Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress: Announcements
The Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress (JUMP) is a refereed interdisciplinary publication (Print ISSN 2574-3465 & Online ISSN 2574-3481) dedicated to the educational, economic, and social progress of minority and underrepresented communities around the world. JUMP strives to provide space for a meaningful, intentional, and actionable scholarship that aims to advance social justice.
Urgent: Special Issue on Law, Literature, and Justice in the SAARC Region: An Inquiry through Marginal Voices
The minutely intertwined interdisciplinary domain of Law and Literature has been an established academic and empirical field of inquiry in the West since the early twentieth century. It began to take shape and develop its roots with the outstanding and remarkably genius works of John Wigmore, James Boyd White and Richard Posner. Wigmore in his List of Legal Novels (1908) created an annotated bibliography of works that dealt with aspects of law, courtroom scenes and all forms of justice. James Boyd White, in his The Legal Imagination (1973) explored law as a rhetorical and literary activity, and Richard Posner’s Law and Literature (2009) established and systematized the domain. He was foundational in not only popularizing the domain of law and literature but also established it as an academic domain of critical inquiry. Posner has been fundamental in charting out the nuances and aspects in which law and literature share certain commonalities. These include sharing an inherent and strong foundation on language and rhetoric, both domains resting on sharp storytelling and the power of expression, and both shaping and reflecting societal values, power structures and human experiences. Despite this, Law and Literature remains a neglected domain in South Asia, particularly the SAARC nations encompassing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Despite shared colonial legal legacies (particularly the British common law tradition inherited by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) and extraordinarily rich literary traditions that document injustice, resistance, and social transformation, this interdisciplinary scholarship has not taken institutional roots. In most law schools across the SAARC regions, particularly in India, the discipline of law and literature either does not exist at all or remains an elective choice for the students which they often bypass in favour of domains that study law theoretically and practically rather than through an interdisciplinary lens. There are several factors that contribute to this neglect such as a shared colonial legacy of legal education that has often pedestralized technical training of the lawyers and jurists over a humanistic inquiry. Moreover, legal education in these regions, as we know today, is practiced as it was learnt from the West without any interference of the traditional value systems of these nations which would have played a significant role in humanizing the domain. This has resulted in creating strict boundaries and preventing cross-pollination between law and literature departments; a lack of institutional support through dedicated journals, conferences, or research centers; along with an absence of a theoretical framework that names and legitimizes this interdisciplinary work. While activists, writers, and legal advocates engage with narratives of injustice regularly across the region, their work is not recognized as "Law and Literature" scholarship. This special issue aims to address that neglect by examining how literary and testimonial narratives have served, and continues to serve, the advancement and legal recognition of underrepresented communities across South Asia. Literature has long been instrumental in serving as a catalyst for legal reform across the world and also within South Asia. It abounds with examples where texts have been significant in bringing about a legal reform. Of India, Katherine Mayo's controversial Mother India (1927) contributed to debates leading to the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929). Mulk Raj Anand's Coolie (1936) and Untouchable (1935) have sensitized the readers on labor exploitation and caste discrimination. Mahasweta Devi's documentation of tribal oppression informed activists and lawyers fighting for land and tribal rights. Dalit autobiographies such as Bama's Karukku(1992) and Omprakash Valmiki's Joothan (1997) have become crucial readings of anti-caste legal activism. Arundhati Roy's essays on displacement, dissent, and justice have influenced public opinion and legal debates on environmental rights and state violence. Many literary texts across South Asia speak specifically of underrepresented sections of society such as the women, religious and ethnic minorities, tribal and indigenous communities, economically weaker sections, migrants, refugees, stateless populations to name a few. Such works have been consistently documenting how these groups face systemic injustice because laws and judicial systems fail to grant them dignified living. Literature here becomes a mirror reflecting the collapse of legal frameworks, exposing the gaps between constitutional ideals and lived realities. Beyond India, South Asian literature has consistently engaged with themes of legal injustice and inspired reform movements. In Pakistan, Saadat Hasan Manto's partition stories, particularly tales such as Khol Do [trans. Open It] and Chutgtai’s Lihaaf (1942) and his obscenity trials raised critical questions about censorship, morality laws, and artistic freedom especially at a juncture when the two newly formed nations were struggling with nation building. In Bangladesh, Taslima Nasrin's writings on religious freedom and women's rights sparked national debates on blasphemy laws and gender inequality. In Sri Lanka, post-civil war literature documenting Tamil minority experiences has informed truth and transitional justice mechanisms. In Nepal, Dalit literature and narratives of Madhesi marginalization have fueled movements for constitutional recognition and rights. In Afghanistan, women's poetry and testimonies have become international appeals for human rights intervention. Works like Premchand's Godaan (1936) in India depict the plight of indebted peasants. Qurratulain Hyder's Aag Ka Darya (1970) traces communal violence and minority persecution across the Indian subcontinent. Bapsi Sidhwa's Cracking India documents Partition's gendered violence and Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy explores LGBTQ+ persecution in Sri Lanka. These narratives expose regional patterns of exclusion, statelessness, and rights denial suggesting where legal reform is urgently needed. Many of these works of literature have faced censorship and that fact itself speaks of the idea that it presents something gruesome enough to urge for a reshaping of the legal frameworks and the societal thought process in general. These works demonstrate that literature does not merely reflect law, it actively shapes, challenges, and transforms it across national boundaries. Aside from written literature, storytelling itself has become a powerful tool in legal advocacy across South Asia. Heinous crimes witnessed in recent times have evoked protests across borders and are presented in the courts like a grand