From 21 to 23 November 2026, Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, will host the 45th Annual Session of the Place Names Society of India (PNSI), held jointly with the 51st Annual Session of the Epigraphical Society of India (ESI).
The joint congress brings together two closely related fields: epigraphy and place-name studies. For onomasticians, however, the 45th PNSI Annual Session is especially noteworthy, offering a dedicated forum for research into the linguistic, historical, cultural, and social dimensions of geographical names in India and beyond.
The meeting will take place at the M.K.C.G. Auditorium, Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, and is being organized by the university’s P.G. Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology.
Toponymy at the centre of the programme
The thematic framework announced for the Place Names Society of India reflects the breadth of contemporary toponymic research. The proposed themes include:
- Onomastics and Places
- Onomastics, Commodities, and Human Engagement
- Onomastic Studies: New Approaches
- Onomastic Studies with Special Focus on Eastern India
- Toponym Studies: Implications and Scope
The emphasis on Eastern India is particularly appropriate for a meeting in Odisha, a region with a highly complex historical and linguistic landscape. Its place names preserve traces of settlement history, political change, religious traditions, indigenous languages, administrative restructuring, and long-term contact between linguistic communities.
At the same time, the broader themes open the conference to theoretical and comparative approaches: how names structure human relationships with landscape, how toponyms function as cultural memory, how naming interacts with identity and power, and how new digital or interdisciplinary methods can reshape the study of geographical names.
A meeting point between names and inscriptions
The joint organization with the Epigraphical Society of India also creates an unusually productive setting for toponymic research. Historical place names are frequently preserved in inscriptions, while epigraphic evidence can help reconstruct older forms, identify lost settlements, trace political geography, and clarify changes in regional naming traditions.
The congress therefore offers an opportunity for dialogue between onomastics, historical linguistics, geography, archaeology, epigraphy, cultural history, and heritage studies.
Call for papers
Researchers wishing to participate are invited to submit papers for the joint session. According to the conference circular, abstracts should not exceed 300 words.
Deadline for submission of papers and membership enrolment:
31 October 2026
Conference dates:
21–23 November 2026
Venue:
Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Submissions and conference correspondence may be sent to:
localsecretaryesipnsi2026@gmail.com
Membership in either the Place Names Society of India or the Epigraphical Society of India is required for participation as a delegate.
The 45th PNSI session promises to be an important gathering for scholars interested in toponymy, onomastics, historical geography, language contact, cultural landscapes, and the naming traditions of South Asia.
For researchers of place names, the November meeting in Bhubaneswar offers not only a long-established national forum, but also an opportunity to connect historical documentation with new approaches to the study of naming, space, and society.
