MANIPUR UNIVERSITY, 9/8/2024: The Department of Anthropology, Manipur University, observed the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9th August 2024. The event was graced by Prof. W. Nabakumar Singh, Founder Dean of the School of Human and Environmental Sciences and Former Head of the Department of Anthropology, Manipur University, as the invited speaker. He delivered a talk on the topic “Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact.”

Prof. W. Nabakumar discussed the emergence of the concept of "Indigenous" and how Homo sapiens have evolved into Homo hierarchicus with the conquest of societies by colonial and imperial powers. He asserted that indigenous people can be conceptualized on three levels: Chronological, Relational, and Normative perspectives. He highlighted the challenges faced by indigenous people due to globalization and colonization, particularly regarding their voluntary isolation and initial contact. These challenges include political colonialism, bio-colonialism, gene piracy, and the plight of environmental and conservation refugees in their own inhabited lands.

The program concluded with closing remarks by Prof. S. Jibonkumar Singh, Dean of the School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Manipur University.