Shillong June 11: Meghalaya Education minister, Lahkmen Rymbui urged academia to explore the use of scientific method of enquiry and do some research on the rich traditions, myths and superstitions among the tribal cultures of the Northeast.

Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day National Seminar on ‘Contesting the Site of Sights: The Discourse of Visual Media Cultures with Special References to Northeast India’ held at the English and Foreign Languages University, Shillong Campus on Tuesday, Rymbui suggested that those studies should be presented in public domain for public good.

Giving the example of ‘thlen’ and ‘taro’, he stressed the need to explore these cultural superstitions scientifically and stressed that media consumers and media itself, should shoulder the responsibility while addressing viral stories on social media platforms.

He also cautioned against the menace of fake news that deceived the masses and urged everyone to very careful, and should not be trapped by these social and visual media.

The seminar was organised jointly by the Departments of ELT and Mass Communication and sponsored by the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata and ICSSR-NERC. The seminar had 76 participants from across the country.

During the function, former Director of the Shillong Campus and Pro Vice-Chancellor of EFL University, Prof. K.C. Baral, was felicitated.