Director

About us:

Vidyasagar University is located in a socio-economically backward district of West Bengal. A substantial number of students of the University belong to the socio-economically disadvantaged groups, mainly the tribal communities like Santal, Lodha, Kota, Ho, Munda, Sabar etc. This Centre caters to the needs of the tribal students at large who want to pursue higher studies and engage in research activities related to the fields including tribal literature, art and culture. The museum houses rare tribal artefacts that are objects of special academic interests for scholars pursuing research in cultural studies and anthropology. The non-tribal students derive benefit from this centre by studying in the fields of Adivasi literature and culture and other allied disciplines along with the tribal students. Thus, the centre provides a space for an intimate exchange between two forms of culture – the mainstream and the marginal, and resists the privileging of the former over the latter.

Vision:

The Adivasi Studies is no longer an ‘other’ in the domain of academic research. At present, it is a field of much interest to the academicians all over the world. The Centre for Adivasi Studies at Vidyasagar University offers courses in research and awards degrees and certificates in the related field. The Centre regularly organizes conferences/workshops to spread new ideas in the field of Adivasi Studies. The Centre invites experts from different parts of the country and beyond to shape the future course of Adivasi Studies. The Centre collaborates with allied centres/study circles across the country for the promotion of Adivasi Studies.

Objectives:

1. The students/researchers attached to the centre make extensive field-trips to the tribal-dominated villages to collect texts and artefacts which will be essential for the understanding of Adivasi art, literature and worldview.
2. The texts are documented and translated into the target languages including Bangla, Hindi and English.
3. The texts are assessed as cultural texts and analysed from a linguistic point of view.
4. The cultural performances of the tribal communities which represent their seasonal festivals, social rites and rituals among other things are properly recorded and documented with a view to creating a state-of-the-art digital archive.
5. The centre envisages to undertake the study of tribal communities in holistic perspective.