Manipuri women selling local produce at a marketplace in Northeast India. Photo By: Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.
Introducation
Democracy & Conflict
Since independence, the Indian State and society has constantly been challenged by forces of fundamentalism, violence, conflict and terror. In recent years, this development has exacerbated and undermined the process of democratization and further strengthened extremist voices within and outside the government, with varying implications for India’s diverse population. Appropriately, India’s religious, linguistic, cultural, social, economic and regional diversity provides the setting for a complex political landscape.
Given this background, the Foundation seeks to probe the inter-linkages between secularism, gender equality, human rights, peace and democracy in India in order to foster dialogue across conflict faultlines; and hence, to examine and re-validate the values of diversity and peaceful coexistence. The basic aim is to register the role of dialogue, cooperation and coexistence as indispensable instruments in resolving various conflicts and strengthening democracy in India.

The key programmatic areas include:

  • To promote social harmony among conflict affected religious groups in India
  • To promote peaceful coexistence between conflict affected ethnic communities in Northeast India
  • To contribute to the political debates at the national level to ensure, as much as possible, that it reflects comprehensively new perspectives and assessments of the ground realities of the Northeast region
  • To support exile Tibetan CSOs to effectively foster non-violent conflict resolution amongst the exile Tibetan community, newly arrived Tibetans and the host Indian community
Secularism & Inter Religious Harmony
Article
August 31, 2010 -

India is facing the ongoing deterioration of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, especially the repeated outbreaks of violence between the civil population and the security forces. Criticising both the Indian and Pakistani governments’ performances, Mr Sachar gives a number of suggestions how to start a new direction in conflict resolution.

