About the Institute
The Gauhati University Institute of North East India Studies was established in 2010 as a dedicated institutional site for the comprehensive study of all aspects of North East India. Its beginnings however go slightly further back to the late 1990s when the building in which it is now housed was donated by the noted historian of Assam, Professor H.K. Barpujari. It is set in a small compound at one end of the GU Campus and is -partially surrounded by a fish - laden water body that attracts kingfishers, and a variety of local and migratory water birds. The three - tier building is a quaint location for small conferences and seminars and has been used for such activities on many occasions.
It is appropriate that the Institute should have the spirit of Professor Barpujari presiding over it (a bronze bust of the eminent scholar graces the entrance to the building). The magisterial 5-volume Comprehensive History of Assamedited by him is a starting point for researchers and aspiring scholars of the region, even as the intellectual rigor and tenacious, painstaking research that he represented in all his historical writings stand as an example to those who would study the NE. The Institute periodically organizes the H.K. Barpujari Memorial Lecture to keep alive the spirit of his scholarship.
A historical perspective is essential to all work undertaken within the interdisciplinary field of North East India Studies. As the study of North East India develops, equally important are the basic tools to explore the pre-colonial and colonial archives, examine objects and their representation, understand geographical, political and economic nuances of lives lived together and in difference, and to respond adequately to environmental crises in the light of indigenous practices and knowledge systems. All of this requires familiarity with the past so that the present is adequately comprehended and the future planned for.
The Institute began with the stated aim of “studying language, culture, communication, and society etc. with an interdisciplinary approach”. Over the period of its existence and with the mandate of Area Studies expressly suggested in the Review Committee Report, the activities of the Institute have diversified to include the study of Northeast India from the perspective of various disciplines. This will be evident in the content of the lectures delivered, the multidisciplinary faculty associated with the Institute, its briefly running MPhil Program, and in the diversity within the contents of its flagship journal. The region and its complexity demand inputs from many disciplines. This was clearly in evidence during the coursework for the MPhil program. Though this course was run only for one batch, courses were taught by faculty from several Social Science, Science and Humanities departments. This collaborative model, drawing on the University’s own rich human resources is still usable for a possible PhD programme in the future.
Vision:
· To mainstream the study of North East India and make the region nationally and globally visible.
Mission:
· To provide a platform for interdisciplinary study
· To set up academic networks that bring together scholars from all disciplines working on North East India
· To evolve appropriate methodologies to address environmental, social, political and cultural concerns
Programmes:
1) Post-Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing and Translation (PGDCWT)
Programme Specific Outcomes (PSOs)
Creative abilities in the genres of poetry, fiction and non-fiction
· Demonstrable knowledge of translation theory and its practice
· Effective conceptual and communication skills
Duration: 2 Semesters
Intake Capacity: 20
2) Minor in NEI Studies (12 Credits) in the 5-year Integrated MA Programme (FYIMP) introduced in 2023
Programme Specific Outcomes (PSOs)
· Knowledge of the basic aspects of the subject including natural features, multiple histories and cultures, communities and spaces
· Appreciation and empathy towards diverse cultures and peoples
· Theoretical knowledge and specific understanding of the issues and characteristics of migration in NE India
· Understanding of the close relations between humans and the environment they live in
· Recognition of the importance in NE communities of cultural practice as a mode of protection of the natural world around them
· Duration: 3 Semesters
· Intake Capacity: 30 per Semester
3) PhD: From 2011-14 (Discontinued due to Non-availability of Permanent Faculty)
4) MPhil: From 2019-2021 (Discontinued following UGC’s mandate on all MPhil programs)
Facilities:
2 Class Rooms
2 Faculty Rooms
Diretctor's Office
Institute Office
Library with 675 Books
Conference Room (seating capacity: 30) (it is also a Reading Room)
3 open teraces that are used for workshops and dicussions during winter
Digital studio with audio-visual recording facility.