epic of systemic legal collapse raising a plea for urgent and serious legal reforms. Some of these real life incidents include the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, India. The harrowing testimonies of victims who faced medical, personal and property loss had raised serious questions on threat to life due to unmitigated industrial growth leading to severe reformations in environmental law. The Nirbhaya rape case of 2012 galvanized national protests, and the victim’s demise led to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, (2013), which significantly reformed sexual assault laws. The Mathura rape case (1972) and subsequent public outcry fueled by the victim's narrative resulted in the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1983). In the Niyamgiri case, the oral testimonies of the Dongria Kondh tribe about their sacred mountains became legal evidence in environmental litigation. In Bangladesh, testimonies from the 1971 Liberation War and subsequent trials for crimes against humanity demonstrate how narratives become evidence in delivering justice. In Sri Lanka, survivor testimonies from the civil war have been central to truth commissions and accountability mechanisms. These cases reveal that narrative and storytelling are not peripheral to legal processes but are central to justice mechanisms across the region. Prominent jurists across South Asia have recognized the vital connection between law and literature. In India, former Finance Minister and senior advocate P. Chidambaram has urged lawyers to read widely beyond law. Legal scholar Upendra Baxi writes eloquently about law's relationship to culture, suffering, and human rights. Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Ramasubramanium have meticulously quoted literature in their judgments and speeches, encouraging law schools and legal professionals to engage with timeless literary works. Sri Lankan judges have referenced post-conflict literature in transitional justice cases. These judicial voices highlight a serious need for reform in legal education across the region, specifically of a curricula almost entirely devoid of literature and other humanities disciplines. Law schools must recognize that training empathetic, ethically grounded, and intellectually rigorous lawyers requires engagement with narrative, interpretation, and the human condition. Keeping the above factors in mind, this special issue calls attention to the continuing gap between the lived legal experience of underrepresented communities and the frameworks meant to protect them, a gap that literary and testimonial narrative has often been left alone to document. We invite scholarship that connects literary texts to real case studies and measurable outcomes for underrepresented communities across the SAARC region along with a comparative analysis that explores how different South Asian countries' legal systems respond to similar injustices. The issue invites contributions from readers, observers, thinkers, and cultural theorists who can propose pathways toward justice. We welcome interdisciplinary scholarship that positions literature not as decoration or supplement to law, but as essential to understanding and achieving justice across borders, languages, and legal traditions. Sub-Themes: Representations of marginalized communities such as Dalit, tribal, indigenous, religious and ethnic minorities in South Asian legal and literary narratives. Lived experiences of trauma, assault and disaster of marginalized individuals and communities as testimonial accounts that have driven legal reform or activism (Bhopal Gas Tragedy(1984), Nirbhaya Rape Case (2012), Mathura Rape Case (1972), Niyamgiri Case (2013), and comparable cases) Storytelling and testimony as legal advocacy: survivor narratives, PILs, and oral accounts in South Asian courts. Lived legal exclusion of displaced communities expressed in literature of Partition, migration and statelessness. How far does literature function as a cited source shaping legal proceedings in South Asian jurisdictions beyond India? Alternative and community-based justice systems (panchayats, jirgas, restorative justice) and their literary or narrative documentation. Censorship, obscenity trials, and free-expression cases involving South Asian writers, read as sites where law and community voice collide. Literary texts as Legal Subjects framing obscenity laws and ideas of free expression. Scholars from law, literature, cultural studies, sociology, human rights, South Asian studies, and allied fields across the region and internationally are encouraged to contribute. Additionally, the call invites advocates, policy makers, jurists and any enthusiast of the field to contribute through their doctrinal and empirical research towards this issue. References: Anand, M. R. (1935). Untouchable. Wishart Books. Anand, M. R. (1936). Coolie. Wishart Books. Arudpragasam, A. (2016). The story of a brief marriage. Fourth Estate. Arudpragasam, A. (2022). A Passage North. Penguin. Bama, F. (2000). Karukku (Trans. L. Holmström). Oxford University Press. Baxi, U. (1998). Voices of suffering and the future of human rights. Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems, 8, 125–169. Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, No. 19, Acts of Parliament, 1929 (India). Chughtai, I. (1994). Lihaaf [The quilt] (Trans. T. Naqvi & S. S. Hameed). In The quilt and other stories (pp. XX–XX). Sheep Meadow Press. Devi, M. (1997). Draupadi (Trans. G. C. Spivak). in Breast stories (pp. 19–38). Seagull Books. Ganesh, U. (2023). Law and literature (1st ed.). Central Law Agency. Griswold, E., & Murphy, S. (2014). I am the beggar of the world: Landays from contemporary Afghanistan. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hyder, Q. (1998). River of fire (Q. Hyder, Trans.). Kali for Women. Manto, S. H. (1997). Khol do [Open it] (Trans. K. Hasan). In Mottled dawn: Fifty sketches and stories of Partition (pp. XX–XX). Penguin Books India. Mayo, K. (1927). Mother India. Harcourt, Brace. Mukesh v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2017) 6 SCC 1. Nasrin, T. (2014). Lajja: In a new translation (A. Ghatak, Trans.). Penguin Random House India. Orissa Mining Corp. v. Ministry of Environment & Forest, (2013) 6 SCC 476. (2019). Blue mimosa (T. V. Varya, Trans.). Educational Publishing House. Pariyar, S. (2020). A Dalit mother's accounts (R. Thapa, Trans.). Lit. https://lalitmag.com/a-dalit-mothers-accounts/ Posner, R. A. (2009). Law and literature (3rd ed.). Harvard University Press. (2007). Godan: A Novel Of Peasant India (Trans. J. Ratan & P. Lal, Trans.). Jaico Publishing House. Roy, A. (2020). Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. Hamish Hamilton. Selvadurai, S. (1994). Funny boy: A novel in six stories. William Morrow. Sidhwa, B. (2006). Cracking India: A novel. Milkweed Editions. Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1979 SC 185: (1979) 2 SCC 143: 1979 SCR (1) 810. Union Carbide Corp. v. Union of India, (1989) 2 SCC 540 (settlement order); AIR 1990 SC 273. Valmiki, O. (2003). Joothan: A Dalit's life (Trans. A. P. Mukherjee). Columbia University Press. White, J. B. (1973). The legal imagination: Studies in the nature of legal thought and expression. Little, Brown. Wigmore, J. H. (1908). A list of legal novels. Illinois Law Review, 2(9), 574–593.
Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress
Scholarly Publishing Meet-and-Greet Series
Join this engaging, multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing Meet-and-Greet Series designed for graduate students, early-career scholars, faculty members, and academic leaders. The series brings together journal editors, book series editors, reviewers, and publishers for open conversations on journal publishing, book development, peer review, AI in scholarship, and academic career pathways. ✔ One-time registration for all sessions ✔ Direct engagement with experienced editors and publishers ✔ Free to attend ✔ Certificate of participation for each session Complete online registration here Upcoming Sessions | download flyer Jan 15 – Publishing in Scholarly Journals: Standards, Strategies, and Success Jan 22 – Inside the Editorial Office: A Conversation with Journal Editors Jan 29 – AI & Peer Review Process: Equity, Ethics, and Editorial Responsibility Feb 5 – Publishing as a Graduate Student or Early-Career Scholar Feb 12 – From Dissertation to Journal Article: Refinement and Repositioning Feb 19 – Publishing Academic Books: From Proposal to Publication Feb 26 – Becoming a Book Series Editor: Leadership, Vision, and Practice Mar 5 – Editing & Managing Journal Special Issues Mar 12 – Publishing in Scopus-Indexed Journals: Standards, Rankings, and Myths Mar 19 – Artificial Intelligence and Journal Article Writing: Ethical Use and Best Practices
Special Issue on “The Tribal Chronicles of North-East India”
December 3, 2025 Call for Papers: Special Issue on “The Tribal Chronicles of North-East India” You are invited to submit a paper for possible inclusion in a special issue of the Journal of Underrepresented and Minority Progress (JUMP). The Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress (JUMP) is a refereed interdisciplinary publication (Print ISSN 2574-3465 & Online ISSN 2574-3481) dedicated to the educational, economic, and social progress of minority and underrepresented communities around the world. It is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and international, open-access journal published by STAR Scholars Network and is indexed on SCOPUS, one of the major indexing databases for peer-reviewed literature. Tribal literature, in simple terms, refers to the rich set of literary pieces, oral and written, of a tribal community that reflects their generational customs and traditions echoing their cultural heritage. North-East India is composed of eight states: the “Seven Sisters” (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) and the “brother” (Sikkim). It is home to over 200 tribal communities and several ethnic groups presenting one of the most culturally diverse regions of the whole world. These tribal communities assert themselves with their own languages, traditions, festivals, fashion, history, literature, foods, dance, songs and socio-political movements. The North-East tribal communities differ from the ones present in the other parts of India due to their distinct Tibeto-Burman origins, linguistic identity, accompanied by the historical and geographical isolation and political objectives. This isolation has contributed towards the flourishing of their own cultural identity away from the Dravidian and Indo-Aryan population of India with their own indigenous knowledge and connection to the land. This special issue for the “The Tribal Chronicles of North-East India” aims to highlight the unseen diverse literary shades of the tribal communities of North-East India and unveil their unique perspective through their folktales, songs, myths, poems, stories, novels, and plays. Their writings reflect their identity, sense of existence, heritage, socio-political atmosphere, ethnicity, belief system and their struggles as well as opportunities. The issue will showcase the vibrant and diverse narratives that have emerged and are emerging in the contemporary context and reflect the dynamic fusion of tradition and modernity in the works of the tribal literature. This bridges the gap and nurtures a deeper understanding faced by the communities through the lens of literature. We invite paper submissions to the following topics, but are not limited to: Cultural Preservation: North-East part of India is filled with the diversity that is present in the whole of the Indian subcontinent. It embodies Jawaharlal Nehru’s quote of “Unity in Diversity”. Yet, they belong to the marginalized area of the country with very less representation and are rapidly on the verge of being dominated by other forms of culture. However, tribal literature plays a major role in preserving their unique cultural identity, customs, beliefs, languages and rituals. Tribal authors take pride in contributing towards the cultural preservation and revival of the indigenous culture in the era of globalization. For example, Mamang Dai’s The Legend of Pensam and many others are using folktales and myths in the contemporary times, reusing their cultural ancestry to present their individual uniqueness, agency as well as ground their identity in this rapidly changing world. The oral tradition of storytelling, which has been a pivotal element in sustaining the cultural identity of the indigenous community of these states, has been on the decline with the advancement in the technological sector and along with it the core idea, identity, practices as well as the tradition are getting removed from the knowledge of the younger generations. But by materialising these cultural elements in various forms or medium like written, visual or digital enables these communities to sustain and preserve these values for the future generations as well as provide a medium of expressing themselves in a new way. Exploitation of Natural Resources: The bond between natural resources and the tribal communities has always been unique and complex at the same time. This has been depicted in various works of tribal literature. They depict the exploitation of natural resources and sheds light into the changing era of capitalism that adversely impacts the ecology and the indigenous communities co-existing with nature. They propose a sustainable practice that respects the livelihood as well the sacredness of Nature. The folktales and myths of the different communities in the seven sisters and one brother present these ideas of exploitation of nature. Temsula Ao, a writer and a poet from Nagaland has brilliantly blended the exploitation of nature to that of the exploitation of women. Ao's distinct storytelling and lyrical quality capture the essence of Naga