Dharma Studies Conference 2025: A Call for Papers

The first annual Dharma Studies Conference will take place from December 5-7, 2025, at the School of Humanities, Social Sciences & Management, IIT Bhubaneswar. The conference is being held in collaboration with several institutions, including the Department of English at Banaras Hindu University, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Roorkee, the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University, and The India Centre at FLAME University.

The conference aims to create an annual platform for scholars in India to discuss their work on dharma and the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh traditions. While the event is primarily for academics in India, international scholars who study South Asia are also encouraged to attend. The conference is particularly interested in early career academics and Ph.D. scholars, and may also consider exceptional proposals from MA students.

Conference Themes and Topics

The conference invites papers on four main themes:

• Social Justice and Dharmic Traditions.

• Gender Justice and Dharmic Traditions.

• Historiography of Dharma.

• Institutions of Dharma.

Beyond these core themes, the conference also welcomes papers on a wide range of other topics, including but not limited to:

• Indian Epics and their Retellings.

• Visual Media and Dharmic Traditions.

• Dharma and Ecology.

• Music and Dance in Dharmic Traditions.

• Dharma and Digital Communities.

• Archaeology of Dharmic Sites.

• Dharma in the Age of AI.

• Dharma and Legal Studies.

Submission and Registration Information

To participate, scholars should send an abstract of about 300 words and a bio-note of about 100 words to dharmastudiesconference@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2025.

Important dates for the conference are:

• Deadline for abstract submission: August 31, 2025.

• Notification of acceptance: September 10, 2025.

• Registration deadline: September 20, 2025.

Registration fees vary depending on the delegate type and accommodation needs:

• Delegates without accommodation: INR 2500 or USD 50.

• Faculty and independent researchers with in-campus guesthouse accommodation: INR 5500 or USD 100.

• Research scholars and students with in-campus hostel accommodation: INR 4000 or USD 80.

• Delegates presenting online: INR 2000 or USD 30.

For more details, you can visit the conference website at

https://conference.iitbbs.ac.in/dsc/.