2.1 Conflict Resolution – Perspectives
Conflict has been defined as a situation between two or more parties who see their perspectives as incompatible.
Conflicts have a negative beneficial connotation, but some conflicts are desirable as they can create change.
John Donne, the 16th century poet, wrote, ‘No man is an island entire of itself ’.
Individuals see themselves as members of a variety of groups which often span a number of their interests. For example, an individual’s geographical origin, gender, caste, class, language, politics, ethnicity, profession and social commitments make him a member of various groups. Each of these collectivities, to all of which the individual belongs, tends to give him a particular identity, but together he has multiple identities.
The search for identity is a powerful psychological driving force which has propelled human civilization. Identity is often evocative. It deals with a myth or an imagined community which has all the power and potential necessary for political mobilisation. The sense of identity can contribute enormously to the strength and warmth of an individual’s relations with others such as his neighbours, members of his community, fellow citizens or people who profess the same religion.
The concept of social capital, advocated by Robert Putnam, tells us how a shared identity with others in the same social community can make the lives of all those in that community so much more harmonious and meaningful. To that extent, the sense of belonging to the social community becomes a valuable resource; almost like capital.
And yet, identity can also kill – and kill with abandon. A strong and exclusive sense of belonging to one group does, in many cases, lead to conflict. Many of the conflicts today are sustained through the illusion of a unique and choiceless identity. In such cases, the art of manufacturing hatred takes the form of invoking the imagined power of some allegedly predominant identity that totally overwhelms all others. With suitable instigation, a fostered sense of identity with one group of people is often made into a powerful weapon to brutalise another and the result is hatred and violence. The intensity of such hatred and violence poses a veritable threat to the very fabric of society.
2.2 Stages of Conflicts – a Life Cycle Approach
A conflict is not a single-event phenomenon but is a dynamic process having different stages. The objectives of the parties involved, their approaches, the intensity levels, the likely damage etc all change between the various phases of a conflict’s life cycle. Therefore an optimum conflict management strategy differs from stage to stage. This makes it necessary to have a thorough understanding of the dynamics of conflict throughout its life cycle for application of conflict prevention and management strategies.
The potential for conflict will always exist in a society with its members having different mores, interests, and socio-economic conditions and needs. Thus, in any society, for a variety of reasons, perceptions may be conceived about group or communal interests being harmed or relatively deprived. If fostered, these may lead to expressions of discontent against the State or other social group(s)/communities. If such discontent is not attended to in the primary stages or dealt with in a manner which aggravates the already prevailing
feeling of injustice done to the group/community, a major conflict situation may arise.
Thus, different stages of a conflict situation can be envisaged, each caused by interventions not being taken in time or through inept handling of the situation and each crying out for its own mix of appropriate measures. These are presented in the Figure 2.1.
The representation of conflict as given in Figure 2.1 may be briefly described in the following manner:
1. Individual and Societal Tensions:
Such tensions are created whenever an individual or a group feels that he/it has been wronged or has not got what was due. Such tensions may also arise due to historical socio-economic inequalities. Poor governance is a major cause of tension amongst individuals and the society.
2. Latent Conflict:
Tensions lead to a feeling of injustice and give rise to simmering discontent. However, at this stage, these tensions may manifest themselves in the form of requests to authorities, etc. From the point of view of the Administration, this is the most opportune time for managing a conflict or rather preventing a conflict.
However, as the Administration is pre-occupied with ‘fire fighting’ measures, the early symptoms of latent conflict are often overlooked.
3. Escalation of Tensions:
Unattended grievances, overlooked concerns, neglected tensions by the Administration lead to further aggravation of the discontent. The stand taken by the opposing parties begins to harden. Half hearted attempts in this phase prove to be of little help. The parties involved express their feelings through more aggressive methods such as demonstrations, processions, strikes, ‘bandhs’ and the like.
4. Eruption:
Tensions if not managed properly lead to a situation where a small ‘spark’ leads to eruption of violence. The ‘spark’ or the trigger may by itself not be a major event, but it leads to further polarisation of the people involved, and becomes an excuse for the violent eruption. Normally the Administration swings into action at
this stage and tries to control the violence. It has been observed that even after the violence has been contained, adequate efforts are often not made to address the root causes of the conflict.
5. Stalemate: This is a situation similar to the ‘latent tension’ and has the potential to erupt at regular intervals.
It needs to be emphasised that at each stage, there would be governance issues involved. While lack of governmental interventions or inept handling of the situation would tend to push the emergent situation to the next stage of conflict, appropriate and timely measures would in most cases lead to resolution of the conflict situation. What is important to recognise in the above context is that once a stalemate situation is reached,
the conflict may enter a cyclical phase, leading to recurrent escalations and eruptions. Such an eventuality would require a more complex and multi-pronged approach to salvage the situation, including taking recourse to negotiations and settlement, resulting in de-escalation of tensions and initiation of post-conflict confidence-building peace process.