life, customs, and folklore, addressing core issues like woman-nature relationships in the Northeast. (Charu, 2024). Some of her famous poems like “My Hills”, “An Old Tree” and “Distance” depict the destruction of nature. (Charu, 2024) Impact of Modernization: Modernization presents not only in the advancement of science and technology in the North-Eastern region of India but also the socio-political climate of the state, identity and the rapid changes and impact on the livelihood of the indigenous people. Tribal people mostly depended on the oral tradition but a recent trend has been that they have started to write down about themselves, seeking self-expression. The socio-economic forces of modernization and development have no doubt brought some benefits to the people of some areas, but the benefits accrued to them have been largely outweighed by the harm. Development induced displacement, involuntary migration and resettlement has caused marginalization of tribals, and presented enormous problems to them. (Mohapatra, 2012) Conflicts and Peace: The North-East as a region is unstable with conflicts, curfews, violence within the region itself. This has been greatly depicted in the tribal works of contemporary as well as the past. They capture the trauma of the everyday conflict against corruption, army, government, militancy. These are reflected mainly in the poetry of the tribal literature. Robin Ngangom, who is from Manipur and now based in Meghalaya, says that “unquestioning ‘nationalism’ in the face of a fear of loss of identity and encroachment of territory and cultural values” are not the topic of poetry but rather “a nervous internalization of the increasingly complex politics of the region” (Das, 2024). Translation Studies of the Tribal Literary Voices: Much of the true essence of tribal literature has been captured in the language of the tribal community. Translation Studies refers to the conversion of a text from the source language to the target language while maintaining the equivalence. Scholars and researchers are actively engaging with these texts in order to translate these texts and make it accessible for the people outside their linguistic and cultural boundary and disseminate across. This also serves as an archival of the pieces of history that marks the face of the tribal literature. There are many writers like Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, a Khasi poet, who writes in English and also translates Khasi poetry and folklore. Voice of Subalternity: North-East tribal literature highlights the experiences, the struggle and the subalternity of the marginalized communities which often exposes the socio-economic and political injustices faced by the tribal communities that offer a cultural dynamic to the social scenario. The term “subaltern” means “the other”. By bringing a voice for this otherness, tribal literature brings forward the idea of the advocacy of rights related to land rights, human rights, environmental sustenance, women’s empowerment, gender equality and traditional gender norms in to the creative expression of the writers and expresses the woes of the indigenous people. Easterine Kire from Nagaland is one of such writers who recounts the Battle of Khonoma, voicing indigenous resistance to British colonizers through her work A Naga Village Remembered and When the River Sleeps. She stands as a prime example in giving voices to the subaltern i.e. the tribals. Displacement and Migration: This is one of the most common aspects of tribal literature from the North-East India due to conflicts, opportunities, resources, historical events which reflects the internal as well as external complex scenario of the region and the people. The influx of migration of refugees, immigrants from the neighboring countries and even other states of India on a large scale poses a threat to the identity, culture and practices of the indigenous community as well as the rise of tension between the two sections. At the same time when someone from North-East India, goes to other places, it becomes difficult for them to maintain the cultural identity and faces alienation, racism and discrimination. An example of this is the Naga-Kuki conflict that happened in Manipur which has been occurring reason of which are land disputes, political ambitions and historical criticisms. In colonial records it is clearly described how the Kuki people came to the Naga hills in massive numbers around 1845, killing thousands on their way which continued (more or less intensively) up until the quelling of the “Kuki Rebellion” in 1919. (Leth, 2023) Gendered Identities and Marginalized Voices in Tribal Narratives: The North-Eastern tribal literature offers a compelling space for the exploration of how gender interacts with indigeneity, displacement and marginalization. Women and queer individuals within the tribal communities face dual exclusion. They are marginalized by national narratives and are silenced within patriarchal cultural structures. Literature acts as a medium for these voices to reclaim agency and visibility. Writers like Temsula Ao (2006) and Easterine Kire (2016) bring forth narratives of resilience, traumas, and spiritual inheritance of Naga women, vivid and alive. Temsula Ao in her book These Hills Called Home: Stories From A War Zone, presents the narrative picture of war and domestic suffering, and Kire redeems feminine power through myth in Son of the Thundercloud. Mizo poet Mona Zote engages with gendered subjectivities and social resistance through their poetry and academic work. As Debajyoti Biswas and Pratyusha Pramanik have argued, “Mona Zote, through her poems, challenges the cultural stereotypes on one hand and also on the other hand, questions the demonization of women in patriarchal societies.” (Biswas & Pramanik, 2022) Her writings mirror the daily activities of tribal women and very much inquires into the spiritual and ecological nuances associated with gender. The oral and digital traditions hint at queer and non-normative identities among tribes like the Bodo, Hmar, Dimasa, and Lepcha, further offering thematic areas for investigation. Spiritual Ecologies and Sacred Narratives: Spirituality greatly influences the Tribal literature from North-East India where nature, myth, and ancestral presence are deeply entwined. Tribal literature thus becomes a space where these sacred relationships are remembered and rearticulated in modern narratives. Writers such as Mamang Dai (2004) view rivers and landscapes as sacred entities. In River Poems (2004) Dai describes rivers as living beings – “The