BOOK DISCUSSION ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF TEA TRIBES : FEASIBILITY AND REALITY

Indian Research Scholars Association organized a discussion on Dr. Anil Kumar Biswas’s book ‘Right to Education of Tea Garden Tribes: Feasibility and Reality’ on 29th June at 5 pm. It has been written by Dr. Anil Kumar Biswas in which he has included many dimensions related to the tribes. This book is based on primary facts. Eminent scholars of India were invited in this book discussion who threw light on this book in detail. This book discussion session was chaired by Prof. Geeta Dharmapal (Retd.), Dean of Research at Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra; former Head of History Department at South Asian Institute at Heidelberg University and Governing Council Member, ICCSR, New Delhi. Prof. Biswajit Ghosh, eminent sociologist and former Vice Chancellor, Burdwan University, West Bengal was present as the Chief Guest in this session while Prof. Bhavana Pandey Principal, Dyal Singh Evening College – Delhi University was present. The author of the book Dr. Anil Kumar Biswas and four main panelists were present, including Prof. Ramakrishnan Dharmar, Dean of Arts Faculty Professor and Head of Political Science Department, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, Prof. Prasanna Kumar Panigrahi Professor, Department of Political Science Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Gagan Bihari Sahu, Acting Director, Centre for Social Studies, Gujarat and Prof. Jyotiraj Pathak Professor, Political Science, Bodoland University, Assam. All these panelists discussed all the dimensions of the book and explained each aspect. Program coordinator Vikas Kumar (Research Scholar, Department of Political Science and Human Rights, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak) welcomed everyone in the beginning and presented the objectives of the book discussion to everyone. All the members of the executive committee of this programme including – Ashwani Kumar, Research Scholar, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, Mrs. Asha Rajpurohit, Assistant Professor, Government College, Sailana, Rekha Yadav, Assistant Professor, Hindu Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Sitapur, Lucknow University, Rifa Tabassum, Aligarh Muslim University, Sunita V Yadav, Research Scholar at D.T.S.S College Mumbai, Maharashtra, Brijesh Chandra Srivastava, Research Scholar at Central University Haryana, and Anjana Thakur, Research Scholar, Central University Himachal Pradesh played their roles. At the beginning, Prof. Geeta started her lecture by congratulating all the members of Indian Research Scholars in the presidential address. She said that education has not yet spread very fast in this community. A large section of this community, especially those having Scheduled Tribe status in other states of India and living mainly in rural areas other than tea gardens, prefer to call themselves “Adivasis”, while the tribes of Assam included in the Scheduled Tribes are known as Janjati. Members of many tea garden communities are tribal communities such as Munda, Santhal, Kurukh, Gond and Bhumij. They are demanding Scheduled Tribe status in Assam but the tribal organizations of Assam are against it, resulting in many clashes between them. As the chief guest, Prof. Ghosh said that these tribal people working in the tea gardens live in different parts of Assam and are also voters here. Not only tribals but many other people who work here struggle for their daily livelihood. Prof. Bhavana said that the major problems of the tribes of the central region of India include poverty, underdevelopment and discrimination. Despite intense industrial activity in the region, a large number of tribals are unemployed. Most of them make a living by farming or cattle rearing and a small percentage is involved in petty business. Apart from this, the four panelists discussed the minute details of each chapter of the book and also compiled the problems faced in tribal areas. Finally, the program concluded with thanks. Research scholars from different parts of India were present in it.