Everywhere in today’s modern and globalised world we are surrounded by conflicts in some way or the other be it within nations,society,workplace or internationally. As a part of a modern and civilised society, there is a strong necessity for formulation of creative and practical ways of dealing with conflicts. Conflicts have led to extensive human suffering in various forms, there are several factors behind these conflicts which are socio-economic and political in nature.
Usually such conflicts take place in South-Asian nations and in order to resolve such conflicts there is a strong need for peace-building. The study of peace-building focuses upon how to reconstruct society in the post-conflict world, it also lays emphasis on various skills in resolving conflicts such as Negotiation, Arbitration and Mediation and gives an edge to the students who did the program.
One of the country’s finest institutions, Lady Shri Ram College for Women offers a one year diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peace Building which is open to final year students and graduates in any discipline. The course is an amalgamation of various social sciences such as Political Science, International Relations,etc and digs deep into the causes of conflicts such as inter-state conflicts, intra-state conflicts and how conflicts are managed and transformed.
The program also helps students to analyse and manage conflicts of different kinds and see its root causes and how they can be dealt with and how useful it can be in today’s world. “The cohort was filled with people from diverse backgrounds and it was one of the biggest perks of the program. The diversity of the cohort helps in conflict resolution from your peers perspective and the theories learnt pays emphasis on long term solutions and the value of the theories and complex strategies can be applied in today’s world.It’s amazing to read about gender in South Asia and scholars across the region. The ideas and philosophies are backed by the fact about how they can be applied in today’s scenario.” says Tanya Mittal,an alumnus of the program.
One of the examples of peacebuilding can be traced back to 1978 Camp David Accords where political agreements were signed,which formulated a historical framework for peace in the Middle East and provided a framework for conclusion of a peaceful treaty between Egypt and Israel. Even today peacebuilding can be put into practice between Russia and Ukraine.“The dissertation in the course helps in several ways and also helped me with academic writing in my masters. There are several conflict modules given in the course which are further helpful in academic settings as well as real life situations and is a stepping stone for people who want to do further research.” says Sneha Sengupta, an alumnus who’s currently pursuing masters in International Studies.
In this age there is a strong need to resolve conflicts and build peace through various techniques and taking into account the possibilities of moving away from conflicts, at Aung San Suu Kyi Centre for Peace at LSR where the course is taught is taking a strong initiative by inviting young and creative minds with a penchant to make a change in today’s world by applying various theories on gender,culture and human rights in conflict transformation.“The students of the program will be a huge asset to big organisations,government agencies,media houses,universities,etc and will enable them to undertake systematic study of conflicts.” says Krishna Menon, Former Professor at LSR.Peace building is a dynamic and ongoing process which becomes strategic at every hierarchical level of the society to establish and address the underlying causes and effects of conflicts,thus helping the society to resolve their disputes peacefully and laying the foundation to prevent conflicts in future.“
At every step of our lives, one needs to acknowledge and accommodate the sentiments of the other individuals in the society, no matter how different they might be, it can be uncomfortable and intimidating in the beginning. In a society with so many unique and different approaches to fit into a box, everyday when these acts of service to the world are the exact moments of building towards a world of peace, one brick at a time.” says Oonmona Das, an upcoming MPhil student at University of Oxford.
“The skills learnt from the program are very much relevant in today’s world and makes one very broadminded and gives a nice exposure to ethics,philosophy,etc which I believe are critical in producing a well informed citizenry.” says Upasha Kumari a former student of the program.When we think about peacebuilding we tend to levitate towards peace after war-like situations where there is a total doom, but to approach peacebuilding in the modern world, one needs to act from a point of sensitivity and peace at every step,be it engaging in a conversation with a stranger in a public space or giving someone the space to speak out their concerns.
Apart from LSR other institutes which offer similar courses are Jamia Millia Islamia which provides a full time 2 year program and Ph.D in Peace and Conflict Studies at Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution. JNU also offers a full time 2 year program in Introduction to Peace and Conflict Resolution. IIT Madras also offers a diploma course in Conflict,Reconstruction and Human Security which covers various approaches and case studies of various South Asian countries.Tata Institute of Social Sciences offers a full time MA program in Peace and Conflict Studies.