Chautari Annual Conference - 2024 (Program Schedule)

Hall A

Hall B

09:30-11.15 a.m.
Panel 1: Looking Across the Border and Beyond
Moderator: Sara Shneiderman, University of British Columbia, Canada

Paper I: Nepal in Darjeeling: Politics of Linkages and Linkages of Politics
Jigme Yeshe Lama, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Calcutta, India

Paper II: Cross-border Influences and Nepal’s Impact on Darjeeling’s Narratives: A Study of Darjeeling-based Periodicals
Nima Doma Lama, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Asutosh College, Kolkata, India

Paper III: Re-imagining South Asia: At the Crossroad of Decolonial Studies from a Woman Perspective
Dhritiman Chakraborty, Assistant Professor and Joint-Director, Abid Ali Khan Center for Digital Archive and Translation of Cultures, Gour College, University of Gour Banga, India

Floor Discussion

09:30-11.15 a.m.
Panel 2:  Migration, Livelihood and Social Security
Moderator: Avash Piya, Researcher

Paper I: Land Displacement, Migration and Resettlement with Reference to the Lepchas in Shree Antu, Ilam
Ayush Shankar, MA Student, Center for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Paper II: Navigating International Airlines’ Recruitment Processes: On Aesthetic Labour, (Broken) Promises and Global Hierarchies
Anne Kukuczka, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Paper III: Contribution of Old Age Allowance on the Welfare of Senior Dalit Citizens in Nepal
Sarita Bista, Lecturer of Population Studies, Patan Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan Universtiy, Nepal and Dipak Ghising, PhD Scholar, Central Department of Rural Development, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

11:15-11:30 a.m. (Break)

11:30 a.m-1:15 p.m.
Panel 3: नेपालमा पहिचान-आन्दोलनको गति र दिशा
Moderator: Manushi Yami Bhattarai, Nepal Open University and Thames International College, Nepal

Paper I: कोशी प्रदेश नामकरण विरुद्धको आन्दोलनमा राज्य र राजनीतिक दल
अंकलाल चलाउने र चिरन मानन्धर, अनुसन्धाता, डेमोक्रेसी रिसोर्स सेन्टर नेपाल

Paper II: किरात-लिम्बुवानमा चलिरहेको पहिचान आन्दोलनमा एजेन्सीहरूको परिचालनः “कोशी नाम खारेजी”को सन्दर्भ
गोविन्द छन्त्याल, अनुसन्धाता, इन्डिजिनियस विदाउट बोर्डर्स र कैलाश राई, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper III: “नो कोशी” आन्दोलनमा महिला सहभागिता : आदिवासी जनजाति महिलाका फेरिँदो भूमिका र छवि
कैलाश राई, मार्टिन चौतारी; सीता मादेम्बा, अनुसन्धाता, सोसल साइन्स बहाः; र निरन्ती तुम्बापो, महासचिव, किरात याक्थुङ चुम्लुङ

Floor Discussion

11:30 a.m-1:15 p.m.
Panel 4: Ethnicity, Identity and Madhesh Movement
Moderator: Tula Narayan Shah, Nepal Madhesh Foundation

Paper I: Debate on Ethnic Conflict in Nepali Politics
Bhoj Bikram Budha Magar, Central Department of Political Science, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper II: The Plight of Stateless Madhesi Migrants in the Tarai and Their Quest for Identity
Shahid Minhazul, Masters in Conflict Analysis and Peace Building, Jamia Millia Islamia, India

Paper III: Madheshi Women in the Political Movements in Nepal
Ranju Kumari Yadav, MPhil-PhD Scholar, Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

1:15-2:00 p.m. (Lunch)

2:00-3:45 p.m.
Panel 5: Local Governance in Federal Nepal
Moderator: Ishwari Bhattarai, Democracy Resource Center Nepal

