Peace Education is a necessity in the North East: Prof Yasmin Saikia

 

GUWAHATI:  “Peace is a harmony, an awareness of being part of a human community that unites diverse communities. Learning about peace is not just a matter of definition, it is an awareness building. Violence can precede and dictate the terms of our lives and peace will be a byproduct of those terms. India’s North East has experienced decades of insurgency and related violence and peace education is a necessity here to create hope and understanding in the next generation.” This was stated today by Prof Yasmin Saikia from Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies, Arizona State University (ASU), USA. ASU entered into a partnership with USTM USTM in various collaborative programs .

Prof. Yasmin Saikia and Prof Chad Haines from ASU delivered lectures on peace studies and participated in interactive sessions at USTM. Addressing the participants in a workshop organized by USTM, Prof Saikia said that there is a need to integrate Assam and the whole of North East with the rest of India and the world. “I study peace from the concept of ethics and humanity. peace is an ownership of people, not state. It has to be translated from the level of individual to community effort”, she added.

Prof Chad Haines talked about creating a Research Hub where partners different countries will work collaboratively in research work on community development from multiple angles.

Professor Yasmin Saikia  grew up in the shadow of the 1971 Bangladesh war, inspiring a passion for peace that informs her teaching and research. The author of three books—including the just published, Women, War and the Making of Bangladesh—her work focuses on movements for peace and reconciliation that exist alongside conflicts at the intersection of religion, history and culture in South Asia.