By Justice Rajindar Sachar more»
Kashmir - Uending Conflict, What Is The Way Out.
July 19, 2010 - The conflict in Kashmir seems to be unending and the way it is being handled by our armed forces, especially the CRPF is further aggravating it. Unfortunately still it is being addressed primarily as a law and order problem and the aspirations of people and their problems hardly matter. Our armed forces go on violating human rights and they know only to kill. Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer more»
Article
State Religion and Social Reforms. July 8, 2010 - No one will dispute the fact that social reforms are urgently needed with breath taking changes taking place all around in our society. But two questions become important in this respect: 1) what is the role of state and 2) what is the role of religion? There are people who insist that state should play an active role and usher in these reforms. Secondly there are people who think religion can hardly be helpful and instead it becomes an obstacle in social change. By Asghar Ali Engineer more»
Opinion
Theory of War and Peace in Islam – Islam has been much maligned today as religion of war, not peace and compassion. The acts of terrorism on the part of some international terrorist groups who indulge in needless and wanton killing has further aggravated this image in the contemporary world. This articlediscusses the theory of war and peace in the Qur’an so that such misunderstandings could be clear. Dr Asghar Ali Engineer more»
Opinion
Include Me Out - Muslims in India – In essence, the core concerns of the Indian Muslims seem to revolve around issues of security, identity, and equity. This has resulted in withdrawal, increased in-group cohesion, and subsequent ghettoization of the community. Moreover, the politicization of Hindu-Muslim relations exacerbates communalization and polarization of identities. Such a multitude of complex factors have immense implications for the integrative ethos of secular India. In fact, most of these issues are an integral part of the governance process and empowerment remains at the very core of assimilating the Indian Muslims. By: Prashant Negi more»
Governance and Politics in Northeast India
Article
May 28, 2010 - The Garo Hills, the site of famous Balphakram National Park and Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, in Meghalaya is facing threat of deforestation due to illegal mining of resources like coal, limestone and recently uranium mining by NPCIL. By The Editor more»
Research Paper
Government of India’s Northeast policy – The incessant conflict scenario in the Northeast seems to be far away from the “mainland” of India, not only from the geographical perspective, but also from the notion of how it is perceived. To engage in the region is a great challenge for the Central Government of India (GoI), as well as a necessity. Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing the Central Government involvement in the Northeast. However, due to the scope of the paper it will focus only on particular aspects of those broad and complex issues surrounding the North Eastern Region (NER) By Anne-Sophie Maier more»
Publication
Contested Space and Identity in the Indian Northeast, by the Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia – The book, a result of a conference, is a kaleidoscope of richly textured and well thought-out positions, highlighting, in a structured way, political, legal, historical, philosophical, gendered and psycho-social aspects of the situation in the Northeast region of India. The papers are grouped in three main categories, namely: the role of the state and non-state actors in the politics of the Northeast; the shifting paradigms of identity and community in the borderlands; and the variable of perception in the calculation of peace. more»
Gender democracy
Publication
Although women from almost 50% of the country’s population, their representation in the Parliament and State Legislatures has been depressingly low even after sixty years of Independence. So is the case with Maharashtra, one of the states in the forefront of Indian politics since the days of freedom struggle. The aim of the project is to study the status of political participation of women in Maharashtra and ascertain the reasons for the inability of the State’s women to enter the legislative Assembly in more numbers than at present. The inquiry also proposes to look into the present status of the All Women parties that were launched earlier. The study also touches on the socio-economic background of some of the women who could make it to the Assembly in the past and what criteria are followed by the political parties in selecting their women candidates. more»
Publication
Feminist Positions and Perspectives on Peace and Security PolicyJune 29, 2010 - The strategies of international security policy have significantly changed since the end of the Cold War, as have the challenges posed by international terrorism and the increase of global inequality. In this publication the Gunda Werner Institute in the Heinrich Böll Foundation presents a detailed position paper to contribute to the international debate on peace and security policy. more»
Research Report
A Debate on the Public Role of Religion and its Social and Gender Implications.May 25, 2010 - The largest minority of the world i.e. women still struggles for their basic rights and denial is justified through various religious and political processes. The report tries to explain the complex dynamics of religion and politics and their gender implications. The cross cultural nature of study have added various dimensions and perspectives. more»
Publication
Gender Politics Makes a Difference - Experiences of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Across the World – Politics can only succeed when it is inclusive of all genders. Gender justice is an ambitious goal, one that the Heinrich Böll Foundation is pursuing together with many different allies worldwide. This publication gives an overview of their work. more»
Book
Roadmap to 1325The UN resolution 1325 It could be a milestone for gender-equitable security policy. This volume contributes to filling the gap in knowledge about approaches both to gender-sensitive peace and security policy. Edited by the Gunda-Werner-Institut. more»
Domestic Political Trends
Article
May 21, 2010 - Orissa, the richest state in terms of mineral wealth, remains the most backward state in terms of development. The benefits of development havenot trickled down to the poor. The fact finding team under Dr. K.S. Subramanian surveyed the districts and revealed the striking ground realities. Dr. K.S. Subramanian more»
Publication
Emerging Trends in Indian Politics The 15th General Election.This volume is the outcome of a study organised jointly by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (HBS) India and the Centre for Public Affairs (CPA) before the 15th general elections to the Lok Sabha. The project attempted to gauge the emerging political trends that may influence the politics of the country. Ajay K. Mehra more»
Naxalism: The Maoist Conflict
Interview
July 29, 2010 - An Interview with Ajay K. Mehra – an expert on Maoist politics in India and Honorary Director of Centre for Public Affairs – on the roots of the Maoist revolutionary violence in India, the approach of the Government of India and the affected state governments and the Nexus between Maoists and mainstream politicians. Prof. Ajay K. Mehra more»
Interview
The Rebels mirror India’s failings as a Nation.July 29, 2010 - An Interview with Sudeep Chakravarti - journalist and well known expert on the Indian Maoists – about the current stage of the conflict, the role played by media and business as well as its implications on the Indian state and society. Sudeep Chakravarti more»
Interview
Lessons and Actions for the Government of India to deal with problem of NaxalismMay 10, 2010 - Interview with Dr. K.S. Subramanian, Former DGP (Retd.) on the ongoing and growing problem of Naxal violence in India which is regarded as the one of the major internal security threats which India is facing at present. The interview tries to explore the different dimensions of causes and resolutions of this internal conflict. Dr. K.S. Subramanian more»