By Matters India Reporter
Guwahati, August 26, 2019: North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC) will organize a seminar on “Role of Religion in Peace and Conflict Processes in Northeast India” later this year.
NESRC was founded in 2000 as a center to combine serious intellectual pursuits with involvement with persons and groups active in social change in the region.
Namrata Kalita, convener of the November 15-16seminar says religion has an important place in society to set cultural norms and values.
Since religion addresses “profound existential issues of human life,” it influences the concept of peace among humans and society. “During the past few decades in India religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam — have played an even more important role than in people’s daily life,” she added.
The seminar takes place in the context of ethnic and political conflict in northeastern India. It aims to provide a platform for groups in conflict to meet and search for solutions. Given the size of the Northeast with its seven states, NESRC will play as a node for encouraging intellectual and activist pursuits in the whole region. Instead of centralizing work in Guwahati, it will help smaller units to evolve in the rest of the region.
In the popular mind some religious actors are commonly associated with extremism and conflict between communities. Many other dimensions and contributions of religion, in particular in relation to peace building processes, are less known, or may be misunderstood, if not entirely neglected.
What is said of India as a whole is equally true of the Northeast. Nationalist struggles and ethnic conflicts around land, identity and political power are often given a religious interpretation as being initiated or supported by one religion or against another. This stand diverts attention from real issues, she explained.
It shows that religion can be used or mobilized to promote conflicts as well as peace. When there is a conflict in its name religion is rarely its principal cause but is only presented as such. In events such as the Sikh pogrom of 1984, the destruction of Babri Masjid and the communal riots that followed in 1992, the present phase of majoritarian nationalism and in other events, religion has only been used as a contributing factor. It will probably be used in conflicts also in the future.
In the Northeast the Naga and Mizo nationalist struggles are presented both by its proponents and opponents as Christian-backed. The conflicts in Tripura and Manipur around land and identity are presented by some extremists as attacks on Hindus.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the fundamentalist forces of the major religions are in competition to get adherents. In Assam the NRC that emerged from the urge to protect land and identity is being presented as a conflict caused by the influx of a certain religious group or as an effort to exclude them.
The Citizenship Amendment is presented as an alternative. Some present the Mizo-Bru conflict around land and identity as a Buddhist-Christian conflict.
It shows that whether in its own right or as a proxy for political battles, religion can be instrumentalised or become a mask for violence that hides other political and economic interests. Within this context, a conversation around religion becomes a controversial subject.
The focus today is on the divisive nature of religion. On the other side religious actors have also made attempts in peacemaking. This side of religions in conflicts is often ignored. Peacemakers have, therefore, to work within the political process but remain external to it. They operate on the margins during the initial stages of conflicts but later assume key roles in the political transition or sometimes have worked to exert pressure from the outside.
The seminar aims to bring together the conflict aspect of religion that may be hiding other interests. Presentation can also discuss the reconciliatory part of religion and its use as a means for initiating a dialogue. Focus in discussion around conflicts has been on the divisive role of religion. The effort in the seminar can be on its role of bringing people together and of collaboration in the highly controversial religion-political arena.
“We invite scholars and activists who work or are closely associated with religious institutions or those who are engaged in grass-roots organisations or mere citizens who want to express their views and opinions to present their views. We also invite people with stories of either being witnesses to conflicts or peace in relation to religion for a special story sharing session at the seminar,” said Jesuit Father Walter Fernandes, coordinator.
The papers of the seminary would discussion themes such as: conflicts around identity and other markers to which religion is linked – Religion as a source of conflict, Religion and citizenship/nationalism – Identifying the citizen, Religion, peace building and faith-based grass-roots organization, Religion, women’s organizations and peace and conflict process, and Religion as a means of dialogue.
Apart from the suggested themes, the invitees may like to add some of their own. People interested in participating in the seminar may send their abstracts and/or stories they would like to share not later than 20 September and their papers by 20 October.
Those who send their abstracts will be informed by 30 September whether they are accepted for presentation.
solutions and not itself find solutions for them.