CALL FOR PAPERS
ICSSR Sponsored Two-day National Conference titled
Eco-Conservation and Indigenous Belief Systems in India

Dates: Feb 19-20, 2027
Venue: Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Final date for submission of abstracts: Nov 5, 2026

Conference coordinator: Srirupa Chatterjee, Associate Professor, Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India

Keynote Speaker:
Jenia Mukherjee, Associate Professor (Urban Environmental History, Urban Political Ecology and Transdisciplinary Waters), Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, and Co-Chairperson, Centre of Excellence for Unified AI-Enabled Craft Ecosystem Platform, Networking, Field Research

Plenary Speakers:
1. Satyapriya Rout, Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India
2. Nirmal Kumar Mahato, Associate Professor, Head of the Department (HOD) of History, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies at Vidyasagar University in Midnapore, West Bengal, India
3. Amrita Sen, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal, India


Indigenous communities like the Adivasis in India view nature as a nurturing and maternal ideal that shares a reciprocal spiritual life force with people. Worshipped and revered as a force that both gives and takes life, nature and ecology for the Adivasis takes the form of faith and is manifested in festivals like Karma, Sarhul, Sohrai, Ras Nava, and Bhagoria, among others. Several forms of flora and fauna are worshipped and celebrated during these festivals, just as they form an integral part of the everyday practices by several indigenous communities. Arguably, then, ecotheological practices within present day Adivasi communities, present a powerful means of environmental conservation. Not only do such festivals attest to the profound bond that the Adivasis share with nature but also prove that their religious beliefs help them both preserve and harness trees and other natural resources for organic purposes, medicinal resources, and above all for creating sustainable ecosystems. Since many indigenous communities have had a long history of struggle for land rights as well, land and its natural resources remain sacred to these communities.

Informed by such historical and contemporary conditions, the present conference aims to bring together ethnographers, anthropologists, historians, and theoreticians to craft conversations around ecotheological practices amongst present day Adivasis. It will especially examine the relationship between indigenous people and their ecological surroundings which help them sustainably conserve a degrading environment. The conference will also address how these communities continue to lie at the fringes of the cultural mainstream and how researchers, pedagogues, ethnographers, policy makers, and local leaders can join hands to highlight, harness, and emulate the nativist ecotheological practices that ensure nurturance and environmental balance.

The primary themes addressed in this conference include but are not limited to:
1. Examining India’s indigenous communities and their religio-cultural practices in the present day and age.
2. Understanding how ecotheology helps indigenous people conserve the environment and maintain a symbiotic relation with ecology, especially where their livelihood, medicinal requirements, and employment is concerned.
3. Highlighting ethnographic experiences of researchers as they explore the nativist ecological practices of Adivasis.
4. Identifying various roadblocks that the indigenous people may face in practicing their nativist beliefs in the current day and age.
5. Enumerating policy level interventions toward ecological sustenance that may be achieved with the help of indigenous practices.
6. Addressing how cultural values and practices of the Adivasis may be empowered in today’s age and time, not only for environmental conservation but also for nation building, in general.

Please note:
• Abstracts of 300 to 350 words (for a 20-minute presentation) with 5-7 keywords and a short biographical note (no more than 75 words) are invited from academic professionals, independent scholars, and research students.
• Please stick to the prescribed word limit while drafting the abstract (citations and bibliographies are not needed with the abstract).
• AI generated and plagiarized abstracts will be rejected.
• Please mention your name, designation, and email address in the abstract.
• Deadline for abstract submission is Nov 5, 2026. Submissions coming in after the deadline will not be accepted.
• Abstracts must be sent to the conference organizer only at the following email id ecoconservationconference@gmail.com
• Details of date of registration, registration fee, travel, and accommodation will be conveyed to participants after their abstracts are shortlisted.
• Only participants whose abstracts are shortlisted will be informed over email by Nov 30, 2026. No communication will be sent to applicants whose proposals are not shortlisted.
• There is no travel support associated with this conference.
• Accommodation and food will be provided at the IIT Hyderabad campus; charges for this will be included in the registration fee.
• For any queries, please write to the conference organizer at ecoconservationconference@gmail.com