National seminar on diaspora, homeland held in Panipat

A one-day national seminar on ‘Diaspora, memory and homeland: Stories of belonging and loneliness’ was organised on Saturday at Arya PG College, Panipat, under the joint auspices of the department of English and the Haryana Directorate of Higher Education. The seminar explored the relationship between literature and society through discussions on migration, identity and memory.

Surendra Shingala, Chairman of the Arya College Managing Committee, Vice-Chairman Virendra Shingala and College Principal Prof Jagdish Gupta welcomed the speakers and researchers.

The programme began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the chief guest, Dr Ashok Kumar, Principal of MN College, Shahabad Markanda. In his address, Dr Kumar said diaspora was not merely geographical displacement but a continuous process of living with memories. “The pain of being cut off from one’s roots and the struggle to adapt to a new environment give birth to literature,” he said.

In his message, Surendra Shingala said such seminars enhanced students’ intellectual capacity and helped them understand global social conditions through discussions on contemporary themes such as diaspora.

The keynote speaker, Prof Ravi Bhushan from Bhagat Phool Singh Women’s University, explained the concept of “homeland”, stating that migrants often remained in conflict between two worlds, with memories acting as a bridge between past and present.

Dr Sachin N, Associate Professor at Dayal Singh College, served as the resource person and spoke on the technical and emotional dimensions of diaspora literature, highlighting themes of loneliness and identity crisis. He said that in the global age, diaspora narratives were not merely laments but also stories of new cultural encounters.

Prof Gupta said the search for homeland in literature was essentially a search for oneself and congratulated the Department of English for successfully organising the seminar.

Prof Barati Biswas of Delhi University elaborated on conflicts within the Bengali diaspora and the idea of homeland in national and international contexts. College Vice-Principal Anuradha Singh moderated the technical sessions, while the proceedings were conducted by Prof Sonia Soni and Manvi.

Among those present were Dr Meenal Talas, Dr Vijay Singh, Dr Akram Khan, Prof Suman Shingala, Deepak, Prof Rekha, Neha, Mamta, Nikita, Dimple, Pankaj and other staff members.