India
We have fostered reconciliation in the aftermath of the 2002 Hindu-Muslim communal violence and promoted peacebuilding in other areas of conflict in India. Working closely with diverse Indian organizations, we created shared projects among different religious, ethnic, and tribal groups.
Encouraging Communal Harmony in India (2002)
In February 2002, at least 1,044 (perhaps more than 2,750) people were killed in three days of Hindu-Muslim violence in the city of Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. Most of the victims were Muslim, with particular brutality directed toward children and women, and with most of the perpetrators stirred by a rising tide of Hindu fundamentalism. While communal violence had plagued this city in the past, the killing had never been on this scale, nor had relationships between the two communities been so strained.
Peacebuilding in Northeast India (2005)
In 2005, Karuna Center also held a conflict transformation seminar for World Vision staff in Northeast India, a remote but strategically significant area inhabited by numerous ethnic and tribal groups, who have been engaged in long-standing violent conflicts with each other and the national government of India. Tensions have intensified with an influx of Bangladeshi and Nepali migrants to a region already beset by deep poverty, scarce resources, and feelings of isolation and mistreatment from the central government. Program participants represented a number of tribal and language groups and shared a common commitment to work for the welfare of the poor. They appreciated the opportunity to examine the effects of ongoing conflict on their communities and to create more conflict-sensitive development programs, which World Vision regional directors will support and monitor.
Post-Conflict Communal Dialogue (2005)
In 2005 Karuna Center partnered with World Vision to offer three seminars in dialogue for mutual understanding for Hindu and Muslim NGO leaders in Ahmedabad. Our participants greatly valued the opportunity to speak deeply about the effects of the 2002 riots.
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