YOUNG SCHOLARS’ SYMPOSIUM

REGIONAL LITERATURES IN INDIA: NOTIONS, NUANCES & NARRATIVES

21st April 2025 || Offline Mode

Call for Papers

The Young Scholars’ Symposium on Regional Literatures in India: Notions, Nuances, and Narratives comes at a crucial time in the study of regional literatures, where the significance of local languages, cultures, and narratives is gaining renewed focus. In an era dominated by global and national discourses, regional literatures serve as a critical means to preserve indigenous traditions, articulate marginal voices, and challenge mainstream narratives. The complex interrelationship between language, culture, and identity is best observed in regional literary expressions, where writers negotiate their lived realities with both regional and national forces. As literature is a powerful medium that reflects the cultural ethos of a society, studying these regional narratives provides deeper insights into India's diverse cultural landscape. This symposium aims to explore how regional literatures function as repositories of social, cultural, and political histories that might otherwise be overshadowed by dominant narratives.

The necessity to organize this seminar arises from the increasingly urgent call to give regional literatures the academic attention they deserve. While Indian English literature has secured a prominent place in the global literary sphere, regional literatures, which form the core of India's cultural diversity, remain underrepresented in scholarly discussions. There is a need to engage more robustly with the rich corpus of works produced in languages such as Kashmiri, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, and others. Texts such as Agha Shahid Ali’s The Half-Inch Himalayas (Kashmiri), Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s Nisar Main Teri Galiyon Ke (Urdu), Amrita Pritam’s Langda Nadi (Punjabi), and P. L. Deshpande’s Batatyachi Chawl (Marathi) highlights critical social issues and regional cultural specificities, offering a counter-narrative to more dominant, homogenized versions of Indian society. These works compel us to consider how local histories, traditions, and struggles shape the literary landscape, making regional literatures indispensable to a fuller understanding of India's literary and cultural fabric.

Proposals are welcome for traditional papers of 7–10 mins, from any (inter-)disciplinary perspective and covering any medium. Proposals might address the following topics, though these suggestions are by no means exhaustive or prescriptive:

• Cultural Identities and Regional Narratives
• Language and Dialect in Literary Expression
• Folklore and Oral Traditions
• Gender Representations in Regional Literatures
• Postcolonial Readings of Regional Texts
• Intersections of Politics and Literature
• Translation and Its Role in Regional Literature
• Ecocriticism in Regional Contexts
• Contemporary Voices in Regional Literature
• The Impact of Digital Media on Regional Literatures

Please send proposals of c.150–300 words accompanied by a short bio and contact information to the Secretary, University Debating & Literary Club (Secretaryudlc@gmail.com). The deadline for submissions is 10th April 2025 

Important dates:

Deadline for submission of abstract: 10th April, 2025

Notification of acceptance: 12th April , 2025

Registration opens: 12th April, 2025

Registration/Participation Fee (includes kit, lunch & snacks):

UG/PG Students - Rs. 500/- INR

Research/Independent Scholars - Rs. 1000/- INR

Note: 

• Once the abstract has been accepted, a Google form will be sent for registration and the mode of payment will also be duly notified.
• Abstracts and bio-notes of the author(s) should be mailed as a single MS- Word attachment, with font size: 12 Times New Roman, line spacing 1.5
• For questions or queries, please write to: Secretaryudlc@gmail.com 

Prof. Nazia Hasan

President, UDLC

Mohd. Shams Uddoha Khan

Secretary, UDLC