Conflict Resolution: The Gandhian Way

Today, we find an escalation in the number of conflicts at the individual, national and supranational level. These conflicts can be diverse in form, such as, road rage, resistance of foreign universities, environmental degradation, climate change, deforestation, fight for the scarce resources, civil rights and peace movements, etc. Most of the conflicts remain unresolved despite best and sustained efforts. My paper seeks to look beyond Gandhi to be able to explore the relevance of the Gandhian ways of satyagraha, civil disobedience, non-cooperation and adherence to non-violence towards world peace, democracy and conflict resolution in the 21^st century.

To Gandhi, since all conflicts begin in human mind, it becomes absolutely necessary to make human mind the abode of peace. Unless and until there is spiritual growth, there cannot be peace at the individual level and without peace at the individual level, there cannot be democracy at the societal level. The discords and conflicts of modern complex societies cannot be resolved by better housing, social services and a higher standard of living. It requires certain valid means of conflict resolution based upon the principles of ‘cooperation in lieu of confrontation’, ‘convergence in lieu of conflict’ and ‘dialogue in lieu of monologue’.

Unlike the judicial system, the Gandhian ways aim at conflict resolution through reconciliation and arriving at a consensus by dealing with the basic insecurities and lack of trust as the root causes. They are based upon conversion, persuasion, self-suffering and compassion instead of hatred, ill-will, suspicion or vindictiveness. The Gandhian ways aim at peaceful and amicable settlement to the satisfaction of both the parties by arriving at the truth through non-violent means. These methods seem to be more relevant in today’s scenario than ever before. The methodology adopted is analytical, comparative and empirical.