Paper I: New Techniques of Credibility: Exploring Uneven Experiences with the Online Civil Registration System in Nepal’s Local Governments
Xing Li, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Paper II: Governance Opportunities and Challenges to Professionalizing Community Health Workforce in Federal Nepal
Roosa Tikkanen; Sushmita Pokhrel; Institute for Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; Usha Ghimire, University of Aberdeen, UK/ Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Nepal; and Biraj Neupane, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

Paper III: स्थानीय सरकारको भूमिका: विद्यालय तहको परीक्षा व्यवस्थापन र नतिजा
देवीराम आचार्य, विद्यावारिधि शोधार्थी, काठमाडौँ विश्वविद्यालय, नेपाल

Floor Discussion

2:00-3:45 p.m.
Panel 6: नेपालमा विद्यालय शिक्षाको इतिहास - १
Moderator: Rajan Khatiwoda, Heidelberg University, Germany

Paper I: षडानन्द 'गुरु महाराज' बनेपछि : पूर्वी नेपालको दिङ्लामा संस्कृत पाठशालाको उदय तथा व्यवस्थापन (वि.सं. १९५५-२०१५)
अर्जुन पन्थी, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper II: कृष्णप्रसाद कोइराला र पूर्वी नेपालमा “आधुनिक शिक्षा” को शुरूआती विस्तार (वि.सं. १९६८-२००७)
देवेन्द्र उप्रेती, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper III:  विद्यालय शिक्षामा लैङ्गिक असमानताः डाब्जोङका तामाङ महिलाको सन्दर्भ (वि.सं. २००८-२०५५)
सन्जिला मोक्तान, मार्टिन चौतारी

Floor Discussion

3:45-4:00 p.m. (Break)

4:00-5:15 p.m.

Panel Discussion on the Book: Nepal in the Long 1950s
(Pratyoush Onta, Lokranjan Parajuli and Mark Liechty, editors; MC 2024)
Panelists: Manjushree Thapa, Writer and CK Lal, Political Analyst
Moderator: Pranab Kharel, MC

5:15 p.m. (End of Day 1)

Hall A

Hall B

09:30-11:15 a.m.
Panel 7: Water, Poverty and Education
Moderator: Tika Ram Gautam, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper I: Water Insecurity and Poverty Dynamics in the Nepali Terai
Roshan Adhikari, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Adarsh Bikram Sah, International Development Institute (IDI), Nepal; Sarah Redicker, Department of Geography, University of Exeter, UK; Roshan Ghimire, IDI, Nepal; Shrija Timsina, IDI, Nepal; and Timothy Foster, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, UK

Paper II: Assessing Drinking Water Accessibility in Diverse Provinces of Nepal
Lila Prasad Limbu, Lecturer; and Purnima Shrestha, BA in Social Work; Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper III: Heterogeneity and Persistence in Rates of Returns to Education in Nepal: Evidence from Living Standard Surveys
Bidhan Aryal, PhD Student, Faculty of Economics, South Asian University, India

Floor Discussion

09:30-11:15 a.m.
Panel 8: नेपालमा विद्यालय शिक्षाको इतिहास - २
Moderator: Amina Singh, Researcher

Paper I: नेपालमा आधुनिक बोर्डिङ स्कूलको प्रारम्भिक इतिहास
रूख गुरुङ र लोकरञ्जन पराजुली, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper II: नेपालमा सहशिक्षाको प्रारम्भिक बहस
लोकरञ्जन पराजुली, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper III: Gopal Pande, Nepali Shiksha Parishad and the “Rastrabhasa Shiksha Pranali” (1951-1973)
Pratyoush Onta, Martin Chautari

Floor Discussion

11:15-11:30 a.m. (Break)

11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Panel 9: Teachers, Their Identity, Well-being and Awareness
Moderator: Pramod Bhatta, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Navigating Uncertainty: The Collaborative Identity-work of Teachers in Moments of Risk and Ambiguity
Sabhyata Timsina, Research and Teaching Fellow, The Open Institute for Social Science, Nepal