river has a soul… the immortality of water” (Dai, 2004), this signifies the Adi cosmology which is full of respect for nature. Dai states, “Everything has life. Rocks, stones, trees, rivers, hills, and all life is sacred. This is called Donyi-Polo, literally meaning Donyi (Sun) and Polo (Moon) as the physical manifestation of a supreme deity, or what she calls ‘world spirit.’” (Dai, 2010) In the same way Easterine Kire uses the spiritual consciousness of the Nagas, where human and spirit realms coexist. Dhanya A.P and Sudakshina Bhattacharya (2019) note, “Nagas still have a heightened awareness of the spiritual.” Various writers like Temsula Ao (2012) and Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih (2005) rely on oral ritual and ancestral respect to explore land-based spiritualities which are threatened by modernity. The Mizo, Khasi, Bodo, and Apatani tribes consider the land is as sacred law, kin, and memory. As Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih in an interview states, “The universe is a cosmic whole that receives its animation and force from the one living truth—God, U Blei. Because of this, the old Khasis held nature in great esteem. (Nongkynrih, 2024) Tribal literature thus becomes a medium to preserve sacred knowledge and resist spiritual erasure. JUMP seeks to provide a venue for meaningful, purposeful, and actionable scholarship and invites articles, dialogues, and further remarks in accordance with its editorial policy (see https://ojed.org/index.php/jump/about/submissions). Submit Abstract: tribalnortheast34@gmail.com Important Dates: Submission of Abstract: January 10, 2026 Acceptance/Rejection of Abstract: January 31st, 2026 Submission of Full Paper: March 15th, 2026 Acceptance/Rejection of Papers: July 31st, 2026 Final Version for Publication: December 2026 Guest Editors: Please direct inquiries to the guest editors below: Manju, PhD University Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities Chandigarh University, Mohali (India) Email: manju.uila@cumail.in Aruna Bhatt, PhD University Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities Chandigarh University, Mohali (India) Email: aroonaaruna@gmail.com Copywriters: Aeshna Sharma, Research Scholar Universal Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities Chandigarh University, Mohali (India) Email: aeshnasharma@gmail.com Chintan Dhiman, Research Scholar Universal Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities Chandigarh University, Mohali (India) Email: chintandiman01@gmail.com Geetanjali Brahmacharimayum MA (English) Email: geetanjalidevi18@gmail.com References Ao, T. (2006). These hills called home: Stories from a war zone. Zubaan Books. Ao, T. (2012). Once upon a life: Burnt curry and bloody rags. Zubaan Books. Biswas, M., & Pramanik, S. (2022). Gendered terrains in contemporary poetry from North-East India: A feminist reading. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS), 7(3), 105–111. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels.73.15 Charu. (2024, April). Intersecting dimension of nature of women: An ecofeminist reading of Temsula Ao’s selected short stories. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR), 11(4), 827–837. https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2404A01.pdf Dai, M. (2004). River poems. Writers Workshop. Das, N. (2024, April 18). Served raw: How poetry from North-eastern India captures the trauma of everyday violence. Frontline. https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/poetry-from-indias-north-east-reflects-the-political-tensions-of-the-region/article68023522.ece Dai, M. (2010, May 1). The land as “living presence”: Interview with Arundhathi Subramaniam. Poetry International Web. http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/cou_article/item/17068 Dhanya, A. P., & Bhattacharya, S. (2019). The praxis of the wedded mystic: A divergent reading of Easterine Kire’s novel When the River Sleeps. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 11(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v11n3.05 Kire, E. (2016). Son of the thundercloud. Speaking Tiger. Leth, S. (2023, December 21). Understanding the complex conflict unfolding in Manipur. IWGIA. https://libguides.csudh.edu/citation/apa-7 Mohapatra, G. (2012, October 1). Globalization and changing tribal identity in North East India: Emerging issues. The Tribal Tribune, 5(1). https://www.etribaltribune.com/index.php/volume-5/mv5i1/globalization-and-changing-tribal-identity-in-north-east-india-emerging-issues Ngangom, R. S. (2005). Time's crossroads: Poems (2nd ed.). Writers Workshop. Nongkynrih, K. S. (2005). Around the hearth: Khasi legends. Penguin India. Nongkynrih, K. S. (2024, May 31). From the light of a kitchen stove to the funeral nights. Usawa Literary Review. https://usawa.in/issue-11/interview-11/kabir-deb-in-conversation-with-kynphamsingnongkynrih/#:~:text=But%20the%20old%20ones%20who,hunting%2C%20they%20bowed%20low%20and
Special Issue on Digital Marginalisation, AI Bias, and Cultural Representation in South Asia
The Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress (JUMP) invites contributions for a special issue exploring how digital cultures and systems can both reflect and reinforce social marginalisation in the Global South, with a focus on South Asian contexts. This issue will examine caste, ethnic, gender, religious, and linguistic marginalisation in digital spaces, analysing how these forms of exclusion manifest in different regions while intersecting with broader East-West digital divides. We seek academically rigorous discussions that critically examine the cultural biases and power imbalances inherent in digital technologies. By bringing together interdisciplinary scholarship, this special issue aims to advance the understanding of digital marginalisation and provide a platform for scholarly discourse on these pressing issues. The Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress (JUMP) is a refereed interdisciplinary publication (Print ISSN 2574-3465 & Online ISSN 2574-3481) dedicated to the educational, economic, and social progress of minority and underrepresented communities around the world. It is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and international open-access journal published by the STAR Scholars Network and is indexed in SCOPUS, one of the major indexing databases for peer-reviewed literature. Scope and Rationale Digital technologies are deeply entwined with society’s power structures. Research shows that axes of identity, such as race, gender, class, caste, religion, and