Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 28: Environmental Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity Studies, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU), in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Regional Centre Jammu, organized a thought-provoking two-day national seminar titled “Astha, Parampara aur Prakriti: Exploring the Sacred Continuum of Faith, Tradition, and Nature among the Bakarwal Community.”
Abhishek Sharma, Registrar, BGSBU, graced the inaugural session as the chief guest and underscored the urgent need to preserve and promote indigenous knowledge systems that are rapidly eroding in the face of modernisation, climate change, and cultural homogenisation.
He emphasized that the Bakarwal community embodies a sustainable way of life, deeply rooted in ecological balance and spiritual wisdom. “Their traditions are not relics of the past, but living systems of knowledge that offer critical lessons in environmental conservation, resilience, and community cohesion,” he noted.
Dr Shreekar Pant, Director, CBS said that the event aimed to shed light on the intricate tapestry of beliefs, traditional practices, and ecological knowledge that define the cultural life of the nomadic Bakarwal community of the Western Himalayas.
Dr Shruti Awasthi, Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Regional Centre Jammu, in her address, stated that the Bakarwal community represents a living archive of Himalayan wisdom — their seasonal mobility, oral traditions, and sacred relationship with the land form a unique lens through which we must view sustainable living.
Professor M K Waqar, renowned academician; Dr Bhanu Kumar Vats, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi; Dr Harish Dutt, Assistant Professor, University of Jammu; Dr Danish Iqbal Raina, Assistant Professor and Brajesh Jha, Senior Journalist also addressed.
Dr Shachi Sood, Assistant Professor, Department of English, conducted proceedings of the program while Dr Mamta Bhat, Coordinator, Department of Environmental Sciences presented vote of thanks.
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