Paper II: School Teachers’ Awareness and Capability Enhancement Approaches Regarding Disaster Management in Kathmandu, Nepal
Dil Kumari Karki, MPhil-PhD Scholar, Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper III: Relationship among Teacher Well-being, Job Satisfaction and Students’ Perceptions
Gopal Prasad Bashyal, Tribhuvan Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Palpa, Nepal

Floor Discussion

11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Panel 10: Disaster, Reconstruction and Climate Change
Moderator: Jeevan Baniya, Social Science Baha

Paper I: Measuring Adaptation for Whom? The Politics of Climate Change Adaptation Metrics in Nepal
Biraj Adhikari, Senior Researcher/Postdoc, Practical Action Consulting Nepal

Paper II: Build Back Better Meets Policy Mobilities in Mid-montane Nepal: Mapping Ontological Assumptions, Occupant Aspirations, and Owner Agency in the Re-assemblage of Home
Tobias Vokuhl, MPhil/PhD Student, School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Paper III: Local Political Institutions and Misallocation of Post-Disaster Reconstruction Aid
Bishal Kumar Chalise, Graduate Researcher, Faculty of Business and Law/Department of Economics, Deakin University, Australia

Floor Discussion

1:15-2:00 p.m. (Lunch)

2:00-3:45 p.m.
Panel 11: Youth and Popular Culture
Moderator: Dinesh Kafle, Kathmandu University, Nepal

Paper I: Advocacy: A Noun, a Verb in Kathmandu’s Youth Sector
Phoenix Kenney, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK

Paper II: Experience of ‘Living Together’ among Urban Couples in Kathmandu Valley
Narayani Devkota, Lecturer of Sociology, Saraswati Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper III: The Symbiotic Evolution of Skateboarding Culture in South Asia: A Comparative Study of Nepal and India
Leena Sharma, PhD Researcher, School for Language, Literature and Cultural Studies, Central University of Gujarat, India and Tage Lampung, First Generation Skateboarder and Editor-in-Chief, Boardzup Magazine (Digital Skateboarding Magazine)

Floor Discussion

2:00-3:45 p.m.
Panel 12: Changing Social Dynamics and Structures
Moderator: Janak Rai, Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper I: Remaking the Margins: Identity and Diaspora among the Limi People in Nepal
Wu Di, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University, China

Paper II: Transitioning Traditional Structures and Tharu Community Leadership
Rajendra Sharma, Senior Research Associate, Social Science Baha, Nepal

Paper III: A Comparative Study of the Chepangs and the Kusundas in the Socio-Economic, Cultural, and Political Context of Nepal
Mimansa Subedi, MA in English, Salesian College, University of North Bengal, India

Floor Discussion

3:45-4:00 p.m. (Break)

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Keynote Address

Between Eating and Being Fed: Competing Ethics of Community-based Road Building in Nepal
Katharine N. Rankin, Professor, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto, Canada

5:00 p.m. (End of Day 2)

Hall A

Hall B

09:30-11:15 a.m.
Panel 13: Women, Subjectivities and Intersectionality  
Moderator: Rajya Laxmi Gurung, Researcher

Paper I: Understanding Menopause Women, Their Symptoms and Coping Strategies
Rashmi Paudel, MPhil Scholar, Department of Social Work, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper II: Gendered Statelessness and Prospects for Reform: Analyzing Barriers to Acquiring Citizenship Cards Post Constitutional and Legal Amendment
Chihiro Kawaguchi, PhD Student, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

Paper III: Intersections of Inequality: The Multiple Struggles of Madeshi Dalit Women (MDW) in Water and Sanitation in Malangawa
Sunita Bhukhaju Shrestha, MPhil-PhD Scholar, Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

09:30-11:15 a.m.
Panel 14: Society, Temple and Spirituality
Moderator: CD Bhatta, Frederic Ebert Stiftung Nepal

