Seminar with Goa University

Goa University, through the Sociology Programme and UGC Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion of the D.D. Kosambi School of Social Sciences and Behavioural Studies, in association with the Directorate of Tribal Welfare and Tribal Research Institute, Government of Goa, organized a One Day National Seminar on the theme “Tribal Societies and the Development Discourse in India.”

The seminar witnessed the participation of 11 faculty members, 99 students, and 37 external participants. Eminent resource persons including Prof. Virginius Xaxa and Prof. Sukant Chaudhari, Prof. N. Sukumar, Shri. Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar and Dr. Pandurang Phaldesai shared their expertise and insights on tribal societies, development policies, and social inclusion in India.

Objectives

The seminar was to address the key contemporary concerns of tribal communities, such as:

• Sustainable tribal development
• Tribal unrest
• Indigenous knowledge and its socio-cultural paradigms
• get eminent scholars of repute from the domain of indigenous studies to deliberate on the themes.

Key Outcomes

Across these sessions, certain common themes emerged:

• The necessity of balancing development with cultural preservation
• The invisibility of tribal voices in mainstream narratives
• The urgent need for more inclusive policies and academic engagements