Achieving Peace through Gandhian Way of Conflict Resolution

In this article, Professor V. Balamohandas, Former Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University and President at Gandhi Centre, tries to analyse the importance of Gandhian way of Conflict resolution. According to the author, Gandhian world order essentially aims at developing a culture of peace, whereby human beings would be able to curb aggressiveness and prepared to follow a policy of peaceful co-existence.

Hyderabad:Many leaders have moved across the modern world stage with much more spectacular flourish and greater aplomb than Mahatma Gandhi. But few have wielded an influence so momentous and so revolutionary on the history of our times.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi galvanized the Indian people to wage a war without violence and with Satyagraha to win independence from the British colonial rule. He brought revolutionary techniques into play in mobilizing, motivating, inspiring and leading ordinary persons to rise to extra-ordinary heights on a sub-continental scale.

He created a shared vision—freedom for India and achieved it without bloodshed. He was an excellent communicator in that millions responded to his call on several issues. He identified with the masses-dressing like them, living among them, empathizing with them and won their respect, confidence and allegiance. His teachings are relevant not only to India but the world over. They stand as universal preaching relevant for all time. He was perfect in thoughts, words and deeds. He reiterated number of times that his life is his message.

Now conflicts have become a menace at micro and macro levels. A conflict is a clash of interest. The basis of conflict may vary –personal, racial, class, caste, political, regional, national and international.

Conflict is an escalation of a disagreement, which is its common prerequisite, and is characterized by the existence of conflict behavior, in which the parties are actively trying to damage one another. Superiority, Injustice, Vulnerability, Distrust and Helplessness are the major beliefs that propel groups towards conflicts.

The number of conflicts has been increasing enormously because we forgot the Gandhian way of resolving conflicts through peaceful methods avoiding any violence whatsoever. how intellectual and stupid we are, is the mute question.

Violence has become a cult in the world since the early 20th century. Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 during the Second World war, there has been a wide spread and prolonged fear of a potential 3rd world war between the nuclear armed powers.

More than 50 million people have been killed in around 250 minor wars apart from world War one and two.

Currently, there are more than 40 active conflicts around the world. Even domestic violence has increased tremendously. We are living under the shadow of violence and no life is safe on this earth.

Developed countries, in the name of national security, spend around twenty times as much on military expenditure as they provide for economic development. 70% world military spending is by six major military powers, 15% by other industrialized countries and the remaining 15% by the developing countries. World over, the progress in areas like health, education, housing, etc., of the essential requirements is slowed by the diversion of precious human resources for national security, military purposes and combating terrorism.

The World’s nuclear armed states possess a combined total of nearly 14,000 nuclear war heads, more than 90% belong to Russia and the USA.

85% of the world’s one billion guns are in civilian hands. The most civilian guns are in USA (121 guns per one hundred civilians) followed by Germany (20 guns), Turkey (17), Russia (12), Brazil (8) and India (5).

Gandhian world order essentially aims at developing a culture of peace, whereby human beings would be able to curb aggressiveness and prepared to follow a policy of peaceful co-existence or at least a policy of non-military global competition.

To him, war is unrighteous because it contradicts the principle of Ahimsa and the higher law of Dharma.

Gandhi considered war as the creation of minority, who would try to impose their will on the majority. He prescribed moral means to settle all disputes, interpersonal and international. Gandhi felt that violence breeds violence and firmly believed that violence can only be removed by non-violence.

According to Gandhi, there is no ‘Enemy’. There can only be ‘Adversaries’ who could be won over by ‘Soul force’ and not by ‘brute force’. Gandhi advised to mobilize millions of people for non-violent resolution of conflicts and for the establishment of world peace.

According to him, absence of peace is both the cause and the effect of tensions in the social, national and international spheres. Peace is a positive force of cementing people. War, which is a divisive force, can never contribute towards the promotion of global peace. Let us rededicate to his ideals to pay a real homage to him on his 150th Birth Anniversary.

Read: Global adaptation of Gandhian non-violence and its relevance