Paper I: State, Society and Temples: A Case Study on Maisthan, Ilam
Prashanti Mukhia, MA in Strategic and Area Studies, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Paper II: From the Time of the Mahabharata, the Mahasu Temple at Hanol in Uttarakhand
Kiran Tewari, SRF ICSSR, Department of History, Kumaun University, India

Paper III: Navigating the Medieval Streets of Nepal: A Search for Spirituality
Bibek Khanal, BArch Student,  Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

11:15-11:30 a.m. (Break)

11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Panel 15: Contentions, Constructions and International Relations
Moderator: Gaurav Bhattarai, Department of International Relations and Deplomacy, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper I: “Contentious Collaborations”: Nepal and India in the Decades between 1940s–1970s
Anubha Anushree, Stanford Introductory Studies, Stanford University, USA

Paper II: The Spectre of ‘Too Many Nepalese’ in the Construction of a Usable Tibetan Buddhist Past for Bhutan and Sikkim, 1946-1950
Swati Chawla, Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University, India

Paper III: A ‘Seductress’ for Nepal: An Analytical Study of a Woman Diplomat in South Asia
Dickey Lama, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Women’s College, Calcutta, India

Floor Discussion

11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Panel 16: Gender, Violence and Gendered Politics
Moderator: Kailash Rai, Martin Chautari

Paper I: राजनीतिमा लैंगिक समावेशीकरण : कार्यान्वयनको कसीमा संविधान, कानून, दलका विधान र घोषणापत्र
आन्विका गिरी, अनुसन्धाता, डेमोक्रेसी रिसोर्स सेन्टर नेपाल

Paper II: Many Faces of Violence against Women: Narratives from Rural Nepal
Supriya Joshi, PhD Candidate, Department of Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Paper III: Intergenerational Change in Gender Roles in Harnamadi Village of Makawanpur District
Jamuna Siwakoti, Lecturer and MPhil-PhD Scholar, Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

1:15-2:00 p.m. (Lunch)

2:00-4:15 p.m.
Panel 17: Trends in Himalayan Studies
Moderator: Pratyoush Onta, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Borderland (1876-2023): Trends in Himalayan Studies
Somoshree De, ICSSR Doctoral Fellow, Centre or Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Paper II: Trends in Himalayan Folklore Studies: Aspects and Prospects
Priyanka Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Centre for Distance and Online Education, University of North Bengal, India

Paper III: Kailash as a Platform of Himalayan Studies
Nikita Biswakarma, UGC Junior Research Fellow, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal

Paper IV:  Himalayan Studies in Nepal
Swatahsiddha Sarkar, Professor, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Floor Discussion

2:00-3:45 p.m.
Panel 18: Electoral Process, Politics of Participation and the Media
Moderator: Indra Adhikari, Policy Research Institute, Nepal

Paper I: नेपाली निर्वाचन प्रक्रियाको लेखाजोखा
शेखर पराजुली, अनुसन्धाता, डेमोक्रेसी रिसोर्स सेन्टर नेपाल

Paper II: Politics of Participation: How Caste Matters in Cultural Capital Making of Dalit Political Leaders in Nepal
Ghamber Nepali, MPhil Scholar, Nepal Open University, Nepal

Paper III: छापा माध्यमः अस्तित्वको लडाईसँगै वैकल्पिक आम्दानी स्रोतको खोजी
कमलदेव भट्टराई, सम्पादक, दि अन्नपूर्ण एक्सप्रेस

Floor Discussion

4:15 p.m. (Break)

4:30-4:45 p.m.

Closing Remarks

4:45-5:15 p.m.

Stand-up Performance: नेपाली जस्तै (Almost a Nepali)
by Xing Li, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Note: Each paper presenter will summarize her/his paper within 18 minutes. The designated moderator will share her/his comments on all papers in the panel in 10 minutes (either at the beginning or the end of Q &A session). Remaining time (~40 minutes) is alloted for the floor discussion.