language, fundamentally shape digital knowledge production and access (Risam, 2018). As a result, historically marginalised communities often face new forms of digital exclusion even as connectivity spreads globally. For example, biases and blind spots in data-driven systems can mirror existing social hierarchies: predictive algorithms have exhibited race and gender biases (Prescott 2023), and concerns have arisen that caste-based discrimination is echoed in online spaces and datasets (e.g., the “digital Dalit” experience of caste-oppressed groups) (Nayar, 2014). This special issue begins from the premise that digital culture is not socially neutral; it can unwittingly amplify inequities embedded in society. At the same time, the East-West digital divide inflects these challenges. The design and governance of major platforms and AI systems remain largely rooted in Western contexts and values. Scholars have found that many AI frameworks implicitly assume Western norms as universal, overlooking the needs of non-Western cultures (Peters and Carman, 2024). This cultural bias in technology design can lead to the misrepresentation or erasure of Global South cultures, a phenomenon Qadri et al. (2023) term an “outsider’s gaze” imposed on South Asian digital content. Generative AI models, for instance, may fail to faithfully produce local cultural subjects, defaulting to hegemonic tropes and stereotypes that marginalise South Asian identities. Such phenomena highlight the power imbalances in global digital culture, where the epistemologies of the Global North often dominate and displace Indigenous and Global South perspectives. Emerging critiques of data colonialism also highlight the continuity of historical power dynamics: today’s data practices can serve as a form of colonial extraction, with global tech corporations harvesting data from the South and reinforcing asymmetries in knowledge and power (Mohamed et al., 2020). In short, local forms of marginalisation are increasingly intertwined with global digital structures. This special issue aims to explore the complex dynamics of marginalisation in digital contexts. It will transition from broad theoretical and comparative discussions to specific case studies and analyses, focusing on particular countries or communities. Contributors are encouraged to examine how caste-, ethnicity-, gender-, religious-, and language-based exclusions take shape within digital cultures in South Asia and to what extent these mirror or diverge from patterns observed elsewhere. We especially welcome studies that bridge scales – for instance, linking the global politics of AI bias or internet governance to the local cultural context of a village in India or a minority community in Pakistan. By situating regional specificities against the backdrop of global digital divides, the issue aims to generate an integrated understanding of digital marginalisation. Key Themes and Topics We invite papers offering both empirical research and theoretical analysis from across disciplines (digital humanities, media and communication studies, computer science, sociology, political science, science and technology studies, etc.). Submissions may address broad socio-technical questions or in-depth case studies. We especially encourage contributions that incorporate perspectives from or about the five focus countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal), although relevant work on other Global South contexts, specifically Southeast Asia, is welcome. Topics of interest for the special issue include, but are not limited to: Intersectional Digital Exclusions: Analyses of how caste, gender, ethnicity, religion, and language intersect to shape inclusion or exclusion in digital platforms and practices. For example, studies might explore hate speech or harassment on social media, gendered disparities in access to digital education, or the experiences of minorities using online forums. How do multiple identity factors combine to impact one’s agency and safety in digital spaces? How are historically privileged voices and knowledges reproduced online, potentially sidelining marginalised identities (Gairola, 2022). Social Media and Marginalised Voices: The role of social media in both empowering and silencing minority or underrepresented communities. This could include research on activism and counter-publics formed by marginalised groups via Twitter, Facebook, regional platforms, and other online platforms, as well as examinations of how misinformation, online harassment, or algorithmic amplification affect ethnic or religious tensions. What strategies do marginalised users employ to be heard, and how do platform policies or algorithms help or hinder them? How are linguistic minorities served by content moderation and recommendation systems, given that algorithms often perform unevenly across languages. Algorithmic Bias and Governance: Critical evaluations of algorithms and AI systems used in governance, public services, or everyday digital applications within South Asia. Papers might examine biased outcomes in automated decision-making (such as biometric ID systems, credit scoring, predictive policing, or welfare distribution algorithms) and their impact on populations. For instance, how do global AI products (voice assistants, computer vision, etc.) perform for South Asian users? Are certain accents, skin tones, or cultural contexts misrecognised? What lessons emerge about making AI transparent, accountable and culturally aware, in line with calls for explainability to combat inequities (Prescott, 2023)? We also welcome meta-analyses of AI research itself, g. critiques showing that explainable AI research has overwhelmingly focused on Western users and assumed Western notions of explanation (Peters and Carman, 2024), highlighting the need to broaden research demographics and evaluation frameworks. Data Colonialism and Digital Economies: Investigations of how global data flows and digital economies may perpetuate colonial-era patterns of extraction and dependency. Topics here include the political economy of data in South Asia, such as the outsourcing of data labour, reliance on Western tech infrastructures, or the exploitation of user data by international corporations. How do concepts like data colonialism or algorithmic coloniality apply to scenarios such as global social media or e-commerce platforms operating in the South? Are we witnessing forms of “digital empire” where knowledge production (e.g. mapping data, cultural content online) is concentrated in the West, with local users primarily supplying data or