Call for Papers: 63rd All India Political Science Conference and International Seminar on Re-visiting Bharat at Samrat Vikramaditya University, Ujjain [Offline, 17-18 December 2026]
Indian Political Science Association (IPSA) in collaboration with Samrat Vikramaditya University, Ujjain.About the organisers
The Indian Political Science Association (IPSA) is the oldest and largest academic and professional body of teachers and scholars of Political Science and Public Administration in India. It was established in December 1938 at Varanasi on the advice and invitation of Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, with Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, then Premier of the United Province, presiding over its inauguration. IPSA is a registered non-profit organisation with its headquarters at 75, Ground Floor, Apex Enclave, Gokulpur, Garh Road, Meerut 250004, Uttar Pradesh. It publishes two journals, the quarterly The Indian Journal of Political Science in English and the half-yearly Bharatiya Rajniti Vigyan Shodh Patrika in Hindi, along with books on politics, and confers more than a dozen national awards at its conferences.
The host, Samrat Vikramaditya Vishwavidyalaya (formerly Vikram University), was established on 1 March 1957 and is a public state university at Ujjain in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It has more than 200 affiliated colleges spread over a radius of about 300 kilometres across seven districts of the Ujjain division, and 36 schools of study offering undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and doctoral programmes.
The School of Studies in Political Science was established in 1966. The Madhya Pradesh government identified it as a Centre of Excellence and decided to develop it as an autonomous department in 1983, and in 1987 the University Grants Commission selected the School for the University Leadership Programme. Its Public Administration and Human Rights programmes were started in 2004-05 and 2007-08 respectively.
Theme and sub-themes
The main theme of both the 63rd All India Political Science Conference and the International Seminar is Re-visiting Bharat. Paper proposals in the form of abstracts and full papers are invited on any of the 34 sub-themes listed below, which run as parallel sessions at the conference. A delegate may submit any number of abstracts and full papers.
- 1. Indian Political Thinking: Tradition and Trends
- 2. Political Science as a Discipline: Issues and Direction
- 3. Political Theory: Classical to Contemporary
- 4. Parliamentary Democracy in India: Challenges and Prospects
- 5. Dharma, Culture and Politics in India
- 6. Development in Electoral Politics in India
- 7. Debate of Rights and Duties in India
- 8. Dynamics of Indian Administration
- 9. Gender Politics in Contemporary India
- 10. AI in Indian Politics: Challenges and Prospects
- 11. Federalism and Democratic Decentralisation in India
- 12. Politics of Tribal Identity in India
- 13. Regional Aspirations in Indian Politics
- 14. Political Parties: Emerging Trends
- 15. Politics of Pressure Groups in Contemporary India
- 16. Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Opportunities and Challenges
- 17. Indian Politics and GenZ
- 18. Political Economy of Modern India
- 19. Political Dynamics in North-East India
- 20. Art, Literature, Cinema, and Indian Politics
- 21. Dimensions of State Politics and Leadership in India
- 22. Good Governance to E-governance
- 23. Public Policy, Public Opinion and Social Media in Contemporary India
- 24. Space for Dissent in Indian Politics
- 25. Cyber Security Issues in India
- 26. Politics of Environment: Global Scenario
- 27. Emerging Trends of Indian Foreign Policy
- 28. India in Multipolar World: Leadership Aspects
- 29. Energy Politics in Modern World
- 30. India and Her Neighbours
- 31. India's Security Sphere
- 32. Regional Organisations in Global Politics
- 33. International Conflicts and World Peace
- 34. Political Dynamics of Madhya Pradesh
Who can participate
All life members of IPSA, educators, scholars, fellow-learners and professionals of Political Science, Public Administration, Governance, Human Rights, International Relations, Law and other allied disciplines, along with interested friends, are invited to attend. Law is named in the brochure as an eligible allied discipline, so law faculty, researchers and doctoral scholars working on constitutional law, human rights, governance, public policy, cyber security, environmental politics or foreign policy fall squarely within the call.
