[Assam] IIT conference mulls fresh vision on N-E (The Telegraph, 18.01.2008)

[Buljit Buragohain]

        IIT conference mulls fresh vision on N-E
    A STAFF REPORTER                 Panelists at the conference in Guwahati on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections   Guwahati, Jan. 17: A two-day conference on Northeast India and its Trans-national Neighbourhood began today at IIT, Guwahati.
  The Asian Borderlands Research Network has organised the conference, co-sponsored by the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, International Institute for Asian Studies, the Netherlands and Panos South Asia.
  Scholars from abroad and from different parts of the country are participating in the conference.
  Assam power and industries minister Pradyut Bordoloi, who was the chief guest, said the past was no model for the Northeast’s future.
  “The Northeast has always been considered as a conflict zone for ages but in the current era of geopolitics, we can convert that disadvantage into an advantage,” Bordoloi said at the inaugural function.
  Sanjib Baruah, convenor of the conference, who is associated with the Centre for Policy Research and considered an expert on issues concerning the Northeast, said the region needs to be viewed in conjunction with its neighbouring countries.
  “There are many aspects of the Northeast that would make sense if considered from a trans-national perspective. Yet the current organisation of academic knowledge seems ill-equipped to address the intellectual challenges of such an approach,” he said. 
  The interdisciplinary conference has brought together scholars, policy makers, as well as visual artists and others involved in the material and visual representation of the region.
  Gautam Baruah, director of IIT Guwahati, said one of the biggest problems in the Northeast was the lack of capital. He requested Bordoloi for help to develop a research community, as there is an urgent need to encourage researchers in subjects like history and political science. 
   
  (The Telegraph,18.01.2008)



       
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