17/9/2024

Strategizing Peace in India: A Way Forward for Civil Society

Introduction to Meeting:

From September 1 to 3, 2024, 25 social activists representing various civil society platforms across India gathered in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. The collective objective of this meeting focused on fostering communal harmony, promoting pluralism, and facilitating dialogue among diverse communities. Organized by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), the meeting aimed to strengthen peace initiatives in India, emphasizing the importance of pluralism and the creation of peaceful communities that reject violence.

Participants hailed from several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, and Jharkhand, and represented a wide array of social backgrounds—encompassing different castes, religions, and languages. Their diverse expertise included cultural activism, research, advocacy, and authorship. Notable speakers such as Irfan Engineer, Harsh Mander, Tushar Gandhi, Mani Shankar Aiyar, and Ram Puniyani addressed the attendees, enriching discussions on strategies to promote communal harmony and peace throughout India.

Input sessions:

The resource persons inspired and guided the participants by providing a framework to understand the current socio-political landscape in India and the challenges surrounding public discourse on religion. Harsh Mander, in his address, shared poignant accounts of victims of mob lynching, highlighting the troubling moral decline in society that normalizes violence and the killing of innocents in the name of religion. He emphasized the necessity of appealing to the morals of both the perpetrators and society as a whole.

Tushar Gandhi outlined the essential qualities of a peace worker needed to navigate the challenging environment and emphasized the importance of adaptability in difficult circumstances. He shared insights from his experience with a voter awareness campaign. Similarly, Ram Puniyani discussed the critical need for peace work in India today, highlighting the urgency of building networks to spread the positive messages of equality, love, and acceptance to a wider audience.

In his address, Mani Shankar Aiyar explored the historical roots of secularism in India, using engaging examples to challenge myths about the aggression of Muslim “invaders” and the notion of forced conversions. He also examined Savarkar’s definition of who qualifies as a Hindu, arguing that it is fundamentally incompatible with the multicultural ethos and foundational principles of Indian society. India is land of Buddhism, Sikhism, bhakti and Sufi traditions which have taught the world religious tolerance and non-violence.

Way Forward: Decisions made

The participants collectively acknowledged the urgent need to engage with civil society at multiple levels. They emphasized the importance of reaching out to youth, educational institutions, educators, media personnel, women, and pressure groups, including labor and farmers’ unions. A key focus should be on building a network of volunteers to promote peace initiatives and amplify messages of peaceful coexistence and communal harmony.

One significant approach identified was to revisit the Constitution and celebrate its core values. Additionally, the participants recognized the need for enhanced collaboration among various civil society groups and individuals committed to promoting communal harmony and pluralism. Consequently, decisions were made to improve coordination among those present and to expand the network for peace.

Some important decisions:

In the Area of Education:

To begin with, it was recognized that education, history and textbooks have been an arena of narrative setting and arena of contestations. Thus, it has also became a medium of disinformation and stereotypes. In order to reach out to children and youth at an early stage to impress upon the need of peaceful coexistence, it is imperative to structurally intervene in the area of education. In pursuance to the same, Anshu Malviya took up the responsibility to convene an online meeting of the participants interested in working on the theme of education. In this meeting, strategizes to work with educators and educational institutions will be explored to promote pluralism. At the same time, Tushar Gandhi recommended that Gandhi Research Centre, in Jalgaon can help curate a course on peace which can be rolled out with educational institutions for fostering peace.

It was also felt it would be instrumental to actively make a list of educational institutions and a subsequent network which would implement peace activities and introduce study material which is conducive for promotion of peace. Salim Khan volunteered to identify and reach out to schools in the network of Muslims to rope them in. Similarly, Fr. Binoy informed that he is part of a network with 400 convent schools in Kerala which can also be approached to introduce peace courses. Everyone agreed that more such liberal institutes should be identified and approached.

Amplifying values enshrined in the Constitution:

The participants collectively agreed that Constitution is the best resource for promoting pluralism and communal harmony. Thus, the Constitution has to be taken to as many people as possible. Gufran has taken the responsibility to convene a meeting online to explore ways to take the values of the Constitution to the masses. Additionally, Tushar Gandhi suggested that peace workers should connect with Lokayat in Pune to access quality and effective material for promotion of Constitution.

Dialogue and building across religions:

After Harsh Mander’s profoundly moving accounts of his interactions with victims and their families during his “Karwaan-e-Mohabbat” campaign, it became clear that the violence he described represented a deep depravity, devoid of humanity. The cruelty and brutality not only inflicted pain on the families involved but also revealed a troubling reality: the polarization along religious lines had become so severe that individuals no longer viewed each other as fellow human beings, but rather through the lens of religion.

The participants emphasized the urgent need for dialogue across all sections of society and among different religious communities. They recognized the importance of returning to the foundational elements that bind our communities together. The group concluded that efforts should be made to engage in conversations with all societal segments. Initiatives like “Karwaan-e-Mohabbat” are vital in this pursuit, and as a collective, the group agreed to support this initiative alongside others aimed at fostering understanding and harmony.

Cultural Interventions:

In addition to the Constitution, the syncretic tradition and composite culture have served as vital bonds uniting our society. Participants proposed organizing a cultural festival to celebrate this rich heritage, potentially in Gorakhpur, dedicated to the memory of Mangalam Kumar, a dedicated peace worker from Allahabad who passed away recently at a young age.

This suggestion will be explored further to develop the details. Another compelling idea was to initiate peace yatras to raise awareness and foster public discourse on these important issues.

Social Media:

Social media has been used as a medium to spread hatred for some time now. Its proved to be a powerful arena to spread hatred and disinformation. The participants felt that the message of love, compassion and Constitution should reach the masses through social media. Imaad – took up the responsibility of compiling and connecting the participants with a digital library with impactful videos and other material on related themes of communal harmony.  The idea of making films or documentaries was also explored. However, since it requires significant amount of resources and influence, it was decided to discuss that at a later stage.

Acting as Watchdog for civil liberties and pluralism:

Tushar Gandhi proposed that the participants collectively act as a watchdog to protect civil liberties and monitor hate speeches and hate crimes, enabling them to pursue legal action for justice when necessary. He shared examples of how hate speech is being tracked and preventive measures advocated to avert communal violence and provocation.

He suggested that one key task for this platform could be to review textbooks and monitor the distortion of facts in historical narratives. Tushar Gandhi agreed to guide the participants in undertaking these important interventions.

More Synergy in the group:

The participants explored ways to strengthen each other’s efforts and foster greater synergy in their work. They agreed that regular monthly interactions are essential, planning to meet on Zoom on the first Monday of every month in the evening, with Neha from CSSS taking the lead on this initiative.

Additionally, they discussed the possibility of organizing more workshops on mutually agreed themes for brainstorming sessions, should the group express interest. The Sambhavana Institute offered its space for these workshops and proposed inviting CSSS to organize a workshop focused on freedom of religion or belief.

 

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