2-Day NWISA Conference on Contemporary Issue in North West India: Challenges and Strategies

Chandigarh, February 25, 2019: A two day National North West Indian Sociological Association (NWISA) Conference on Contemporary Issue in North West India: Challenges and Strategies was organized by the Department of Sociology, Panjab University(PU), Chandigarh. Prof.Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, PU in his presidential address stressed upon the need for integration of social and natural sciences. He advocated that social scientist must collaborate with all other discipline and come up with the policy level interventions. Prof Shankarji Jha, Dean of University Instructions in his address focussed on the need of looking for Indian problems from an indological perspective rather than western perspective. Prof A. K. Joshi, Head Department of Sociology from BHU, Varanasi, in his keynote address focused on the problems and burning issues in the North-Western states like Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Chandigarh. Professor Joshi stressed on the need to care of elderly, to formulate policies for the welfare of aged. He warned that everybody must plan his or her old age, and we must be sensitized that there are lots of problem related to ageing population. Further, the issues relating to health, well being, violence and negligence must be understood in terms of their relation with drug abuse, female foeticide and infanticide. Prof Sanjay Kaushik, Director ICSSR appreciated the Department of Sociology for hosting conference on contemporary social, political and economic issues in North West India. Prof Debal Singh Roy, from Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi in his Valedictory Address explained the changing contours of identity in society due to the contradiction visible in the parochial and legal identities. Professor Rajesh Gill, Member Syndicate and President of PUTA in her presidential remarks, dwelt over the need for recognition of diversities within the North West Indian states. The concluding remarks were made by Prof Davinder Singh from Law Department. He appreciated Prof Kumool Abbi, Chairperson and Seminar Coordinator and members of organizing committee for the success of the conference. The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates which included teachers, research scholars and students. In all more than 90 research papers were presented in seven different technical sessions. Dr Bhup Singh, President, Dr Mohinder Slariya, General Secretary and Dr Manoj Kumar, Treasurer NWISA alongwith several well-known sociologists from the region were present during the conference.