The 4th International Hindukush Cultural Conference is an academic and scholarly activity in continuation of the first conference held in Moesgaard, Denmark in 1970. The 2020 conference will commemorate the golden jubilee of that first conference. The 2nd International Hindukush Cultural Conference was hosted by the Anjuman in Chitral, in August 1990 with Professor Israruddin (Chairman, Department of Geography, University of Peshawar) as convener and Dr Karl Jettmar (South Asian Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany) as general president. The 3rd conference was hosted by the same organization in Chitral in October 1995, with the same convener and Professor Schuyler Jones (Pitt Rivers Museum, England) as General President. The 4th International Conference will be convened by Professor Israruddin on behalf of the same host to give an opportunity for high profile scholars in the field of Hindukush studies to meet and exchange ideas about their recent works. The conference will bring together national and international scholars.
To provide a platform to researchers, students and professionals from development sector for discussing the social and economic issues and finding solutions through interaction, knowledge sharing and networking.
Conference themes and sub themes will include, but are not limited to the following
• Pre-colonial history of Chitral, Mastuj and Yasin
• Pre-colonial history of Gilgit, Hunza and Nager
• Colonial history of Northern Pakistan
• Historiography of the Chitral and Gilgit areas
• Northern Pakistan in the days of independence and the accession of the northern polities (principalities and stateless communities)
• History and distribution of Muslim confessions in the Hindukush/Karakorum
• History of population movements and migrations in the Hindukush/Karakorum
• Ancient trade routes
• Historical buildings, forts, palaces, mosques, remarkable residences, tower-houses, notable burials, historical sites
• Findings and prospects in the archaeology of the Hindukush/Karakorum
• Post-state History of Chitral
Geography
• Adaptation to climate change in Pakistan’s mountain regions
• Challenges for sustainable development
• Reducing the knowledge gap: recent studies in mountain research
• Regional development of Chitral
• Water towers of humankind: Hindukush and Karakoram revisited
• Pastoralism in the Hindukush
• Exchange relations between Chitral and Afghanistan
• Cultural geography of the Hindukush
Cultural
• Poetry in the local languages of the Hindukush/Karakorum: past and present
• Oral traditions and genealogical knowledge about the past in local communities
• Ethnic and linguistic minorities and their quest for identity
• Music and dance in local traditions
• Polo and other traditional sports
• Tradition and innovation in self-organization of local communities
• Rites of birth, marriage and burial: tradition versus innovation
• The cultural impact of development interventions and new technologies
• Traditional artisans and their crafts
Kalasha Heritage
• Permanence and change in traditional behaviours, practices and conceptions
• Kalasha women between tradition and innovation
• The process of conversion among the Kalasha in the past and in the present
• The present practice of Kalasha traditional ritual
• Development interventions by government and NGOs in Kalasha valleys and their impact on the culture
• Cultural impact of tourism in the Kalasha valleys
• The new Kalasha: the younger generations between tradition and modernity
• Challenges and threats for Kalasha culture and identity
Languages
• Language documentation, description and promotion
• Challenges in implementing of language in Education policy.
• Causes of language endangerment in Hindukush Region
• Language maintenance
• Indigenous voices in popular culture (e.g. social media, fiction, poetry, film, hip hop)
• Multilingualism in Hindukush Region
Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
• MTB-MLE theory and Practices
• Curriculum Development
• Mother tongue Education
• Teaching kits
• Practice from Field
• Reading material
• Challenges in Mother Tongue Education
Tourism
• Ecotourism in Hindukush and Karakorum region
• Cultural festivals in Hindukush and Karakorum region
• Recreational and Environment tourism
• Historical and Religious tourism
• Culture and ethnic tourism
• Adventure and Wildlife tourism
• Any other topic in line with tourism Hindukush and Karakorum region
coming soon
4thInternational Hindukush Cultural Conference
September 14-16, 2020
Chitral, Pakistan
Final Announcement and Call for Abstracts
Anjuman Taraqqi Khowar and the Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI) are pleased to announce a Call for Abstracts for the 4th International Hindukush Cultural Conference to be held on 14-16 September 2020. The three-day conference is meant to provide a platform for scholars, students and people from different communities to interact and learn from each other. The 4th International Hindukush Cultural Conference is an academic and scholarly activity in continuation of the first conference held in Moesgaard, Denmark in 1970. The 2020 conference will commemorate the golden jubilee of that first conference. The 2nd International Hindukush Cultural Conference was hosted by the Anjuman in Chitral, in August 1990 with Professor Israruddin (Chairman, Department of Geography, University of Peshawar) as convener and Dr Karl Jettmar (South Asian Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany) as general president. The 3rd conference was hosted by the same organization in Chitral in October 1995, with the same convener and Professor Schuyler Jones (Pitt Rivers Museum, England) as General President. The 4th International Conference will be convened by Professor Israruddin on behalf of the same host to give an opportunity for high profile scholars in the field of Hindukush studies to meet and exchange ideas about their recent works.The conference will bring together national and international scholars.
