Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Contribution in Anthropology

INVITATIONINTERNATIONAL SEMINARONDr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Contribution in AnthropologyMarch 29 th - 31 st , 2012Organized ByCentre for Dr. Ambedkar StudiesCentre for Buddhist StudiesVenueMahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya,Gandhi Hills,Wardha-442005, MaharashtraWebsite: www.hindivishwa.org

Concept NoteDr. B.R.Ambedkar presented his paper "Castes in India: TheirMechanism, Genesis and Development" at an Anthropology seminar (1916),in which he started with the following statement: “I need hardly remind youof the complexity of the subject I intend to handle. Subtler minds and ablerpens than mine have been brought to the task of unraveling the mysteries ofCaste; but unfortunately it still remains in the domain of the "unexplained,"not to say of the "un-understood." I am quite alive to the complex intricaciesof a hoary institution like Caste, but I am not so pessimistic as to relegate itto the region of the unknowable, for I believe it can be known. The casteproblem is a vast one, both theoretically and practically. Practically, it is aninstitution that portends tremendous consequences. It is a local problem, butone capable of much wider mischief, for "as long as caste in India doesexist, Hindus will hardly intermarry or have any social intercourse withoutsiders; and if Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian castewould become a world problem." Theoretically, it has defied a great manyscholars who have taken upon themselves, as a labour of love, to dig into itsorigin. Such being the case, I cannot treat the problem in its entirety. Time,space and acumen, I am afraid, would all fail me, if I attempted to dootherwise than limit myself to a phase of it, namely, the genesis, mechanismand spread of the caste system. I will strictly observe this rule, and willdwell on extraneous matters only when it is necessary to clarify or support apoint in my thesis…………….Ethnically all people are heterogeneous. It is the unity of culture thatis the basis of homogeneity. Taking this for granted, I venture to say thatthere is no country that can revive Indian Peninsula with respect to the unityof this culture. It has not only a geographic unity, but it has over and aboveall a deeper and a much more fundamental unity- the indubitable cultureunity that covers the land from end to end.”Before Dr. Ambedkar there were several sociologists andanthropologists who studied the Indian social system. But the credit shouldgo to him for a comprehensive theoretical articulation on the caste system.His early writings were under the umbrella of anthropology. In 1916 hepresented his thesis on the caste system, entitled “Castes in India: Theirmechanism, Genesis and Development”. The thesis was presented in theAnthropology Seminar at Columbia University in N.Y. Half a century ago;

Dr. Ambedkar surveyed the existing data on the physicalanthropology of the different castes in his book The Untouchables. Hefound that the received wisdom of a racial basis of caste was not supportedby the data. He was a great anthropologist. His writings on Indian socialsystem are of anthropological perspective. There are countless books,articles and research papers of Dr. Ambedkar on social and cultural system.____________________________________Anthropology SeminarofDr. A. A. Goldenweizer atThe Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. on 9th May 1916Source: Indian Antiquary, May 1917, Vol. XLI________________________________________________________Under this background some of the thrust areas and sub themes of theseminar are.1) Study of caste2) Caste Annihilation3) Dr. Ambedkar’s theory of “The Broken Men”.4) Untouchability and Slavery: Which is worst?5) Any other related theme.

Abstracts and PapersThe paper will be in English and Hindi. The abstract, not exceeding 300words typed in MS Word (Font- Times New Roman, Size-12), (KrutiDev/Unicode FontSize-14) mentioning title, name(s) of author(s) andaddress should reach via e-mail dr.ambedakaranthropology@gmail.comby March 25 th 2012.RegistrationRegistration is compulsory for all delegates. There will be on-the-spotregistration for outstation delegates. For all the local delegates, last date forregistration is March 25 th , 2012. Registration fee is Rs 600/- for allparticipants.About the University and DepartmentsMahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya is a centraluniversity established in 1997 with a view to enrich Hindi language andliterature by teaching and research. There are four schools in the universityviz- School of Culture, School of Literature, School of Language and Schoolof Translation and Interpretation. The Centre for Dr. Ambedkar Studies andCentre for Buddhist Studies comes under the School of Culture.About the cityThe Prayer of Sewagram, march of Paunar and the Ashti’s Revolutinaryfreedom is nothing but the soul of Wardha District. As of the other districtsin Maharashtra State, though Wardha District is smaller in area but greaterwith its fame. In the year 1934, Mahatma Gandhi came at Wardha. Heselected the Segao as his functioning land with Shri Jamanalal Bajaj. Furtherthe Segaon renamed as Sewagram. Afterward Wardha district is found moreimportant not only in India but in World also.In Indian freedom movement,Sewagram and Wardha District became immortal. As per the Gandhiji’sdirections, Aacharya Vinoba Bhave settled at Paunar and constituted theAshram on the bank of river Dham at the Wardha-Nagpur road.Wardhadistrict is situated at Western side of Wardha-Vainganga vallies in South -East Maharashtra. District is covered with Satpuda Hills at the north whereas Western side is occupied by the vallies of river Purna. The plane Plato ofthe Nagpur District is at Eastern side where as the river Wardha flows fromthe boundaries of the North, West and South.

How to reach the venue?Wardha bus stand and railway station is about 6 Kms. from theuniversity campus. The Sevagram railway station is around 8 Kms &Nagpur railway station is 80 Kms from the campus. Railway services arefrequently available from Nagpur railway station to Sevgram and Wardha.PatronShri Vibhuti Narayan RaiVice ChancellorCo- PatronProf. A. ArvindakshanPro- Vice ChancellorAdvisory CommitteeDr. Kailash Khamre,Prof. K.K.Singh, Prof.B.M.MukherjeeSeminar ConvenerProf. M. L. KasareOrganizing SecretariesDr.Nisheeth Rai, Dr.Surjeet K.Singh,Virendra P.Yadav,Ravi Shankar Singh,Ram Gopal Meena ,Laxman Prasad.ContactsEmail: dr.ambedakaranthropology@gmail.comMob. 09545200077, 09579879402,09923766299