TURA, March 2: Renowned scholars, researchers, and linguists from across India and abroad converged to explore various aspects of Tibeto-Burman linguistics, with a special focus on the languages and cultures of the Northeast, at the 5th International Conference of Tibeto-Burman Linguistics Association of North East India (ICTiBLANEI-5), organised by the Department of Garo, NEHU, Tura, in collaboration with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), NEHU, Shillong,
The conference concluded recently at the Department of Garo, NEHU, Tura Campus, Tura.
The conference was a resounding success due to the dedicated efforts of key organisers — Dr Dokatchi Ch Marak and Dr Amanda Aski Macdonald Momin — and the faculty, staff, and research scholars of the Department of Garo, NEHU, Tura Campus.
Secretary of TiBLANEI and Assistant Professor at Assam University, Silchar, Dr Monali Longmailai, gave an insightful speech about the goals and vision of TiBLANEI. This was followed by a speech by the guest of honour, Dr Aleendra Brahma, Committee Member of TiBLANEI as well as the coordinator and representative of C-NELD, CIIL, Mysuru.
The inaugural address was delivered by Prof. Sujata Gurudev, Campus Director, NEHU, Tura Campus, who highlighted the importance of such conferences in fostering linguistic research. The first keynote address of the conference was presented by Prof Kavita Rastogi, Department of Linguistics, University of Lucknow.
She spoke on ‘Documenting Ethnobotanical Knowledge through Collaborative Participation,’ emphasising the role of linguistics in preserving ethnobotanical knowledge. The session was chaired by Prof Madhumita Barbora, Department of Linguistics, Tezpur University.
The three day International conference witnessed paper sessions and presentations by various writers and poets besides other events concluding with a valedictory function as well as distribution of certificates on March 1.
