Monograph on Decivilisation, Displacement released
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 9: Dr. M. K. Teng Chair of the Jonaraja Institute of Genocide and Atrocities Studies (JIGAS) today released monograph “Decivilisation and Displacement – Indic perspective on Social Death”, authored by Dr. Dileep Kaul and Ravinder Gurtoo, at Writers Club, here.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Mahesh Kaul, Head of the Dr. M. K. Teng Chair of JIGAS, spoke on the institute’s expanding global footprint and the academic depth it has brought to genocide and atrocity studies. He highlighted that under the stewardship of Prof. Tito Ganju (Founder, JIGAS), Sunanda Vashisht (Chairperson, JIGAS), and Dr. Dileep Kaul (Director, JIGAS), the institute has evolved into a leading intellectual platform dedicated to chronicling genocide through an Indic civilisational lens.
Speaking about the newly released monograph, Dr. Dileep Kaul, Director of JIGAS and co-author, said that “the concept of social death, in the Indic context, is not merely the absence of life but the severance of a community’s sacred ties, its memory, geography, and spiritual continuity. This study attempts to reinterpret displacement as a civilisational rupture.”
Dr. Kaul announced the establishment of the martyr, Prem Nath. Bhat Chair, that will focus on the social, political, and legal dimensions of genocide and displacement. Behari Lal Kaul an well known social activist has been appointed as the Head of the Chair, while Vishvaranjan Pandita will serve as its Co-Head.
The first fellowship will carry a grant of Rs 50,000 and will be awarded for a SWOT-based study of Kashmiri Pandit leadership in the wake of the continual genocide, examining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in navigating the community’s political, social, and civilizational challenges.
Co-author, of the monograph, Ravinder Gurtoo, elaborated that “the work seeks to locate the Kashmiri Pandit experience within a framework that understands genocide as the dismemberment of culture, ethics, and belonging, not only the destruction of bodies but of meanings.”
Former MLC Surinder Ambardar praised the publication as “a civilisational intervention that reclaims agency for a people who have lived through systematic erasure.”
Dr. Arvind Karwani, Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation , who graced the occasion as chief guest, lauded the scholarly endeavour, remarking that “this monograph articulates the pain of displacement in the language of intellect.
The event was conducted by Nitin Dhar, who in his opening remarks observed that “JIGAS has become the living conscience of a people who refuse to let erasure become their history.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