The highly motivated team of hosts is looking forward to welcoming you in Chitral in September 2020. The event includes workshops, talks by keynote speakers, paper presentations and excursions, as well as a cultural night.
Conference themes.
Conference themes and sub themes will include, but are not limited to the following
History
• Pre-colonial history of Chitral, Mastuj and Yasin
• Pre-colonial history of Gilgit, Hunza and Nager
• Colonial history of Northern Pakistan
• Historiography of the Chitral and Gilgit areas
• Northern Pakistan in the days of independence and the accession of the northern polities (principalities and stateless communities)
• History and distribution of Muslim confessions in the Hindukush/Karakorum
• History of population movements and migrations in the Hindukush/Karakorum
• Ancient trade routes
• Historical buildings, forts, palaces, mosques, remarkable residences, tower-houses, notable burials, historical sites
• Findings and prospects in the archaeology of the Hindukush/Karakorum
• Post-state History of Chitral
Geography
• Adaptation to climate change in Pakistan’s mountain regions
• Challenges for sustainable development
• Reducing the knowledge gap: recent studies in mountain research
• Regional development of Chitral
• Water towers of humankind: Hindukush and Karakoram revisited
• Pastoralism in the Hindukush
• Exchange relations between Chitral and Afghanistan
• Cultural geography of the Hindukush
Cultural
• Poetry in the local languages of the Hindukush/Karakorum: past and present
• Oral traditions and genealogical knowledge about the past in local communities
• Ethnic and linguistic minorities and their quest for identity
• Music and dance in local traditions
• Polo and other traditional sports
• Tradition and innovation in self-organization of local communities
• Rites of birth, marriage and burial: tradition versus innovation
• The cultural impact of development interventions and new technologies
• Traditional artisans and their crafts
Kalasha Heritage
• Permanence and change in traditional behaviours, practices and conceptions
• Kalasha women between tradition and innovation
• The process of conversion among the Kalasha in the past and in the present
• The present practice of Kalasha traditional ritual
• Development interventions by government and NGOs in Kalasha valleys and their impact on the culture
• Cultural impact of tourism in the Kalasha valleys
• The new Kalasha: the younger generations between tradition and modernity
• Challenges and threats for Kalasha culture and identity
Languages
• Language documentation, description and promotion
• Challenges in implementing of language in Education policy.
• Causes of language endangerment in Hindukush Region
• Language maintenance
• Indigenous voices in popular culture (e.g. social media, fiction, poetry, film, hip hop)
• Multilingualism in Hindukush Region
Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
• MTB-MLE theory and Practices
• Curriculum Development
• Mother tongue Education
• Teaching kits
• Practice from Field
• Reading material
• Challenges in Mother Tongue Education
Tourism
• Ecotourism in Hindukush and Karakorum region
• Cultural festivals in Hindukush and Karakorum region
• Recreational and Environment tourism
• Historical and Religious tourism
• Culture and ethnic tourism
• Adventure and Wildlife tourism
• Any other topic in line with tourism Hindukush and Karakorum region
Invited Keynote Speakers
Alberto Cacopardo, Professor University of Florence
Augusto Cacopardo, Professor University of Florence
Elena Bashir, Professor University of Chicago
Henrik Liljegren, Professor Stockholm University
Hermann Kreutzmann, Professor University Berlin
Jo-Ann Gross, Professor the College of New Jersey
Abstract/ Proposals and Deadlines
Scholars are invited to submit an abstract of 500 words by 30 November 2019 through EasyChair.
Notification of acceptance of abstracts
Paper submissions will be reviewed by experts selected by the conference committee for their demonstrated knowledge of topics. The progress and results of the review process will be notified to the authors by 15 January 2019.
Registration Fee:
International Scholars: US$ 100, National Scholars: PKR 3000, Independent researchers from indigenous communities: PKR 1500 and students PKR 1000
Guidelines for Authors
- Submissions should be in English; however, presentations can be in any language. In the event the presentation is given in languages other than English, we would request the presenters to provide translations so as to make it comprehensible for the audience. The organizers may not be able to provide translators in such cases.
