IMPHAL, March 17: A two-day long national seminar on “State, Civil Society and Social Movement in contemporary North East India – Approaches and Responses” was inaugurated today at the premises of the Department of Sociology, Manipur University.
The seminar is being sponsored by the ICSSR New Delhi.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the function, Prof Kshetri Rajendra Singh of the department said that the complex matrix of relationship between the State, civil societies and social movement is the cooperation and understanding among the different communities of the State on state issues.
He said there is a major trust deficit among the communities in the State which has only block the inclination to cooperate among the different communities when it comes to issues confronting the State.
He expressed that the department of sociology strives to bring a platform through seminars where different communities of the State could come together and exchange views for a united goal for the welfare of the State.
State issues should not be viewed as the problem of a certain single community, but rather it should be viewed as a problem of all communities, he said.
Communities should amicably settle all inter-community misunderstandings for the sake of the State, he said.
According to books on the subject he has read, the professor said the social movement is not a spontaneous event, but a process that may take years to attain its goal, a systematic continuous process that the members involved in the movement should be conscious of.
The inaugural function of the national seminar was also attended by MU vice chancellor Prof HNK Sarma; Prof Dipti Ranjan Sahu of Dept of Sociology, University of Lucknow; Prof Rakesh Batabyai of Centre for Media Studies, JNU New Delhi; Consultant to the Government of Manipur Dr RK Nimai Singh (Retd IAS); Dean, School of Social Sciences, MU Prof N Lokendra Singh as Chief Guest, Guests of Honour and President respectively.