Venue: L.K. Ananta Krishna Iyer Hall, Taraknath Palit Shiksha Prangan
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Chair in Anthropology, University of Calcutta conducted a two-day international
seminar on “Relevance of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar in Contemporary Anthropology” to celebrate the
66th Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. This international seminar was held from 28 to 29
March 2022 at Taraknath Shiksha Prangan, Kolkata, West Bengal. The aforesaid seminar was fully
funded by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation as a part of its scheme “Dr. Ambedkar Scheme for Celebration
of Birth/Death Anniversary of Great Saints”. This international seminar was attended both offline and
online mode by various scholars, and dignitaries across the world. This international seminar was
dedicated to one of the great sons of the soil of India i.e., Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar has not
only been instrumental in bringing India thus far in its evolutionary journey. But also hold within them
the power and potential to enable Prime Minister Modi’s vision of activating India 2.0, as envisioned
in the Amrit Kaal.
The first day of the programme was initiated by garlanding a life-size portrait of Babasaheb Dr.
Ambedkar. This was done by the Chair Professor along with several senior and assistant professors of
the Department of Anthropology. The Inaugural session was chaired by Professor Subrata Sankar
Bagchi which started with a welcome speech given by the Head of the Anthropology Department Dr.
Arnab Das followed by a lecture given by keynote speaker Professor David Blundell, University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The second session was chaired by Dr. Kanchan Mukhopadhayay
wherein the list of speakers included Professor Debashis Debnath, Dr. Ambedkar Chair Professor,
Mhow; Professor Samir Kumar Das, Director of Institute of Foreign Policy Studies; and Sri Subhajit
Naskar, Assistant Professor of Jadavpur University. The third session was chaired by Professor Samir
Kumar Das wherein the list of speakers included Professor P.C. Joshi, former VC of the University of
Delhi; and Shri Pallikonda Manikanta, a Phule-Ambedkarite Activist. The 1st-day seminar session i.e.,
28th March 2022 ended with a cultural programme conducted by the scholars and students of the
Anthropology Department, University of Calcutta.
The second day of the programme commenced with the same fervour as the first day of the
international seminar. The first session of the second day was chaired by Professor Dipak Kumar
Midya, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University wherein the list of the
speakers included Professor Debi Chatterjee; Dr. Joseph M.T., Assistant Professor in Sociology,
University of Mumbai; Dr. Mursed Alam, Assistant Professor, Gour College, University of Gour Banga;
and Dr. Ravikant Kisana, Assistant Professor, Flame University. All lectures given by the aforesaid
speakers were able to inculcate new thoughts on Dr. Ambedkar due to the responses evident during
the interactive sessions at the end of the seminar. The valedictory session was chaired by Professor
Debi Chatterjee wherein the valedictory address was given by Professor Abhijit Guha, Former
Professor of Vidyasagar University. At the very end of the programme, Professor Abhijit Guha handed
over his latest book “Encountering Land Grab” to Dr. Arnab Das, Head of the Department, Department
of Anthropology, University of Calcutta.
All in all, the event was well attended physically and virtually by people from different walks of life
across West Bengal. The entirety of the international seminar was conducted on Google Meet and was
also live-streamed on YouTube. The lectures given by various speakers are still available on the
YouTube channel. The event was grandly successful on a large scale due to the active participation of
the students, scholars and the teachers associated with the department.