DDU university climate meet hails relevance of ancient texts

Gorakhpur: Department of English at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University hosted a two-day international conference on ‘Environmental and Apocalyptic Imagination: Ecocritical Readings in South Asian Literature'. It concluded on The event, aligned with sustainable development goals and G20 initiatives, drew over 250 delegates, including faculty members, research scholars and students from universities across the country.
After inauguration and commendatory address by Vice Chancellor Prof Poonam Tandon, convener of the conference, Prof Ajay Kumar Shukla, spoke about representation of environmental consciousness in ancient Indian texts, the Vedas and Upanishads, highlighting need for cognisance and sensitivity towards climate conservation.
On the first day, Prasenjeet Panda from Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur, delivered plenary lecture exploring intersections of literature and ecology. Keynote address by Prof Akshaya Kumar from Panjab University, examined connection between colonial modernity and climate change and highlighted need for interaction with nature to mitigate adverse effects.
The second day commenced with valedictory address by Prof Yogesh Sinha from Ohio University, USA, who discussed environmental degradation, climate change and the need for sustainable future, underscoring urgent need for global cooperation to address consequences of rapid industrialisation.
Special secretary for climate change, forest and environment department, UP Govt, C B Tripathi, offered valuable insights into cultural consciousness documented in ancient Sanskrit texts and appealed to explore potential of the knowledge systems to tackle climate change. From Amity University, Lucknow, Prof Satyarth Tripathi emphasised that treating nature with care and affection could rejuvenate and enrich human lives.
The conference's technical sessions covered ecofeminism, environmental justice and ecological imagination in South Asian literature. The discussions featured work by prominent Rabindranath Tagore, Amitav Ghosh, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and others.
Suggestions and critical observations were made by chairpersons and moderators, including Dr Prasenjit Panda, Dr Prashant Mothe, Dr Shaleen Singh, Prof Sunita Agarwal, Prof Abhilasha Singh, Prof Suresh Agarwal, Prof Nalin Shyam Kamil, Prof Amar Nath Prasad and Prof Madhur Kumar.