Xavier Law School organises 2-day national workshop on ‘honour culture & crimes’

St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata (SXUK), established in 2017, upholds a five-century Jesuit tradition of excellence in education. Offering diverse undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs across disciplines such as Law, Commerce, Management, English, and Economics, SXUK has rapidly grown into a hub of academic and professional excellence. Xavier Law School (XLS), a constituent of the university founded in 2019, furthers this vision through integrated law programmes, LLM specializations, and doctoral research, enriched by facilities like the Moot Court Hall, Legal Aid Clinic, and dedicated student societies. On Thursday and Friday, Xavier Law School is all set to organise a two-day national workshop, titled, Udgam 2025 – Chapter One, on ‘Honour Culture & Crimes’. The event aims to spark critical dialogue, artistic expression, and intellectual engagement around one of the most pressing socio-legal issues of our times. Interestingly, ‘Udgam’ is envisioned as an enriching addition to the legal curriculum, to encourage students to critically assess existing legal frameworks, judicial responses, and human rights implications - in light of the prevalent social & ethnographic conditions.

Udgam, meaning ‘origin’ in Sanskrit, denotes the starting point of a journey, movement, or process, whether it is the spring of a river, the inception of an idea, the birth of a tradition, or the first moment of creation. It breeds hope. Udgam is not just a beginning… it holds the essence of everything an entity may become; its strength, its course, its destiny, all flowing from that single, sacred point of emergence — justice. From write up submissions, panel discussions, symposium, quiz, presentations, theatre to dance and music, the first chapter of Udgam 2025 is designed to be an insightful and interactive workshop, moving beyond traditional classroom discussions. Over the two days of the workshop, students from all across India will get an opportunity to be part of a comprehensive and collaborative event with students from other law colleges as well, engaging in a discourse that challenges and enhances one’s perspectives.

“The theme of this year is ‘Honour Culture and Crimes’. This workshop brings together students, academicians, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, media, etc., providing a unique opportunity to engage with and to understand the issue from multiple perspectives,” said Dr Ranjeeta Mukherjee, Dean, Xavier Law School.

Highlights

Day 1 of the workshop will comprise of the inaugural ceremony, where the first edition of Udgam’s annual memoir ‘Manthan’ will be unveiled. This includes selected write-ups and case analytics by students of Xavier Law School and other law colleges. A symposium, where eminent personalities from various socio-legal fields shall deliberate on aspects related to the issue in focus. Day 2 has been divided into three parts – ‘Panchajanya’, The Udgam 2025 quiz, a theatrical presentation and a panel discussion. Students of Xavier Law School will also present ‘Honour Behind The Screen: The Power of Art & Media in Shaping Social Conscience’.