HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, Dec 15: The department of English at Tezpur University is currently organising an International Conference on ‘Crisis In/ And South Asian Literature in English’ from December 14 to 16, 2023, with support from the North Eastern Council (NEC). The inaugural session took place in the Council Hall of Tezpur University, featuring Prof Shambhu Nath Singh, vice chancellor of Tezpur University, as the chief guest, and Prof Farheena Danta and Prof Mrinmoy Kr Sarma as guests of honour.
During his inaugural address, Prof Shambhu Nath Singh highlighted the rich history of the South Asian region and emphasised the multitude of factors, including social, historical, political, and ecological, that have given rise to various crises in the region. He commended the department of English for facilitating a cross-cultural dialogue between various cultures of the region and expressed that “every crisis is an opportunity for literary exploration,” citing examples from significant works on the Indian partition.
The first keynote address, titled ‘Crisis as Normality: Some observations with particular reference to South Asia’, was delivered by Prof Kaiser Haq from the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Prof Haq discussed how South Asian literature has contributed to the global understanding of a changing world. He said that literature from South Asian countries, such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and India, has produced powerful English works that capture the nuances of the various crises faced by the region.
Prof Farheena Danta, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), expressed that the conference aims to explore how literature reflects, responds to, and anticipates moments of crisis by analysing literary texts within their social, political, and historical contexts.
Over the next three days, academicians and research scholars from India, Bangladesh, and the USA will delve into the intricate relationship between crisis and South Asian literature during the technical sessions. Key figures include Prof Ranjan Ghosh of the University of North Bengal, Prof Amit R Baishya of the University of Oklahoma, and Prof Abhijit Gupta of Jadavpur University. The conference serves as a platform for in-depth discussions on the literary exploration of crises in the South Asian context.
