【Report】Lecture/Event “Thinking about Diversity and Peace in Northeast India: Remembering in Peace"

In the project of “Preserving and Sharing Histories and Memories of Northeast India and Asia,” the Strategic Dialogue and Exchange Program group supports to preserve the memories of local communities and people in the Northeast India, an extremely culturally and ethnically diverse region, and to pass them on to the next generation.
 
From August 21 to September 1, 2024, four people from the Northeast India Audio Visual Archive (NEIAV) affiliated to St. Anthony's College in Meghalaya, the Northeast India, and Ms. Ajanuo Belho, a consultant of the Tourism Department of the Government of Nagaland, who has long been engaged in memorial activities for Japanese soldiers who served in the Imphal operation during World War II, were invited to Japan. The event, which included lectures and an exhibition, provided an opportunity to introduce the history and culture of the Northeast India and to reflect on peace through local activities based on historical background.
 
On August 25, we co-hosted the event with the Institute for Asian Studies at Asia University and welcomed approximately 70 participants. After opening remarks by Dr. Kengo Nagatsuna, President of Asia University, and Mr. Nobuyuki Konishi, Director of our group, as representatives of the co-organizers, Dr. Junisha Khongwir, Associate Professor of St. Anthony's College, gave a lecture on the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Northeast India, followed by a presentation by Ms. Ajanuo Belho. She shared the history of her activities in collecting human remains over the years and her thoughts on the “Repose of Souls”. In the latter half, Dr. Chihiro Koiso of Asia University (Department of Multicultural Communication, Faculty of International Relations) gave a lecture on “The Religious World of Nagaland and Manipur”. The lectures were followed by a question-and-answer session on the factors that have shaped the customs of the people of Northeast India and the view of Northeast India within India.

On August 28, we co-hosted the event with Gifu University at the OKB Plaza located in the university with approximately 30 participants. Gifu University has a long-standing collaborative relationship with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), located in Guwahati, Assam, in the Northeast India. At the beginning of the lecture, Professor. Akio Ebihara of Gifu University explained the exchange between Gifu University and IITG followed by an explanation of the purpose of this event by Mr. Nobuyuki Konishi, Director of our group. Then, Mr. Ryohei Kasai, Visiting Associate Professor at Gifu Women's University (Center for South Asian Studies), gave an overview of the Northeast India and its connection with Japan, followed by a lecture on the cultural and ethnic diversity and attractiveness of the Northeast India by Dr. Junisha and a lecture on the activities of collecting remains in Nagaland by Ms. Belho. The second half of the session was dedicated to the study abroad program of Gifu University at IITG. In the latter half of the session, a student at Gifu University who had studied abroad at IITG shared her experience, and Dr. Shinichi Miwa, a specially appointed professor of Gifu University Organization for Promotion of Glocalization, reported on industry-academia cooperation.