National Seminar on Regional Issues of Tribal Development in India: Ground Realities, Policy Interventions and Desired Strategies

Organizer: M.P. Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain (Autonomous Institute of ICSSR, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India) 6. Professor Ram Sakha Gautam Marg, Bharatpuri Administrative Zone, Ujjain-456010 (MP) –
Sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi

About the Seminar

• When: 7-8 November, 2024
• Call for Papers
• Mode: Offline
• There is no registration fee
• MPISSR will reimburse travel costs and will arrange local hospitality for the invited delegates.

The tribal population in India is at different levels of socio-economic development which represents an enormous diversity of groups. They vary among themselves with respect to language, ecological setting, resource base, level of transformation, modes of making their livelihood, level of development and social stratification. They are spread over the length and breadth of the country with 80 per cent of them residing in the 10 states of India viz., Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. About 15 per cent inhabit the North-Eastem region. These tribal-dominated areas are governed by two administrative arrangements in the constitution, namely the fifth and sixth scheduled areas.

Despite special provisions made for their development, the cherished dream of raising their socio- economic level at par with other populations still remains unfulfilled, on the contrary, the gap has even widened and 43.7 per cent of them still remain below the poverty line. Despite the fact that various programmes have been initiated by the governments to tackle the major problems related to tribal areas and the people, nevertheless, the focus on area-specific problems is still lacking. There are enormous region-specific complex issues related to mining, tourism, depletion of soil, water unavailability, encroachment, ethnic confrontation, displacement, power projects, development of wildlife parks, and other concerns. There are also distress caused by insurgency, forced migration, health, educational and livelihood issues in the tribal belts. Several micro-level studies conducted in different parts of the country point out that there are area-specific complex transformation processes at work in their respective areas that cannot be dealt with a one-size-fits-all kind of top-down approach. Voices are frequently been echoed by various political leaders and activists working in tribal areas that their area-specific issues, priorities and aspirations have not been adequately addressed within the current development process. The wide diversity within tribal areas entails that besides general developmental interventions, area-specific issues should also be considered while preparing the plans for different tribal regions.

Keeping into view the above issues in the background, Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain is organising a two-day National Seminar on Regional Issues of Tribal Development in India: Ground Realities, Policy Interventions and Desired Strategies.

Themes of the Seminar

• Identification and approaches towards regional issues in the tribal areas of the country.
• Social, political, economic and ecological dimensions of regional issues in the tribal areas and their solution, Political confrontations on regional issues, their causes, consequences, and remedies in the fifth and sixth schedule areas.
• Case studies on specific regional issues and the efficacy of existing government programmes operating in the area towards their solution.
• Role of civil society and action groups in voicing the cause of the people living in the tribal areas and their participation.

Desired interventions at the policy and execution level to properly address the problems in the tribal areas at the regional or local level.

MPISSR invites research papers for participation in the National Seminar. The paper presenters may consider focusing on any theme of the seminar.
All communications may please be sent to:

Submission of Abstract (150-250 words) along with Full Paper (4000-600 words) is expected on or before: October 21, 2024.

Contact: ma***********@gm***.com

Dr. Amit Tiwari, Seminar Co-Convener, MPISSR, Ujjain, E-mail: uj*****@gm***.com
Cell: 9617917954

Professor Y.G. Joshi, Seminar Convener, MPISSR, Ujjain E-mail: yg*******@ya***.in

Phone: 0734-2510978 E-mail: mp****@ya***.in , Web: www.mpissr.org