Report on the
conference
The 15th International conference of MELOW was
held from 19th to 21st February 2016. Organised with the
collaboration of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University on the theme “Towards
Praxis: Literature, Society and Politics,” it provided a platform for
blending, countering and exchanging diverse ideas prevalent in academic
circles. The conference comprised approximately thirty sessions in which
approximately 120 reputed academicians and scholars from various universities
made presentations. The welcome address in the inaugural session was delivered
by the Vice chancellor, Professor Anil Tyagi. Professor Anup Beniwal, Dean of
USHSS, addressed the gathering. This was followed by the presidential remarks of
Professor Sushila Singh. The keynote speaker, Professor Harish Narang dwelt on
the impact of globalisation on literature, focusing on literature and political
commitment, thus setting the tone for further discussions around the same ideas.
There were parallel sessions chaired by eminent professors from
across the country. The winner of this year’s ISM award, Saidul Haque,
presented a paper on cartoons as a colonial tool for subverting the identity of
the colonized. Professor T. N. Dhar, in the special Isaac Sequeira Memorial
Lecture, discussed the role of imbibing historical consciousness through the
medium of novels and elaborated on the dual function of history and fiction in
rewriting the past. Prof Malashri Lal presided over the valedictory session,
summing up the key issues discussed in the conference. She also distributed
certificates of participation to all the delegates.
A colorful cultural programme was organized by the students
of Indraprastha University under the direction of Prof. Ashutosh Mohan,
showcasing the talent of the students in song, dance and drama. The cooperation
from the host department was commendable, coordinated by Profs Manpreet Kang
and Vivek Sachdeva. Overall, the conference proved to be a potential catalyst
in arousing consciousness among young scholars, generating a democratic and
academic networking among voices emerging from different parts of the nation.
A General Body Meeting of the members of MELOW was held in
order to discuss future plans of the association. The following decisions were
taken:
1.
Accounts
for FY 2014-15 were presented and passed.
2.
Revised Membership
Fee w. e. f. 1 April 2016:
Annual (1 April-31 March) -Rs. 500
10 years: Rs. 4,000
3.
Delegate fee not to be charged from retired
senior professors. Concessional fee for delegates from Nepal and other
SAARC countries.
4.
Publication of Journal
to be discontinued. Instead the possibility of Book publication and
E-publication to be explored. Members interested in doing editorial work
may send an expression of interest to the Secretary.
5.
Active Membership drive to be undertaken. Areas with little
representation, e.g., the Southern States, Maharashtra, North-east, etc, to be
targeted. Foreign participation to be enhanced.
6.
Refund
policy for no-shows at the conference: No fee will be
refunded, except in cases of Emergency (at the discretion of the Executive
Body).
7.
Next
Conference: The Theme, “Literature, Myth and History”
put forward for consideration by Prof Ashis Sengupta in the General Body.
Detailed proposal will be circulates soon. Suggestions are also invited from
other members for theme, venue and date, before the final decision is taken.
8.
MELOW members to explore the possibility of holding
shorter seminars/workshops at
different venues. Proposals may be sent to the Secretary for prospective host
institutions.
9.
The following MELOW
Office Bearers (1 April 2016 onwards) were appointed unanimously:
President: Prof Anil
Raina (Chandigarh)
Vice-President: Dr Vijay
Sharma (Delhi)
Secretary: Prof Manju
Jaidka (Chandigarh)
Jt. Secretary: Prof Manpreet Kaur
(Delhi)
Treasurer: Dr Meenu Gupta
(Chandigarh)
Executive Members:
1. Prof Sushila
Singh (Varanasi)
2. Prof Ashis
Sengupta (Darjeeling)
3. Prof
Debarati Bandopadhyay (Kolkata)
4. Prof
Ravichandran (Kanpur)
5. Dr Roshan
Sharma (Dharamshala)
6. Dr Seema
Bhupendra (Rajasthan)
7. Dr RG
Kulkarni (Shangli)
8. Dr Neela
Sarkar (Kolkata)
9. Dr Jyoti
Mishra (Chattisgarh)
10. Dr Vandhana
Sharma (Jammu)
Advisory Board (added later, after getting their consent):
Giorgio Mariani (University of
Sapienza, Rome, Italy)
Shirley Geok Lim (University of California,
SantaBarbara)
Rajeshwari Pandharipande
(University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA)
Mukesh Williams (Soka University,
Japan)
Pawel Jędrzejko (University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland)
