International Seminar on Human Development ... - Assam University

development status of the marginalized sections one perceives in the region? What factor ultimately determines the human development ofthe marginalized people in the region? In the context of the efforts made thus far for uplift of the region’s people, the cause of theirperpetual marginality with low human development seems to narrow down to governance, the prominent actors of which currently aregovernment, non-government organizations, market and civil society organizations. Human development which is in real sense a newapproach to empowerment of people can be used to overcome the deficiencies of the on-going development and governance.‘Human Development’ as a new paradigm of development theory brings people into the centre stage of development, considering them thereal wealth of a nation and quality of their life as end to be pursued through the means of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or economicgrowth. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in its first report on human development (1990), conceived it as “enlargingpeople’s choices” which are varied and changing over time. The UNDP’s concept covers widely accepted three critical dimensions ofpeople’s well being; namely, (i) a long and healthy life, (ii) access to knowledge and skills and (iii) control over resources to ensure a decentstandard of living. Taking into account the three broad parameters, the UNDP envisages measuring the people’s welfare by way ofconstructing composite Human Development Index (HDI). Recognizing the existence of gender disparity in development process the UNDPsubsequently developed Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) as well as Human Poverty Index(HPI) as a complement to HDI. These simple indices can easily gauge social or regional disparities in human development. Humandevelopment does not simply encompass human capacity building, i e, good health, more knowledge, higher incomes, etc but it also includesproper use of these capabilities (empowerment). In addition to health, education and income people have other important choices likepolitical freedom, human rights, self respect, human security, political participation and many more. People’s choices are found to varyaccording to ethnic group, religion, place of residence etc. and even the people belonging to the same ethnic group or religion differ in theirchoices according to place of residence, level of education, economic status etc. Therefore, the existing indices and their methodology can beextended to measure any of human choices of any level or group. By measuring and assessing various choices of people and their well beinghuman development emerges as effective device to improve the quality of life of the deprived and marginalized sections. The countries in thedeveloped world like Canada, USA, U K and other west European countries as well as east European countries have been dealing withmulticulturalism and marginalization, on the one hand, and the countries in the neighbourhood of India’s Northeast like China, Nepal,Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh or the Southeast Asian countries falling in India’s ‘Look East Policy’ ambit do share experiences of acommon cultural area, though with somewhat difference of political systems and governance. In the recent decades the concept of humandevelopment has emerged not only as a common tool for assessment of real development but also for improvement of quality of life of themarginalized people in various nations and cultures across the globe. Therefore, it calls for serious discussions on the status, issues,challenges and way forward in respect of human development among the marginalized sections of Northeast India by inviting cross-culturaland cross-national perspectives of academics from the region itself, other parts of India, the neighbouring countries of the region and a fewfrom the developed, multicultural countries.ObjectivesThe specific objectives of the seminar are:• To assess the human development status of the marginalized sections in Northeast India• To identify the issues of human development among the marginalized sections in Northeast India• To assess the challenges to human development among the marginalized sections in Northeast India• To find out the way forward for human development among the marginalized sections in Northeast India• To utilize the cross-cultural and cross-national perspectives on human development for the marginalized sections in Northeast India• To understand the methodological challenges associated with the measurement of human development in the contemporary context ofNortheast India• To suggest policy measures for effective human development among the marginalized sections in Northeast IndiaSub-themesThe potential sub-themes of the seminar are as follows:• Culture, Development and Governance: Emerging Theoretical Frameworks• Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in India• Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in Northeast India• Gender, Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in Northeast India• Market, Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in Northeast India• State, Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in Northeast India• Civil Society, Human Development and the Marginalized Sections in Northeast India4