Inter–religious dialogue for conflict resolution

Different communities in Bangalore belonging to various religious affiliations are able to have dialogue among them to avoid conflict, thanks to the initiative by a Bangalore–based non–profit trust that has launched an ambitious project to promote regular, purposeful dialogue between Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist groups.

The trust, Meta–Culture Dialogics, founded and led by Chief Consultant Ashok Panikkar recently completed a pilot of the project that had individuals from different communities sit and discuss matters of critical importance over 10 sessions.

“The issues were socio–cultural and economic in nature, and not theological, spiritual or philosophical. Participants shared their personal experiences. By the end of the pilot, the participants had developed an empathy for one another with greater understanding of the issues,” said Sunil Thomas, coordinator, Meta–Culture.

The pilot has convinced Meta–Culture that conflict resolution through meaningful, structured dialogue can make a remarkable difference in the way communities perceive each other. The idea is to break down stereotypes, and the feedback from the pilot participants has been very positive.

Ashok Panikkar, said, “We are not into preaching peace, tolerance and harmony. Instead, we provide a platform for communities to talk about what is bothering them the most about the other community.”

To be replicated:

Meta–Culture now wants to replicate the pilot’s success across Bangalore, enlisting the support of influential individuals in different communities, secular bodies and even the media.
Mr. Thomas said, “We are fine–tuning the modalities to replicate bi–party inter–religious meets across the city. Of course, the participants should have a fair amount of influence in their respective communities. Otherwise, there will be no trickle–down effect of the new outlook gained from dialogues with other communities.”
In the 10 pilot sessions spread over three months, Meta–Culture acted only as facilitators and mediators. But it was an eye–opener as the trust observed the participants seek clarifications about different religious stereotypes, ask probing questions and eventually empathise with one another. The bonding that emerged from the pilot was an indication of the common concern for social good, which stood much above petty religious differences.

The positives from the pilot had an element of pragmatism.

As Mr. Panikkar said, the participants were all expected to function as “cooler heads” within his/her community in the event of a riot. “We want to strategically place people who have a deeper understanding of the other. These ‘cooler heads’ could then advise and calm down frayed tempers.”

Meta–Culture has planned more meetings; the next one is scheduled in late August. “In the next two years, we want at least five sets of meetings running simultaneously in different parts of the city,” said the trust’s director.

Government’s role:

While conflict resolution was Meta–Culture’s focus area, it cited the Government’s critical role in conflict intervention.

“We cannot be involved when conflicts reach the riot stage. We could of course facilitate peace committee meetings (often arranged by the police in strife–torn areas). We are process experts, not content providers.”

To get in touch with Meta Culture, call 080–41524785 or visit www.meta–culture.in