CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL SYSTEMS
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY
cordially invites you to the
THURSDAY COLLOQUIUM
on
5th October 2023 at SSS II,
Room 013, 3:00pm-5:00pm
on
Wancho Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh; Image and Reality
by
Dr Phirmi Bodo
Centre for Study of Social Systems
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Abstract: When one picks up any work in regards to Tribal Studies written, if you care to read between the lines, one would see, laced through every category, every theory and every reference, a perspective that inferiorized tribal knowledge, rejects and invisibilize tribal epistemologies and indirectly (consciously or unconsciously) affirms Western and Caste worldviews. Thus, when somewhat distinct epistemic communities that are historically and structurally perceived and confined to the category ‘tribe’ by hegemonic forces reflect on social theories or even on possibilities of formulating a point-of-view about Tribal realities, they have often been faulted for supposedly bringing more ‘stories’ and ‘emotions’ rather than ‘facts and ‘logic’ in theoretical engagement. In academia, this is often cited as the reason for tribes’ inability to secure any theoretical advancement of their epistemological cause.
Historically, from the 18th century to contemporary times, theory and theoretical frameworks concerning Tribes in India are dominated by propositions that stem from a methodological intersection between Western and Caste epistemologies, each of these theoretical positions formulated by the hegemons from within these locations. In both these epistemologies, the idea of ‘universalization’ and ‘homogenization’ is the sine qua non. Such ideas have had both methodological and ethical implications on Tribal realities, manifesting in views where ‘Tribes’ are conceived as diffident forest dwellers, savages/primitive, and uncivilized/backward and lived in isolation with no civilizational touch. These theoretical insinuations have had lethal ramifications on Tribes, fragmenting their weltanschauung or worldview.
The present talk tries to examine that how tribes conceive as passive recipients of knowledge produced by the more advanced (so called) societies, while they don’t see as capable of producing or partaking in knowledge production that Western/European and dominant Caste epistemology counts as verifiable-reliable and meaningful-useful. The Wanchos inhabit the western part of the Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh rich in oral language, which have been handed down generation to generation. However, this rich oral heritage and cultural tradition of India has been marginalised. North-east tribal communities viewed with a persistent colonial perception of tribal communities as ‘backward’. Hence, local knowledge, traditional skills, languages and value systems needs to restore in spite of growing aspirations to acquire mainstream (so called) identities.
Dr Phirmi Bodo is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Study of Social Systems, at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has done her M.Phil & PhD from Assam University, Silchar. Before joining JNU, she was teaching in the Sociology Department in MDKG College, Dibrugarh University (Assam) for six years. Her specialisation is Sociology of Mass Communication and Sociology of Development. Currently, she is working on tribal studies and working on a book titled “Understanding North-East India” and also engaged in few research paper on tribal society.
