“An international seminar on Political and Economic Formations and Buddhist Networks in Early Historic Deccan: special focus on Kanaganahalli was organized by the Department of History under the auspices of the IOE project, ‘Representation, Self-representations and Narrations: Exploring the twin sites of Sannati and Kanaganahalli in northern Karnataka in the Early Historic Period’ on the 7th and 8th of December, 2023. Scholars from various regions of India, working on Deccan/ Buddhist networks /Kanaganahalli were invited to speak, whose individual works in some way or the other could provide us the context of reading the sites that we are working upon.
The intention of the seminar was to bring in young scholars working in the field to interact with senior scholars and thus have a blend of fresh ideas and experience. The international scholars joined online.
The inaugural session in the morning was chaired by Dean Social Sciences, Professor Jyotirmaya Sharma and Professor Ajailiu Niumai graced the occasion as Chief guest and as representative of the Directorate of the Institute of Eminence programme. The convenor Professor Suchandra Ghosh introduced the theme of the seminar. Our Honourable Vice Chancellor Professor B.J. Rao was very kind to join at the commencement of the post lunch session. His address was highly motivating to the students and faculty members.
The keynote speaker Prof. Ranabir Chakravarti, former Professor of Centre for Historical Studies, JNU could not join us in person and he delivered the address online. His erudite and conceptually rich hour-long address on the “The Markers of the Early Historic as a Period Label in the History of the Deccan” set the tone for the seminar. The two day seminar was followed by a day long field visit to the Buddhist site of Phanigiri. “