PGDCWT: Year-wise List
2010-11
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Pritirekha Bhagawati
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Khanin Deka
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Jahnobi Borah
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Archana Devi
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Lalita Deka
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Bhaswati Bhattacharya
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2011-12
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Gitirekha Bhuyan
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Tribeni Sarma Baruah
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Himi Saikia
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Upendra Nath Deka
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2012-13
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Pallabi Talukdar
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Santana Borah
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Pallabi Buragohain
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Gitumani Kalita
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Papari Kalita
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Mousumee Hazarika
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2014-15
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Ganesh Das
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Kakalee Choudhury
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2015-16
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Milloza Basumatary
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Abdul Mazid Sheikh
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Gitarthee Thakur
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Farheen Tabassum
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Dixita Sharma
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Latika Das
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2016-17
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Shaheen Akhtar
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Rodali Chetia
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Sunu Boro
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Anuradha Bujar Baruah
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Abhijit Kumar Das
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Arnabjyoti Arya
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Dimpa Kakati
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Pritirekha Sarma
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2017-18
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Dibya Jyoti Sarmah
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Mrinali Khatiwara
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Lachit Deka
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2018-19
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Nilaks Nilakshi Sharma
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Himakshi Borah
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Priyanka Deka
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Queen G Talukdar
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Sakil Ahmed
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Ramen Kataki
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BhabakrishnaRay Talukdar
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Madhsmita Kakati
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BijuDutta
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NijaraRajbongshi
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2012-21
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Anamika Dutta
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Priyanka Mahanta
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2022-23
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Riya Bawri
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Yashmin Sultana
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2023-24
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Nepolion Basumatary
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Sarmistha Dutta
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Dhanjita Baishya
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MPhil Degrees Awarded:
2019-2021
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Name
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Awarded in
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Dissertation Title
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WaikhomPenaosana Chanu
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2023
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Nutritional Status and Blood Pressure: A Case Study among the Rural Kom Tribe of Kakching, Mantak Village, Manipur
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Ashima Baruah
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2024
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Women and Goddess Worship: A Study on Women in Rituals, Administration and Tantra in Kamakhya Temple of Assam
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PhD Programme during 2011-2014
PhD Degrees Awarded: 2014-2019
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Name
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Awarded in
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Thesis Title
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Chiranjita Bora
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2014
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Uttar PurbanchalarSanskritikSanghati Aru Srimanta Sankardevar Bhumika
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Ramananda Das
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2014
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A Study of Life and Achievement of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika and its Impact on Present Society.
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Jatindra Nath Deka
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2014
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Informal Sectors among Slum Inhabitants: A Socio-Economic Analysis in Greater Guwahati
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Sangeeta Chakravarty
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2014
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Natural Textile Dyes in Assam
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Akunthita Borthakur
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2014
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Participation of the Muslims of Assam to the Freedom Struggle of India with Special Reference to Nagaon District
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Ramkrishna Garg
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2015
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A Study of Enterprises Based in the North East with respect to their Credit Rating
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Purabi Kalita
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2015
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Traditional Festivals and Performance Artforms of South Kamrup: A Descriptive Analysis
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Bibha Dutta
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2015
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Asomiya Omala Git Aru MisingOmola Gitar Ek Tulanamulak Adhyayan
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Manas Jyoti Bordoloi
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2016
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Ethnic Assertion and the Process of Marginalization in Assam: A Study with Emphasis on the Karbis
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Geeta Devi Bhattacharya
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2016
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Role of Buddhism on the Tai Turung Community of Assam: A Study
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Jayanta Das
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2017
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Folk Literature of the Karbis of Assam: A Study
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Bijoy Sarma
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2017
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A Historical Study of the festivals of the Ahom Community of Assam
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Dipankar Malakar
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2017
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Sarva Shiksha Abhijan Mission among the Tea-Tribes of Sivasagar District-An Evaluative Study
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Himajyoti Dutta
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2017
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Uttar GuwahtirAitihasik Aru SanskritikPrekshypat: Eti Adhyayan
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Kaustav Saikia
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2019
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Colonial Anthropology and Post Colonial Museum in the context of India’s North East
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Events:
Workshops and Seminars
• National Seminar on North East India Diverse Tribal Language Belt , 2 - 4 February, 2011
• Workshop on 45 Days Production Oriented Drama, 27 - 9 September, 2011
• National Seminar on Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: His Contribution to the Nation, 24 - 26 May, 2012
• Workshop onSatriya Nritya, 13 - 14 October, 2012
• Workshop on Documentation and Preservation of North East India’s Culture, 2013
• Short Term course on Socio- Economic Transition in NE India, 20 - 26 October, 2016
• National Seminar on English Literature of North East India, 25 February, 2017
• National Seminar on External Orientation of North East India: Possibilities and Roadblocks, 9 - 10 February, 2018.
• Workshop on English Writing Skills, 21 October – 5 November, 2019
• Art Competition for Students: Celebrating Women’s Day, 9 March, 2019. Dr Prasanta Bhattacharyya and Mr Sanjib Bora judged the competition
• Workshop on Translation: Ideology and Writing in Early Twentieth Century Assam (Part 1), 30September, 2021 (on the occasion of World Translation Day. Resource Person: Professor Pradipta Borgohain
• Refresher Course: Studies on North East Language, Literature & Culture (21 February, 2022 – 7 March, 2022), UGC-HRDC, GU. Course Coordinator: Nandana Dutta (Director i/c, GUINEIS)
• Workshop on Translation: Ideology and Writing in Early Twentieth Century Assam (Part 2), 23 February, 2024.
