44th Annual Meet and International Conference of Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG)
Date: Jan 22, 2024 | Time: | Venue/Mode:
The three-day International Conference and Annual Meet of the Institute of Indian Geographers held at Cotton University ended on January 24, 2024. The conference saw a turnout of 367 participants from different parts of India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Prof Emerita Pua Bar Kutiel of Ben-Gurion University, Israel, presented the keynote address at the inaugural ceremony. In her speech, Prof Kutiel deliberated on the ecological implications of climate change in the eastern Mediterranean region. A 454-page abstract volume and a 96-page conference souvenir were released by Prof Ramesh Chandra Deka, Vice Chancellor, Cotton University, president of IIG- Professor Sachidanand Sinha, and other dignitaries.
The 44th edition of IIG has introduced the Prof Aijazuddin Ahmed Memorial Lecture, the first of which was delivered by Prof Atiya Kidwai. The former JNU Professor’s speech had elements of autobiography; she recalled her 50 years with her co-wanderers, notable among them being Prof Munis Raza in the task of planting and shaping the Centre for the Study of Regional Development as it stands today. This centre has contributed to the overall changing perspective of the subject, from the study of mountains and rivers to the study of regional inequality, deprivation, and disparity, where generations of scholars have researched and contributed tremendously to the development of social geography in India. The lecture was chaired by author and historian Prof Sohail Hashmi. It was a well-attended one and ended with a standing ovation from the audience.
Among the invited lectures and chairs of technical sessions were Prof Udoy Saikia, Flinders University; Dr Rituparna Bhattacharyya, Senior Fellow, Advance HE, UK; Prof Rejaur Rahman, University of Rajshahi, Mujobor Rahman, Khulna University; Prof Khin Mar Yee, University of Yangon, and Prof Tulshi Kumar Das from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet are few notable ones.