content under unequal terms? We seek scholarship that connects historical analyses of empire, postcolonial theory, and political economy to contemporary digital development, including decolonial AI approaches that aim to centre the needs and knowledge of those traditionally disempowered in technology design (Mohamed et al. 2020). Censorship, Surveillance, and Digital Rights: Comparative studies of how states and powerful actors regulate digital spaces in ways that marginalise certain groups or narratives. South Asia has witnessed internet shutdowns, content censorship, and surveillance measures, often justified by authorities in the name of security or public order. We invite research on cases such as government-imposed Internet blackouts during protests as seen in regions of India and Sri Lanka, the policing of online speech under blasphemy or anti-hate laws in Pakistan and Bangladesh, or the monitoring of social media for dissent in Nepal. How do these practices disproportionately impact minority communities or dissenting voices? Nishant Shah’s concept of the “disconnected subject”, where users who are deliberately cut off when their digital presence poses a challenge to authority, offers one framework for examining these phenomena (Shah 2019). What are the social and political consequences of systematic connectivity restrictions on underrepresented populations? Conversely, how are activists and civil society responding (e.g. creating mesh networks, using censorship circumvention tools) to assert digital rights? Digital Archives, Memory and Cultural Heritage: Explorations of the creation and use of digital archives, digital libraries, and online collections related to South Asian cultural heritage and minority histories. We encourage papers that investigate whose knowledge is being preserved and highlighted in digital archives and whose is omitted or undervalued. For example, are there efforts to digitise Dalit or Indigenous community histories, and what challenges do they face? How do national digital heritage projects balance majority and minority narratives (such as Sinhala vs. Tamil history in Sri Lanka’s digital archives)? We are interested in projects that decolonise the archive (Risam, 2018) and make space for subaltern memories, as well as analyses of “archival silences” where important perspectives remain absent. How can digital humanities methods be applied to recover or amplify the voices of marginalised groups in historical data? What ethical considerations arise in archiving sensitive or traumatic histories online? Overall, how might digital preservation be made more inclusive, aligning with calls to acknowledge diverse technoscientific traditions and cultural values in our digital practices (Cocq 2022)? Language, Localisation and Digital Inclusion: Research on linguistic diversity and technology in the South Asian context. Topics might include: the availability (or lack) of content and interfaces in minority languages; challenges in NLP (natural language processing) for less-resourced languages such as Nepali, Sinhala, or regional dialects; the impact of English dominance on knowledge creation and online access; and community initiatives for digital localisation. Linguistic marginalisation is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of digital equity, for example, when voice assistants only recognise certain languages or accents, or when search algorithms work more effectively for English speakers, leaving those of other languages behind. We welcome case studies on projects trying to bridge these gaps (such as open-source translation tools, localised Wikipedia editions, or keyboard/font innovations for Indigenous scripts) and critical analyses of tech companies’ localisation efforts. (If your proposed paper does not fit neatly into one of the above categories but is related to the overall theme, we still encourage you to submit. The list of topics is illustrative, not exhaustive. Authors may propose other relevant topics that resonate with the special issue theme. If you are unsure whether your topic fits, please feel free to contact the guest editors for clarification.) Regional Focus: South Asian Contexts While theoretical insights and global comparisons are valued, we especially seek papers with grounded examinations of South Asian countries. The issue aims to illuminate both the differences and commonalities in digital marginalisation across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. We also welcome cross-country analyses that explore shared regional patterns, divergences, and the relationship between local nuance and broader Global South experiences. We encourage authors to connect South Asian cases to wider global structures and theories. Through this interplay of the local and global, the special issue seeks to avoid treating South Asia in isolation; instead, we position it within the wider conversation on decolonising digital technologies and bridging global knowledge gaps. By bringing South Asian evidence into dialogue with concepts such as platform capitalism, algorithmic governance, and postcolonial computing, we aim to enrich international scholarship with perspectives rooted in the lived realities of these countries. We particularly welcome perspectives from researchers and practitioners based in or originating from the Global South, as well as collaborations between scholars from the Global South and the Global North that can enrich analysis through diverse viewpoints. This regional focus is ultimately tied to broader conceptual concerns. The special issue seeks to deepen our understanding of how digital systems can both perpetuate and challenge social marginalities. By examining who gets to speak and be visible in digital realms and who is left out, we align with the core questions raised by postcolonial digital studies: Who is speaking? Who is being spoken of or for? In what language? Under what assumptions? Grappling with these questions in concrete socio-digital contexts will yield insights relevant not only to South Asia or the Global South but to global efforts toward more just and inclusive digital cultures. Submission Information JUMP seeks to provide a venue for meaningful, purposeful, and actionable scholarship and invites articles, dialogues, and further remarks in accordance with its editorial policy (see https://ojed.org/index.php/jump/about/submissions). Abstract Proposal: Prospective authors must first submit an extended abstract (approximately 300–500 words) outlining the paper’s key arguments, methodology, and relevance to the special issue theme. Please