues and emphasized on the major bottleneck of the transit through Pakistan. In the absence of a transit, air lifting the equipments was the only option. With Afghanistan becoming a member of SAARC and the Wagah border being opened up for trucks to ply on, India had a major role to play in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan.

H.E. Dr. Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, Ambassador, Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was the Chief Guest of the conference. His Excellency highlighted that Afghanistan has often being narrowly focused. Achievements are seldom discussed. He stated that the dark and violent period was a thing of the past and one cannot ignore the vast feats of success in health, annual income and education achieved since 2002. Afghanistan had remained one of the poorest countries in the world, with terrorism and struggle against narcotics for several decades. The ambassador acknowledged India for being the most sincere and generous friend of Afghanistan.

H.E. Sri S K Singh, Governor of Rajasthan was the Guest of Honour. The governor discussed Afghanistan in a historical framework, highlighting the positive aspects of the past and the changes that have taken place in the contemporary times.

Prof. B B Bhattacharya, the Vice Chancellor, highlighted the problems of contemporary Afghanistan as a global problem. He expressed concern on the need to treat the sentiments of Afghans especially when external help comes in. Caught amidst an ideological warfare, Prof Bhattacharya stressed upon the strong relationship that existed between peace and security with development. Therefore the most pressing issue for the day was restoration of peace in the country.

The first technical session on ’Challenges to Reconstruction’ set the tone of the conference touching upon various issues of concern. His Excellency Dr. Kairat Umarov, Kazakstan’s Ambassador to India chaired this session. Mr. I P Khosla, Member Secretary of the Indian Council for South Asian Cooperation, initiated the panel discussion. H E Dr. Kairat Umarov, was desirous of enhancing the effectiveness of Government strictures and placed the need of aid monitoring on top priority. This was followed by other sessions.

The Valedictory session was chaired by Prof Ramadhikari Kumar, Rector, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prof. Devendra Kaushik, Vice President, Indian Society for Cultural Cooperation and Friendship delivered the valedictory address. Prof. Kaushik elaborated upon the problems existing in Afghanistan, a land that was once prosperous and formed part of the famous silk route. He stated that the mess in Afghanistan had been worsened due to the meddling of outsiders in the internal functioning of the system leading to the formation of a land of perpetual conflict. He said that there was a need for rejuvenating the old cultural and the earlier existing trade links. The Chairperson, Prof. Ramadhikari Kumar remarked that the seminar was a success both in terms of the number of themes deliberated upon and the number of participants. He referred to the contemporary issues of concern in Afghanistan and reiterated the need for education as a remedy for all ills.

Some of the major recommendations that emerged focus on promoting programmes with a participatory approach and enhancement of employment opportunities at the grass root level in order to bring about a reduction in the opium cultivation. Given the strong ethnic, historical and cultural ties between India and Afghanistan, India needs to extend its current initiatives focusing on micro level issues involving people from all walks of life. It was felt that there is a need to strengthen the ties through active regional cooperation for a stronger bonding.

(Mondira Dutta, Conference Coordinator, CSCSEASWPS/SIS)

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