- Submissions must be original and should not have been published previously. Papers will be short – 20 minutes will be given for the presentation followed by a 10-minute questions-answers session.Please note that you will not be asked to submit full papers in advance of the conference.
- To help blind peer review, please do not mention your name or affiliation in your proposal or file name. The abstract should only include your presentation title, proposal content, and list of references (if applicable).
- The EasyChair Proposal submission system is being used for this call for abstracts. To be able to use this system, you will first need to sign up for a free EasyChair Author account, if you don’t already have one. From there you can submit your abstract as an Author and make any updates or modifications to your abstract submission up to the submission deadline. Submit your abstract here to EasyChair. If you should have questions about the system, please contact the numbers given in bottom of the document.
- Hard copy submissions will be accepted from those who do not have Internet access. Please send one hard copy of your abstract, along with the following information: (1) your name, (2) affiliation, (3) mailing address, (4) phone number, (5) email address, and (6) title of your paper. Hard copies must be post-marked on or before December 31, 2019 and may be sent to:
4th Hindukush Cultural Conference/Fakhruddin Akhunzada
Forum for Language Initiatives
#2, Block 19, Allahdad Plaza, G-8 Markaz, Islamabad Pakistan
Publication Opportunity
All papers in the proceedings will stand a chance to be published after further revision (if recommended) in theconference proceedings subject to fulfilment of the guidelines and conditions.
Conference Venue
ChitralTown, District Chitral, Pakistan
Logistics
Chitral town has hotels ranging for all kind of budget. Details of the hotels will be providedlater. Government has also removed restriction on foreigners totravel to Chitral and nearby regions. Online visa facilities are available for most of the countries while citizen of some countries can also get visa on arrival. See your country on this link. There are daily luxury bus servicesfrom Islamabad and Peshawar to Chitral. Pakistan International Airline (PIA) also operates sorties for Chitral twicea week from Peshawar and Islamabad. Theconference organizers will establish reception at Peshawar and Islamabad airport to facilitate the conference delegates.
For further information
For further information and questionsplease write to
4thihcc@gmail.com or call +92 (0)51 2250068
(please forward to interested scholars)
Chitral Town, KP, Pakistan.
Alberto Cacopardo is adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Florence, Italy. He has carried out ethnographic research on various populations of Chitral and neighbouring areas over a span of several decades, starting in 1973. He has published various books and articles on the subject.
Augusto S. Cacopardois Adjunct Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Florence, Italy. He has conducted anthropological field research in Chitral since the ‘70ies under the aegis of ISMEO (Italian Institute for Middle and Far-Eastern Studies) at first in Birir, Bumburet and Rumbur, subsequently among several neighboring converted Kalasha communities, and finally among the other linguistic minorities of Southern Chitral. He has published widely in English and Italian.
2005-present Professor of Human Geography, Director Centre for Development Studies in the Institute of Geographic Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin Principle Investigator ‘Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Muslim Societies’
Henrik Liljegren is a researcher in linguistics at Stockholm University (Sweden), where he received his PhD in 2008. He is one of the co-founders of Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI), a resource centre for the many language communities in Pakistan’s mountainous North, where he served for several years while also conducting fieldwork in the country, primarily in the Palula community of Chitral. His main research interests are areal-linguistic typology, language contact, Indo-Iranian languages, case alignment, phonology and lexicography. Apart from research per se, Henrik Liljegren has been engaged in language maintenance efforts and orthography development, mentoring language activists in local communities to collect and organize data, and in building networks between local communities and organizations. He is presently leading a Swedish Research Council project, investigating language contact and relatedness in the Hindukush-Karakorum region.
Jo-Ann Gross is Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Eurasian History at The College of New Jersey. Her research focuses on early modern and modern Iran and Central Asia, with an emphasis on Ismailism in the Pamir and the social history of Sufism, shrines and hagiographic narrative traditions. Her book publications includeSufism in Central Asia: New Perspectives on Sufi Traditions, 15th-21st Centuries, (2018); The Letters of Khwaja ‘Ubayd Allah Ahrar and his Associates (Brill, 2002), and Muslims in Central Asia: Expressions of Identity and Change (ed. Jo-Ann Gross, Duke UP, 1992). Prof. Gross’ current research focuses on the genealogical and documentary history (15th century to the present) of theNizariIsmailis of Badakhshan in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Since 2004, Prof. Gross has carried out archival and field research in Badakhshan to locate and photograph privately-held nasab-nāmasand interview members of the Ismaili community. She is the recent recipient of a 3-year National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Collaborative Research Grant (2017-2020) for her project on “Ismailism in Badakhshan: Genealogical and Documentary History.”Prof. She is presently preparing a co-authored book manuscript on Ismaili genealogical traditions in the Pamir (based on the documentary corpus), for which she intends to expand her research to include the culture of genealogical documentation in the Hindukush region of Chitral, Hunza and Gilgit.
