Schedule of Services
It is a fact that conceptualizing the idea of India has been processed predominantly through the lenses of the dominant class/castes. To use the analogy of Mahatma Phuley, thinking about India represents the nexus of the higher castes and the higher classes, where the process of the production and reproduction of knowledge have only attempted to preserve their own privileges in academics and policy domains. The methodologies adopted and naturalized hardly address the concerns of the vast masses that have been supposedly the lower order of society by dint of their birth. This is either trapped into female bodies or have been relegated into political minorities. Hence, these vast constituencies in the mainstream academia as well as in the policy hardly remain the main-stay of discussion but are relegated to separate sections conceptualized in forms of 'social justice', 'gender justice' or the 'minority discourse'. This methodological positioning insulates the general formulation of the policy devoid of these sections and initiates a discourse at the margins for these constituencies, despite the fact that they represent the majority sections of Indian communities.
It is because of this side-tracking the perspectives generated from these communities hardly find a preponderant place in the communities of academic and policy circles who ultimately decide to recognize the academic worth and value as a national discourse. Most often, having considered the lower classes as appendages to the mainstream idea, it poses a challenge to the conventional thinking and framework of analysis.
Exclusion from mainstream fails to realise the conditions in which these communities are located and rather impose the epistemological as well as the ontological positions which hardly encapsulates their existence. The disciplinary discourse in India about politics represents the dominant idea of the upper caste/class polity which in turn remains deficient to recognise their rights and justice.
The fulfillment and actualization of such values being rhetoric only based upon the Eurocentric notions becomes a staple feed for class-room studies. The Sociology in India hardly touches upon the analysis as to why such a stratification takes place which serves the interests only of the few in the higher strata of social order. It hardly questions the values and the norms if these strata are instilled as the values of Indian society. Both the politics and sociology are immune in terms of representation of the voices from below as authentic for generalization. The grounds of historical studies have eventually turned out to be grounds of the burial of the histories and narratives of masses, largely legitimizing the political and cultural exploits of the upper castes, presenting the homogeneous civilizational history of India.
The dalit-bahujan barely become the subject of history and their historical subordination does not find any place in the mainstream historical perspectives. Similarly is the political economy of the country, devoid of any perspective that can reflect upon those structural and functional aspects of the Indian economy that affects the production and distribution of wealth and worth.
On the other hand the sciences too in India suffer from the upper caste orthodoxy. The privileges of science studies as well as the benefits accruing out of it have been hegemonised for the limited upper castes or the classes. India hardly has any mass science perspective, neither its science is geared from within the context of the vast disparities as well as the needs of the historically disadvantaged. The high science pursued from the perspective of national security & interest does not address significant components of national strength that is located within its human capital. It must be concluded that the Indian science reflects a caste outlook preserving the privileges of the few at State expenditure. It is undoubtable that globalization and bang of information in India is not bridging the disparities but creating new, both of the material wealth, opportunities and digital divide.
The Conference includes themes from Social Sciences, Humanities, Science & Technology Policy & Management. Core attention shall be given to these from the perspectives of the dalits, adivasis, backward classes, women and the minorities integral with the following concerns:
- The dalit/bahujan, adivasis, women and minorities are the vast real constituencies which should be the central subject of discourse within the academia as well as policy circles.
- The academic credentials are worth the discourse if they are able to put centrally the problems that these constituencies face and work out rigorously qualitative as well as quantitative perspectives that address their concerns.
- The perspectives these communities bring while problematizing the ideas of India are the most authentic voices and reflect their own vision of the present India where they are the important segments and subject of discussion.
- These perspectives from below represent the mainstream thought of India as a nation. The representation of such outlooks in the mainstream Indian life will only represent their aspirations from the idea of India they conceive.