Mental Health and Indian Literatures: Men in Representation

7th August 2026

Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi NAAC A++, NIRF Rank- 13 Department of English
Kalkaji, New Delhi-110019

Call for Papers

The mental health discourse predominantly brings to mind some key terms, like Abuse, Addiction, Autism-spectrum disorder, Bipolar disorder, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Dementia etc. in circulation having specific references to certain behavioural pattern/emotional manifestations in human beings that demand special medical attention and care. In recent times Medical Humanities/Health Humanities as a discipline has been instrumental in establishing the link between the creative insightful expressions of suffering and suffering itself. What literature reveals about mental health issues or illness in general is a call for revisioning the narratives (medical or social) of health issue per se.

The conference (hybrid mode) aims at exploring the representation of men in Indian Literatures involving mental health issues. It proposes to set up a structural reference point for making a critical entry into the discourse of male mental health questions directly linked with the issues of “gender roles”, “society”, “specific events exposing the larger design of social behaviour/historical ruptures/caste”, “individuality”, “Sexuality”, etc.

Beyond the context of social stigma, how Indian literatures over the ages brought out the challenges of the disorder-experience in male characters remains a matter of discussion here. The conference wants to establish a dialogue between the politics of different narrative strategies/perspectives and themes of male mental (illness)health. Scholars are invited to probe into the question of male mental health in Indian literatures as a critical platform to make meaningful intervention into the overlapping domain of literary narration, psychology, history, social context and private emotions.

For this purpose, we are particularly looking for papers based on short- stories and novels in Indian Literatures -- written either in Indian languages like Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Odia, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Gujarati, Santali etc or in English/Translation as reference points centring around the representation of male mental health.

Themes to explore for the conference (suggestive, not exhaustive):

1. Male Mental health and women

2. Isolation and male mental disorder

3. Historical events (like Partition etc) and male mental health

4. Caste and mental health issue in men

5. Sexuality/Intimacy and male mental health

6. Narrative strategies and male mental health representation

7. Addiction / abuse (drug abuse, substance/alcohol addiction) and male mental health

8. Illness, social responsibility and male mental health

9. Culture/rituals and male mental health

      10. Love, Friendship and male mental health
      11. Social performance pressure (child, young adult especially) and male mental health

      12. Urban/Public spheres and male mental health

      13. Perversion/Crime and male mental health issue

      14. Nation/Nationalism and male mental health

This conference (hybrid mode) is organised under the aegis of IQAC and in collaboration with a reputed publisher with a focus on a book publication (out of a selection of papers presented).

• Abstract submission: July 13th, 2026 (150-200 words, MLA 9th ed, link below)

  Link:

  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhIwKzplSCAqUqUyp46fQkqUJsP74 HoqrWZUagF9gNlSucfA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

• Abstract Selection Notification: July 15th, 2026

• Registration: By 18th July 2026

• Full Paper Submission: 3rd August 2026 (2500-3000 words)

• Conference Presentation: 7th August 2026.

  Details of Registration will be notified individually to the paper presenters once abstracts are selected. Links for online paper presenters will be shared after 3rd August 2026.

Convenor

Saswata Bhattacharya, Associate Professor

Teacher-in-charge : Dr Manisha Sagar, Associate Professor

Advisory Committee : Prof Krishnan Unni P, Pavitra Poorna S R, Associate Professor

For queries, please contact the Convenor: sbhattacharya@db.du.ac.in