Dr. Elena Bashir
Elena Bashir wrote her PhD dissertation on the Kalasha language in the Linguistics Department at the University of Michigan (USA). During the course of that work she discovered both the many similarities and the differences between Khowar and Kalasha. Since then (1988) her major research focus has been on Khowar, about which she is working on a reference grammar planned to include a grammar proper, selection of texts, and a glossary. She has spent most of her adult life in Pakistan and has also done linguistic research on other languages of Pakistan, especially in the northern parts of the country. Her main interests are in descriptive and comparative work on the smaller or understudied languages of the country, with the aim of helping to document its rich and varied cultural heritage. For the past several years she has been teaching Urdu at the University of Chicago (USA).
Anjuman Taraqi Khowar
AnjumanTaraqqi Khowar (ATK), founded by the literary people of Chitral in 1956 is one of the oldest literary organizations of northern Pakistan. The purpose of the establishment of ATK was to provide a platform to Chitrali poets and men of letters so that they could work for the promotion of Khowar language and literature. Since its inception, ATK has held hundreds of poetry recital symposia, workshops, seminars and conferences; and has published around hundred books in Khowar language. Most importantly, ATK has hosted two international conferences: “the 2nd and 3rd International Hindukush Cultural Conferences”, in 1990 and 1995 respectively, in Chitral. ATK is registered with the government of Pakistan and has 22 chapters (halqa-jaat) in different villages/areas of Chitral, as well as in major cities of the country.
Forum for Language Initiatives
The Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI) is a non-profit research organization based in Islamabad and works for the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages of Northern Pakistan. Established in 2002, FLI has the goal of preserving these languages by building capacity among the people from local communities. FLI is registered with ICT, Government of Pakistan, has its head office in Islamabad and its regional office in one of its target areas, Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It has implemented many multimillion and multiyear projects and has so far covered 20 languages spoken in its target area by having trained thousands of mother tongue speakers from Northern Pakistan in language documentation, multilingual education, organizational management, sociolinguistic research, literature production and advocacy. The organization has turned dozens of purely verbal languages into written form and empowered the ethnolinguistic communities by providing skills, awareness and resources to protect and promote their languages and cultures. Many trainees of FLI are actively involved in preserving and developing their mother tongues. Some have formed community-based organizations and established mother tongue-based education programs. FLI has trained a number of people from the language communities as facilitators. These people further trained and passed on their enhanced skills to other people in their communities, other community people, university students and faculty members
- AC Chitral (Ex-Officio)
- ADC Chitral (Ex-Officio)
- Ejaz Ahmad
- Faham Aziz, Shehzada
- Fakhruddin Akhunzada
- Fazal Hadi
- Gul Murad Hasrat
- Inayat Ullah Faizi, PhD. (Co-Convener)
- Israr Uddin, Prof.(Convener)
- Minhas Uddin
- Muhammad Zaman Sagar
- Mumtaz Hussain, Prof.
- Rehmat Karim Baig, Prof.
- Sadiq Ullah Sadiq
- Taj Uddin Sharar, PhD
- Tanvir Ul Mulk, Shehzada
- Yousaf Shahzad
- Zahoor ul Haq Danish
Logistical Information can be downloaded by clicking Here
Notes for Participants
4th International Hindukush Cultural Conference
September 14-16, 2020
Chitral Town , Pakistan
1. Dates: 14-16 September 2020
2. Venue: Chitral Town, Chitral
3. Language:
English will be working language for the conference. If any presenter requiring translator for his/ her presentation he/ she needs to arrange his/ her own, and registration for both is required.
