Former professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University R. K. Jain on Sunday addressed the issue of migration, tracing its trajectory from a national perspective to a broader global context.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 50th All India Sociological Conference on the theme “Mobilities and Inequalities: Shifting Contexts; Changing Paradigms”, hosted at SRM University-A.P. in Amaravati, Prof. Jain highlighted the complex intersection of mobility and inequality at the global level. He underscored the need to examine these dynamics through the lens of South Asian diasporic migration. While referring to different forms of labour migration, he laid particular emphasis on the mid-twentieth-century Indian diaspora, noting that it was shaped less by economic marginalisation and more by political, cultural and psychological factors.
Prof. Jain further pointed out that the H-1B visa remains a significant contemporary example illustrating the interplay of race, class and cultural narratives within the modern diaspora. These complexities, he said, underline the continuing relevance of migration in understanding social inequality in the present-day world.
Dean of the Easwari School of Liberal Arts, SRM University-A.P., Vishnupad, stressed the importance of the conference theme, observing that the interaction of social and technological forces is reshaping sociological understanding and demands constant adaptation.
Vice-Chancellor Ch. Satish Kumar said that socialisation was increasingly transforming into e-socialisation, redefining individual identity and reducing the significance of domestic spaces. He noted that older ethical values were being rapidly replaced by those of Generation Z and expressed hope that the gathering of sociologists and anthropologists would help strike a balance with emerging perspectives.
Three publications, including a special issue of the Sociological Bulletin, were released on the occasion, and Dr. Achala Gupta of the University of Southampton was conferred the M. N. Srinivas Memorial Award. The programme featured parallel research committee sessions, a plenary session and a memorial session in honour of R. K. Mukherjee.
The inaugural day saw the participation of several eminent scholars from sociology and anthropology, including Maitrayee Chaudari, president of the Indian Sociological Society; Swetha Prasad, its secretary; Sujata Patel, retired professor of sociology at the University of Hyderabad; Satish Deshpande, professor of sociology at the University of Delhi; Irudaya Rajan, chairman of the International Institute of Migration and Development and guest faculty at SRM University-AP; and Anand Kumar, retired professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, among others.