Lectures:
• Inner Line Permit as an Instrument of Safeguarding Ethnic Identity, A Symposium Keynote speaker: Professor Udayon Misra.12 February, 2016
• Northeast India: A Geographical Perspective, 1st Colloquium Lecture delivered by Professor Abani Bhagabati on 10 September, 2016
• Geo-Environmental Set-up of Northeast India: Implication for Socio-Economic Life, 2nd Colloquium Lecture delivered by Professor Parag Phukan on 11 February, 2017
• A Notional Boundary to Enclave Commerce and Politics: North East Emerges as a Space for Marginality and Isolation, 3rd Colloquium Lecture delivered by Professor Shiela Bora on 14 October, 2017
• Dancing to the State: Ethnic Compulsions of the Tangsas in Assam, 4th Colloquium Lecture delivered by Dr. Meenaxi Barkataki-Ruscheweyh on 23 November, 2017
• Life and Works of Professor H K Barpujari, H K Barpujari Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Manorama Sharma on 30 September, 2017
• ‘Archiving Memory’, Professor Dipankar Moral Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Ranjit Kumar Dev Goswami on 28 February, 2018
• Mapping the Brahmaputra in Assam, 5th Colloquium Lecture delivered by Mr. Mark Davis, Independent Researcher and Geographer (Oxford) on 12 November, 2018
• Cinema as a Discourse: Films of North East India, 6th Colloquium Lecture delivered by MrMolinath Senapati, Filmmaker on 29 November, 2018
• Finding and Creating Area Studies: Australia and Elsewhere, 7th Colloquium Lecture delivered by Professor Leigh Dale on 25 January, 2019
• Writing a History: In Vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproduction, 8th Colloquium Lecture delivered by Professor Sarah Ferber on 25 January, 2019
• In Search of Frameworks / Outside the Frame: Women and the Making of the Public Sphere in North East India, 9th Colloquium Lecture delivered by Dr Hemjyoti Medhi on 25 March, 2019
• English Studies Today: Global, National, Local, A Discussion chaired by Dr. Amit Rahul Baishya, on 28 December, 2023
• History Writing and the Poetics of Analogy, H K Barpujari Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Sarah D. Ferber, on 1 February, 2024
- The Institute runs a one-year (two-semester) PG Diploma Course on Creative Writing and Translation (PGDCWT) with an intake capacity of 20. The syllabus of programme was revised in 2016 and then in 2019.
- An inter-and-multi-disciplinary one-year (two-semester) MPhil programme in North-East Studies was started from 2019. The intake capacity for this annual research programme is 15. The basic eligibility to appear in the entrance examination for the programme is a postgraduate degree, which may be in any discipline. The first semester of the programme is reserved for a regular course-work.
- Documentation and preservation of the rich cultural heritages of the Northeast India is attempted at the digital studio of the institute. Primarily meant for documenting and conserving the rich cultural heritages of the region, the facility is available for use by other departments of the university for relevant academic purposes.
- The institute organizes seminars, workshops, symposia and lecture programmes.
- It publishes an annual peer-reviewed research journal titled GUINEIS Journal.
- It provides short term attachment opportunities to research scholars of eminent educational institutes of India and abroad.
GUINEIS Journal
The GUINEIS JOURNAL is an interdisciplinary UGC-Care listed peer-reviewed journal, published annually by the Institute. Quality research papers from teachers and research scholars of various disciplines such as humanities, social sciences, sciences, commerce, management and others are regularly published by the journal. The journal was founded by the first Director i/c, Professor Umesh Deka who edited the first two issues. The next two issues were edited by Professor M.P. Bezbaruah, who held charge after Professor Deka. From the 5th issue onwards, it has been edited by Professor Nandana Dutta who assumed charge at GUINEIS in August 2018. The journal now has a strong multidisciplinary editorial team drawn from several departments of the University.
Journal details are available in the URL: https://journals.gauhati.ac.in/guineis
The CFP for the GUINEIS JOURNAL is open throughout the year. The deadline for submissions is October 31 for all issues.
Two special issues of the journal are on the anvil.
The first, titled Environmental Vulnerabilities is due soon.
The CFP for the special issue on Cities of North East India, due in 2025 alongside the regular issue,is up on the University’s dedicated journals’ website (https://journals.gauhati.ac.in).
The editor for this special issue is Dr. Joanna Mahjebeen of the Dept of Political Science
Email: jmahjebeen@gauhati.ac.in
