ANTHROPOLOGY

The UN Human Development Report (1994), states that „Sustainable human development is a development paradigm that not only generates economic growth but distributes its benefits equitably that regenerates the environment rather than destroying it; that empowers people rather than marginalising them. It gives priority to the poor, enlarging their choices and opportunities, and provides for their participation in decisions affecting them. It is development that is pro-poor, pro-nature, pro-jobs, pro-democracy, pro-women, and pro-children‟. The concept of development is subjective and varies from the vantage point of various stakeholders involved in this process. The government machinery and neo-liberal influenced market push for understanding development from an economic point of view. Though economic development is the key point for the whole process of development, however, it cannot be the only yardstick to measure the understanding of the process of development. The United Nations came up with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide the world’s nations in the overall development of human beings. Anthropology, with its varied branches and holistic approach, understands the intricacies of the process of development. Most often, the developmental approach of Anthropology aligns with the SDGs and also with the Indian Government‟s various initiatives through policies and programs aimed at developing our people. It becomes imperative to understand not from a top-down approach, but making people part of the decision-making and implementation process would yield better results and the results that are desired by the target group. Visva-Bharati as an institution founded by “Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore” and his notion of development was basically the all round development of human being, where economy and moral development is treated as inevitable parts of sustainable development. The development should be able to address the issues of indigenous communities, women, children and other marginalized groups.
In this context, the proposed International Conference calls for papers that are scientific and original contributions of the scholars. The international conference will be held at the Department of Anthropology, Vidya Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal. The conference will be organised in collaboration with the Indian Anthropological Society, Kolkata. The Abstracts for the papers are expected in the following themes (but not limited to).
PROPOSED THEMES
 Developmental Anthropology or Anthropology of Development
 Anthropology of the Development of Women and Children
 Anthropology of the Development of Indigenous Communities
 Development Issues Pertaining to Specific Eco-cultural Regions
 Anthropology of the Development of Religious and Linguistic Minorities
 Anthropology of Sustainability beyond Development and Progress Discourses.
 Biological Anthropology and Its Contribution to Human Development
 Issues on Human Development: Anthropo-archaeological Approaches
 IKS and Human Development
 Any other topic related to the theme