Assam: GCU ties up with universities across Asia to organize major international conference
Assam: Girijananda Chowdhury University successfully conducted the first day of the International Conference on The Political, Economic and Cultural Pivots in the Past, Present and Future of Central, South and South-East Asia at its Guwahati campus on Tuesday.
The event is organized by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GCU, in collaboration with the Russian State University for Humanities, Moscow, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Moscow, and Kut University College, Iraq.
The conference commemorates 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Russia.
Academic experts and intellectuals from various parts of Asia are participating in the two-day conference, including guests from Russia, Israel, Iraq and Uzbekistan.
The conference is co-hosted by Dr. Vera Zabotkina, Vice Rector for International Cooperation, Russian State University for Humanities, Moscow.
Dr. Anisha Bordoloi, Department of History, GCU, convenor of this eclectic conference, commenced the proceedings on Tuesday by briefly elucidating the key themes.
Subsequently, Jasoda Ranjan Das, President of Shrimanta Shankar Academy Society, warmly welcomed the guests and participants.
Chancellor of GCU, Prof. Jayanta Deka, threw light on the historical context of the dominance of Asia in ancient and medieval times, and its resurgence in recent years.
Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kandarpa Das, highlighted the multiple international collaborations of GCU with universities in Russia, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Malaysia, which resulted in this major pan-Asian conference taking place at GCU.
The august occasion was graced by the presence of Dr. Arupjyoti Choudhury, Vice Chancellor of Madhabdev University and Dr. Siddharth Shankar, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University, Arunachal Pradesh.
The two dignitaries presented their perspectives on the potential benefits of wide-scale collaboration between India and other Asian nations as a means towards enhancing India’s global power and influence.
The inaugural session also featured Dr. Vera Zabotkina welcoming the guests of honour and participants of the conference in her address. The noted Padma Shri awardee, Prof. Tatiana Shaumyan, Head of the Centre for Indian Studies, Moscow, delivered the keynote speech on ‘India and Russia in a Multipolar World’.
Dr. Soulikha Allayarova, Pro-Rector of Dinov Institute of Entrepreneurship and Pedagogy, Uzbekistan, spoke about building bridges and promoting greater cooperation between India and Central Asia, Uzbekistan in particular.
Speakers from other parts of Asia included the eminent scholar Prof. Alexander Stolyarov from the Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Prof. Nivedita Das Kundu, a noted foreign policy analyst based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dr. Muthana Hameed Khalaf, Head of the English language department at Kut University College, Iraq, and Dr. Andrei Konkov from Sirius University, Sochi, Russia.
From India, Prof. V. Krishna Ananth, Dean of Social Sciences from Sikkim University, presented his insights at the plenary session on modernity, industrialization and democracy from a South Asian perspective.
The inaugural and plenary sessions were followed by a number of parallel sessions.
Scholars presented their papers on various dimensions of Asian politics, culture and economy from a range of perspectives.
The first day of the conference ended with a cultural evening consisting of vibrant song and dance performances by students of GCU.