Research scholars claiming the research-scholar registration rate must enclose a proper certificate from their institution, duly forwarded by their supervisor.
The delegate registration form asks for an IPSA lifetime membership number, and IPSA members pay a lower registration fee than non-members at every slab. The IPSA membership application form for 2026 is available on the association's website and is linked below.
Submission guidelines
Abstracts must be original, unpublished and relevant to the conference theme, and are to be uploaded in Microsoft Word (.docx) format through the abstract submission form, which accepts one file of up to 10 MB.
- Abstract: maximum 200 words, in Hindi or English
- Full paper: 4,000 to 6,000 words
- English typescript: Times New Roman, font size 12
- Hindi typescript: Krutidev 021, font size 14, no Unicode
Every submission, whether abstract or full paper, must carry the following eleven items: sub-theme number or title; title of the paper; subtitle, if any; author's name; co-author, if any; designation; institutional affiliation; complete postal address; e-mail; contact number; and WhatsApp number.
For the reference pattern, contributors must strictly follow the Editorial Policy published on the IPSA website at www.ijps.net.in. The brochure states that full papers not following the Editorial Policy will not be accepted, and that abstracts not conforming to the prescribed editorial guidelines may not be considered for review.
Registration fee and payment
The registration fee depends on whether the delegate is an IPSA member, whether the delegate registers as a research scholar or as faculty, and the date on which payment is made.
- Early bird, up to 30 September 2026: IPSA member research scholars Rs 3,000; IPSA member faculty Rs 3,500; non-member research scholars Rs 4,000; non-member faculty Rs 4,500
- 1 October 2026 to 15 November 2026: Rs 3,500; Rs 4,000; Rs 4,500; Rs 5,000 respectively
- 16 November 2026 to 5 December 2026: Rs 4,000; Rs 4,500; Rs 5,000; Rs 5,500 respectively
- On the spot: Rs 4,500; Rs 5,000; Rs 5,500; Rs 6,000 respectively
- Accompanying family members, friends or other persons: a flat Rs 6,000 per person
Payment may be made through any online or e-mode, and a QR code for payment is printed in the official brochure. The IPSA account details given in the brochure are: Indian Bank, CCS University Meerut branch; account name Editor IJPS; account number 20195852952; IFSC code IDIB000M690; MICR code 250019029.
What the registration fee covers, and hospitality
The conference registration fee entitles every delegate to entry into all sessions, full hospitality, meals, snacks, accommodation, a conference kit, a discount on IPSA publications, a certificate of attendance and paper presentation, and one copy of the abstract book.
Free hospitality and free moderate accommodation will be provided to delegates from the afternoon of 16 December 2026 to the morning of 19 December 2026. The hosts will arrange pick-up and drop-off to and from nearby railway stations and bus stops. Members planning to stay before or after these dates are advised to make their own arrangements. No TA or DA will be paid by the hosts or by IPSA.
Venue and how to reach Ujjain
The conference and the International Seminar will be held in person at Samrat Vikramaditya University, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, on 17 and 18 December 2026.
- By air: the nearest airport is Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, Indore, about 53 km away, with regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other major cities
- By train: Ujjain is well connected by Indian Railways to major Indian cities
- By road: regular bus services connect Ujjain with major Indian cities
Ujjain in December has cool, pleasant days and cold nights.
Contact
For any assistance with the conference, the brochure asks delegates to contact the IPSA office. Dr. Ravina Tagor, Chief Office Executive, IPSA, can be reached on +91 8267888973, and the association's office e-mail is officeipsa@gmail.com. The call is issued by Professor Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, General Secretary and Treasurer of IPSA.
At the host university, the Organizing Chairman is Prof. Arpan Bharadwaj, Vice Chancellor, Samrat Vikramaditya University, Ujjain, and the Organizing Secretary is Dr. Nalin Singh Panwar, Head of the Department of Political Science.