CHANDIGARH: The 10th Chandigarh Social Science Congress (CHASSCONG) concluded today after a series of thought provoking academic sessions, featuring eminent social science scholars.
Noted Political Scientist, Professor Gurpreet Mahajan of Jawaharlal Nehru University delivered the valedictory address. In her address, Professor Mahajan discussed the future of social sciences given the challenges faced by the enterprise in contemporary times. She argued that the critical contribution of social sciences is its ability to think about the concepts and categories deployed to understand society. It is this exercise that allow us to develop new visions of the present and future and elaborate on the fundamental values of equality or justice. She deplored the marginalization of social sciences despite its critical relevance and lauded the efforts of the CHASSCONG in keeping alive important conversations on what constitutes a good life and a good society.
Students from 33 departments were awarded ‘Best Paper’ awards for their paper presentations.
The CHASSCONG coordinator Professor Pampa Mukherjee read out the Valedictory Report and highlighted the key takeaways from the three plenary sessions.
In her address, PU Dean University Instructions, Professor Rumina Sethi emphasised the necessity of social science disciplines in combating the challenges of authoritarianism and totalitarianism besetting the world today. She emphasised that it is the disciplines of social sciences and humanities which have developed the categories and concepts which have contested dominant discourses and structures of power at the local and global level.
Earlier in the day, the second plenary on the theme ‘Agrarian Economies and Human Development in North West India’ featured Professor Sukhpal Singh and Professor Amalendu Jyotishi as panelists and Professor Manjeet Singh as the Chair.
Professor Amalendu Jyotishi discussed the findings from Mission Antyodhya, which is publicly available and covers over 95 percent of India’s villages in the states of North West India. Based on this data and in particular 22 indicators, this research constructed a Rural Deprivation Index which indicated the availability of basic amenities necessary for quality of life. For each state, he presented district level data and emphasised the need for further research on the variance between districts, states and regions. The lecture underscored the transformative role of database-driven policymaking, aiding in strategic planning, resource allocation, and targeted interventions.
Professor Sukhpal Singh analysed the historical evolution of agricultural policy in India, and located the 2024 National Policy Framework for Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM) in this context. He highlighted the complexities of deregulating markets, and addressed the issues posed by the farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws. He laid out the contradictions in government policies where on the one hand it promotes the APMC markets and on the other hand assumes their inefficiency. He said that while the NPFAM framework recognizes infrastructural gaps and the need for a pan-India approach but lacks clarity on protecting farmers from price fluctuations and market volatility.
The third plenary was a vibrant session on ‘Gender and Human Development in North West India’ featuring Professors Anindita Datta, Jyoti Dogra and Anu Sablok as speakers and Professor Manvinder Kaur as the Chair.
Professor Anandita Datta’s talk titled ‘Saanja Chulha, Aapsi Madad’ emphasised the importance of feminist methodologies in social science research and showed how these methods allows for new insights on space in the context of the discipline of geography. She discussed the nature of feminist solidarities and everyday feminism that can be observed at the local level. She drew attention to the way crises, like the covid pandemic, helps understand these solidarities which transcend the barriers of caste and religion. This she said held out the hope for a better future.
Jyoti Dogra mapped various Supreme Court cases to highlight the intersection of law, justice, and gendered experiences. She distinguished between law and justice, stating that while justice originates in law, the two do not always align, especially in gender and reproductive rights matters. She pointed out that gender-neutral laws often fail to consider women's realities, making them problematic and called for a more inclusive legal framework that integrates reproductive health, workplace equity, and gender-sensitive reforms, stressing that while laws lay the foundation for justice, continuous revision is essential to truly uphold women’s rights and empowerment
Professor Anu Sablok examined the gendered embodiments of infrastructure planning and building and showed how such spaces reflect social power dynamics. She gave examples of hegemonic masculinities in both the builders and users of roads in the Himalayas such as bike riders, army supremacy, and rock construction. Roads, she argued, are not just physical structures but symbols that perform and sustain masculinity.