Anthropology & Museums In India From The Colonial Period To The Contemporary Times By Prof Kishor Kumar Basa – AIF Guest Lecture Series (23 Jan 2025)

Event Summary:

Anthropos India Foundation organised a Distinguished Guest Lecture by Prof. Kishor Kumar Basa, former head, Department of Anthropology, Utkal University. They have the rare distinction of heading seven leading organisations of the country, which include Indira Gandhi Rastriya Manav Sangrahalaya (Bhopal), Indian Museum (Kolkata), Anthropological Survey of India, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (Baripada), Fakir Mohan University (Balasore), Archaeological Survey of India, and National Monuments Authority. They have delivered 12 memorial lectures in various parts of the country and have published widely in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and museum studies. At present, Chairman; Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropologists (INCAA) and Chairman of National Monuments Authority.

The lecture began with the introductory speech delivered by Dr. Shaweta, Senior Consultant at AIF, for our guest speaker, Prof. Kishor Kumar Basa, and also Prof. Amareshwar Galla, alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the Australian National University Canberra. Currently, pro-chancellor and distinguished professor of Indigenous and Inclusive Museum and Heritage Studies, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, and Kalinga Institute for Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar. He is also a founding member of Unit Twin UNESCO Network of Tourism, Culture, and Development. Later, Prof. Galla shared about the connection with his subject and also addressed the workings of Prof. Basa.

Prof. Basa spoke about anthropology and museums in three parts according to the time periods and events happening around them. The following are the three parts explained:

  1. ANTHROPOLOGY AND MUSEUM DURING COLONIAL PERIOD (1784-1947);

In this, they spoke about how anthropology emerged as an academic discipline and the establishment of the Asian Society of Bengal. Also noted and discussed were the two composite museums: the Indian Museum (Kolkata) (1814) and the Government Museum (Chennai). And spoke about different scholars and their works.

2. ANTHROPOLOGY AND MUSEUM AFTER INDEPENDENCE (1947-to date):

Discussed the perspectives between anthropology and museum studies, which changed gradually in the globalisation process. Issues faced related to social, political, and cultural dimensions. Stated some of the Indian scholars and their work on museums. Many museums, like the Arna Jharna Museum, Rajasthan; the Partition Museum, Amritsar, and many more, were discussed in depth.

  1. IMPLICATIONS FOR COVID-19 FOR MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGY:

In this topic, they explained how unemployment, domestic violence, and migration labour affected the tribals during OVID-19. How museums create an image of a desirable future for various communities. 

Later, Dr. Sunita Reddy Ma’am addressed the Covid-19 situation and shared her experience with the participants.After that, Sunita ma’am requested all the advisory members of AIF to share the experience of the lecture.

This lecture was held on both Zoom as well as Youtube Live with a great response from participants. The participants who joined were from various fields of study like museology, anthropology, sociology, history, disaster studies, and many more. In this lecture, there were many enthusiastic participants who also actively asked various questions in the end and also talked about various conservation ideas of museums and museums for tribes.

YouTube Live

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