4. Conference website: https://fli-online.org/site/ihcc4
5. Registration and Payments
To confirm participation in the conference registration is required. Registration fee for International presenter is : US$ 100, national presenter : PKR 3000, Independent researchers from indigenous communities of northern Pakistan: PKR 1500 and students PKR 1000
The Registration fee will cover the following:
Conference kit
Access to all sessions
Morning and afternoon refreshments and launches for three days (14‐16 Sep, 2020)
Reception Dinner with Cultural Show on 15 September 2020
Certificate of attendance/presentation
Accommodation expenses are NOT included in the registration fee.Online registration will open in March 2020. We recommend you to prompt registration as places are likely to fill up quickly. Registration can only be confirmed once payment is received. After payment process is successfully completed, you may request a personal invitation letter (if required) from the Conference Secretariat, accessible at this email address: 4thihcc@gmail.com Cancellation of the registration can be made within 14 days after you registered, and the refund will be made in full within 14 days after the submission of official cancellation request.
6. Conference registration
All participants will need to register on Day 1 of the conference at the designated Registration Desk. There participants will be able to collect their identification tags and conference kits. The Registration Desk will be open on 14th September 2020 from 07:30 to 01:00 pm hours. Participants will be required to show their NIC/passports at the registration desk in order to issue their tags. Please note that all participants will always be required to wear their name tags during the conference to facilitate identification, security and communication with other participants and members of the Secretariat.There will be a strict policy of ‘NO NAME TAG, NO ENTRY’ at the venue and all meeting rooms, including the lunch area.
7. Visas
To travel Pakistan visa is required.However, the Federal Government of Pakistan has removed restrictions on foreigners to travel to Chitral and nearby regions. Online visa facilities are available for most of the countries while citizens of some countries can also get visa on arrival. See your country on this link. If you need invitation letter please write to the Conference Secretariat at 4thihcc@gmail.com
8. Accommodation
Chitral town has hotels ranging for all kind of budget. Participants should arrange and pay for their bookings with the hotel directly. More information about the hotels will be uploaded soon.
9. Meals
Morning and afternoon tea breaks as well as lunches will be provided from 14-16 Sep 2020. There will be a reception dinner on the 15 September.
10. Chitral climate
In September Chitral’s temperatures are expected to be normal (range 21-29 0C). Normal clothing will work for this weather. Usually in the month of September the town gets not much rains. As temperature remains normal and thereforethe guests may not expect or needair-conditioned rooms for stay. Day and night climate usually doesn’t differ with each other during September.
11. Travel
The nearest international airports for Chitralare Peshawar and Islamabad airports. From there, various options to travel onwards are available. The conference organizers will establish reception at Peshawar and Islamabad airports to facilitate international participants.
1. Air Flight
Currently the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)operates one flighton weekly basiseach from Islamabad and Peshawar to Chitral. Any change in the flight schedule takes place by the time, the same will be updated.Ittakes around 40 minute to Chitral. For detail check PIA websites.
2. Land Transportoptions to Chitral from down Cities
a. Islamabad to Chitral.
Hindukush Express has daily one (night) bus service from Islamabad/Rawalpindi to Chitral. It is an
airconditioned and comfortable bus leaves at20:00 hours daily. Per passenger fare is PKR 1850. Prebooking is required. For booking, please contact phone +92 335 570 0800.
Car serviceisavailable from Rawalpindi/Islamabad to Chitral (on special booking only) .The cars carry four people. The charges costaround PKR 15,000(100 USD).This car service can be availed at Karachi Company (G-9 Markaz, Islamabad).
b. Peshawar To Chitral
Hindukush Express has its service also from Peshawar to Chitral. Pre booking is required. For booking call +92 302 6256000. The bus leaves at 7 pm daily for Chitral from Lahore Adda Peshawar. (Head Office Chitral Pone+92 0943 413151-3)
Passenger car services are available from Peshawar to Chitral. The cars carry four passengers and charge 2500 /passenger.
c. Timargira to Chitral
The passenger cars and usual transport services are also available at Timargira town (Lower Dir lying on way to Chitral)at day time. There are bus/car services to Timargirafrom most of the cities of the country.
12. Currency exchange rate and ATM
The currency of Pakistan is Pakistani Rupees. The commercial rate is subject to market changes. Chitral town has ATM services provided by some banks, however there is no currency exchange service in Chitral town. International participants are advised to exchange currency at their arrival airports/cities.
13. Contact Information
For more information or any enquiry related to the conference, you can contact the Conference
Secretariat at: 4thihcc@gmail.comor phone +92 51 2250068 ext. 114
coming soon
Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI)
#2, Block-19, Allah dad Plaza,
G-8 Markaz, Islamabad, Pakistan 44000
Email: 4thihcc@gmail.com
Phone:+92 (0)51 2250068 Ext. 114
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Group Photo during Website Launching
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