Johan Galtung, Director, Transcend and winner of the Right Livelihood Award has come out with a manual “Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means (the Transcend Method)”8 which deals with peaceful approaches to resolve conflicts. The basic premises behind the approach are based on thoughts of the six major religions of the world. Thus it holds that:
• Conflict is a destroyer as a source of violence; it is a creator as a source of development; the role of preserver can be achieved by transforming the conflict by avoiding violence and promoting development.
• Conflicts have no beginning and no end; everything grows together in mutual causation; no single actor carries all the responsibility and no single actor carries all the guilt.
• Ultimately, the responsibility for conflict transformation lies with individuals: on their decisions to act in peace and on the principle of hope.
• Everything is good or bad; there is high likelihood that the action chosen also has negative consequences and that action not chosen may have positive consequences; there is need for reversibility and only doing what can be undone.
• Deriving strength from submitting together to a common goal, including responsibility for the well-being of all.
• The truth lies less in a verbal formula than in the dialogue to arrive at the formula, and that dialogue has no beginning and no end.
Based on the above, the manual proposes a process where the conflict formation is mapped in totality with regard to all parties, all goals and all issues; forgotten parties with important stakes in conflict are brought in; emphatic dialogues are held with all parties singly; acceptable goals are identified in all parties; forgotten goals that may open up new perspectives are brought in; and over-arching goals acceptable to all parties are worked out.
It would be necessary in societies emerging from a history of human rights violations and atrocities to formulate a long term strategic action plan to resolve conflicts which arose out of such aberrations. This would necessarily require that truth is told, that justice is done and that reparation is provided to victims of such excesses. It was in such a scenario that countries like South Africa, Peru, Indonesia and Philippines etc. set up Commissions called “Truth Commissions” as temporary but extremely effective fact finding bodies to
investigate past human rights violations and atrocities using a victim centred approach in order to promote both justice and reconciliation. Some Truth Commissions have designed their hearings to provide both victims and the perpetrators of atrocities with a forum for reconciliation.
2.3 Conflict Resolution and the Constitution
In India after the violence following Partition, the process of conflict resolution started with the integration of the princely States, which was achieved through remarkably peaceful means, considering the magnitude and dimension of the problem. The drafting of the Constitution, which followed, and the way it was debated, drafted and finally adopted makes it one of the finest examples of conflict resolution. This is for several reasons. The Constitution opted for the democratic process and adult franchise.
It has been aptly observed by Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao, former Prime Minister of India, that this was the best possible choice because the experience of large multi-ethnic States around the world has shown that
democracy is one of the most potent instruments for containing and moderating conflict.
Moreover, the Constitution of India, by providing for pluralism, federalism with a strong Union and for economic and social upliftment of the underprivileged sections of society,created the space for diverse groups in the country to acquire a stake in the process of nation-building. To that extent, it was expected that, within the context of democracy and development, diverse groups residing in various parts of the country would become the necessary building blocks for the development of the Indian nation as a whole, through mutual understanding.
While Article 30 of the Constitution enshrines the right of minorities based on religion to establish and administer their own educational institutions, in general, the rights to freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion (Article 25), freedom to manage religious affairs (Article 26) combined with the rights provided to any section of citizens to conserve their language, script or culture (Article 29), highlight the humanistic approach of the framers of the Constitution.
As observed by Shri Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, the Constitution, while providing the religious minorities in the country with special protection, also allowed them the necessary space,like any other citizen of the country, to be able to fully enjoy their dignity and rights.Another conflict resolution measure in the Constitution was the provision for amendments in keeping with the changing times and the enshrinement of affirmative action in favour of the traditionally disadvantaged sections of society. The provisions in the Constitution were based on the concept that it was not only necessary to end discrimination against the disadvantaged, it was equally important to empower the disadvantaged through special access to the legislature, educational opportunities and public employment.
The founding fathers of the Constitution were fully aware that a democratic polity with an inegalitarian economic structure could be a source of intense conflicts. That is why the Constitution contained a number of provisions entrusting the State with the responsibility of reducing and eliminating inequalities. By empowering the State to intervene in the economy to promote the interests of the economically disadvantaged, the Constitution sought to ensure that the democratic polity is not used as a vehicle for the perpetration,
perpetuation or aggravation of economic inequalities.
The framers of the Constitution were also aware that steps taken to change the status quo would themselves create conflicts, especially in the context of transition of a traditional, unequal society into a modern democratic one. The change in status quo mandated by the various Rights conferred by the Constitution under the Right to Equality are examples of this. Provisions for reservations for various underprivileged communities also fall in the same category. It is the State’s duty to scrupulously guard the core principles of the Constitution and contain any conflicts arising while implementing its mandate. However, the State has to apply abundant caution while further legislating on social reforms and modernisation of society and ensure that there is widespread public debate on such issues so that conflicts are minimised.
Apart from providing for a powerful and independent judiciary, the Constitution also included provisions for the creation of institutions for resolving conflicts, for example, water disputes, disputes between States etc.
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