Over 750 academicians cutting across different disciplines will critically analyse 300 presentations in 14 distinct streams at the fifth edition of the Kerala History Congress, which will begin at Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) in Kottayam on Thursday.
The three-day meet will deliberate on a multitude of multi-disciplinary human interactions and encompass technical sessions on subjects including film and media, art, architecture, literature, historiography, archaeology, anthropology, and higher education.
Kapil Raj, Director, School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, PSL University (France), will inaugurate the event. Rajan Gurukkal, president, Kerala History Congress, will preside. Kesavan Veluthat, general president-elect of the Indian History Congress, will be honoured on the occasion.
Sabu Thomas, Vice Chancellor, MGU, R. Mahalakshmi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, B. Kemal Pasha, former High Court judge, and M.H. Ilias, working chairman, KHC, will speak.
A special session on ‘Higher education in India - crisis and crossroads’, to be attended by Amat Pullarkkat (JNU), Ladeeda Farzana (Jamia Millia Islamia), Aisha Abdul Kader (TISS, Mumbai), and Aslam Naslim (MGU), is one of the key events on the inaugural day.
On the second day, Viju B. of Times of India will speak on Western Ghats, ecology flood and history to be followed by Varghese K George of The Hindu on citizenship, secularism and federalism.
Nanditha Banerjiee of the University of Burdwan will reflect on the history of film industry. A tribal intellectual collective session will be handled by Bipin Jojo, Alex Akhup, Bhangya Bukhya and Virginus Xaxa.
On the concluding day, a special session on Gandhiji, to be led by Rakesh Batabyal (JNU), Abdul Razak (Calicut University) and Rekha Raj (MG University), will be held. The session on ‘History and contemporary Kerala’ will be managed by K.N. Ganesh, T.T. Sreekumar and K.S. Madhavan. The valedictory session will have Batabyal and C.T. Aravindakumar, Pro Vice Chancellor, MGU, as speakers.