email your abstract (in MS Word or PDF) to the guest editors at criticaldh@gmail.com and linkedinjump@gmail.com by January 30, 2026. Include the paper title, all author names, affiliations, and contact information in the email body (do not include author identifying information in the abstract file itself to facilitate blind review). The guest editors will screen abstracts for fit and significance. Notification of Abstract Outcome: Authors will be notified by March 15, 2026, whether their proposed paper has been shortlisted. Shortlisted authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts. Feedback or suggestions may be provided at this stage to help guide the development of the paper. Full Manuscript Submission: Invited full papers should be submitted via the JUMP online submission system by June 30, 2026. Manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word format and 4,500–7,000 words in length (excluding references, tables, and figures)​. Please prepare the manuscript according to APA 7th edition style guidelines for format and citations. All submissions should be anonymised; do not include author names or affiliations anywhere in the manuscript file​. (Author details will be provided separately in the submission form.) Tables and figures should be placed within the text at appropriate points, with clear captions. Review Process: All full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review, coordinated by the guest editorial team in collaboration with JUMP’s editorial board. Each paper will be evaluated by at least two reviewers with expertise in the relevant area. Review criteria will include originality, methodological rigour, relevance to the special issue theme, and contribution to the field. We expect to provide an initial decision (acceptance with minor revisions, revise and resubmit, or rejection) by September 2026. Revision and Final Decision: Authors of papers recommended for revisions will be given an opportunity to resubmit a revised manuscript (with a detailed response to reviewer comments) by November 2026. Based on the revisions and reviewer recommendations, the guest editors will make final acceptance decisions in consultation with the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. Final camera-ready versions of accepted papers will be due shortly thereafter (the exact date will be communicated upon acceptance). Publication: The special issue is scheduled for publication tentatively in January 2027 as a volume of the Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress. All published articles will be made available freely online to a global audience in an open-access format. Note: Submitted work must be original and not under consideration by other publications. We will use plagiarism detection tools to screen submissions. There are no submission or publication fees for authors; this special issue is fully open access as part of JUMP’s commitment to accessible knowledge. Authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions for copyrighted content (e.g., images, extensive quotations) used in their manuscripts. Tentative Timeline Abstract Proposal Deadline: January 30, 2026 Notification of Abstract Acceptance/Rejection: March 15, 2026 Full Manuscript Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026 Peer Review Decision (First Round): September 2026 Revised Manuscript Due (if invited): November 2026 Final Decision Notification: TBA 2026 Expected Publication of Special Issue: January 2027 Please note that the above timeline is tentative. Any updates to deadlines or procedures will be communicated to authors in a timely manner. We encourage authors to submit their abstracts and papers as early as possible and to inform the guest editors of any potential delays or issues. For any inquiries or clarifications regarding this Call for Papers, please contact the corresponding guest editor, Dr S Anas Ahmad, at anas.en994@gmail.com Editorial Positionality Statement We are aware and conscious of the positional biases inherent in our currently homogeneous, India-based, cis-male English Studies guest editorial team; we adopt a stance of vigilant self-reflexivity. We are currently expanding the guest editorial body for this special issue to ensure a diverse and inclusive South Asian scholarly space that counters these structural limitations. Guest Editors: Dr. M. Rizwan Khan, PhD Professor, Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (India) Email: khanriz65@gmail.com Dr. S Anas Ahmad, PhD Independent Researcher, Aligarh (India) Email: anas.en994@gmail.com Dr. Samya Brata Roy, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of English and Other Languages GITAM (deemed to be) University, Hyderabad (India) Email: sroy4@gitam.edu References (selected): The following references (cited above) may serve as a useful starting point for authors to situate their work. Cocq, C. (2022). Revisiting the Digital Humanities through the Lens of Indigenous Studies – Questioning the Cultural Blindness of our Technologies and Practices. In Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol., 73(3), 333–344. Gairola, R. K. (2022). Race, Otherness, and the Digital Humanities. In Bloomsbury Academic eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350232143.ch-5 Mohamed, S., Png, M.T., & Isaac, W. (2020). Decolonial AI: Decolonial Theory as Sociotechnical Foresight in Artificial Intelligence. Philosophy & Technology, 33(4), 659–684. Nayar, P. K. (2014). The Digital Dalit: Subalternity and Cyberspace. Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, 37(1–2), 69. https://doi.org/10.4038/sljh.v37i1-2.7204 Peters, U., & Carman, M. (2024). Cultural Bias in Explainable AI Research: A Systematic Analysis. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 79, 971–1000. Prescott, A. (2023). Bias in Big Data, Machine Learning and AI: What Lessons for the Digital Humanities? Digital Humanities Quarterly, 17(2). Qadri, R., Shelby, R., Bennett, C.L., & Denton, E. (2023). AI’s Regimes of Representation: A Community-centered Study of Text-to-Image Models in South Asia. Proceedings of FAccT ‘23. Risam, R. (2016). Breaking and Building: The case of postcolonial digital humanities. In The Postcolonial World. Routledge. Risam, R. (2018). Decolonizing the Digital Humanities in Theory and Practice. In Debates in the Digital Humanities. Shah, N. (2019). Digital Humanities on the Ground: Post-Access Politics and the Second Wave of Digital Humanities. South Asian Review. (Additional references and readings were provided during the CFP preparation and are available upon request.)