My Diary – conflict resolution vsl Legal resolution

During Mission Samriddhi’s Summit 6 at Wardha, I met Shubha from Banwasi Sewa Ashram at Sonbhadra district, UP. They are working in that tribal area among 400 villages since 1967.

I learnt

  1. That for several years, there have been no legal cases from these villages being filed in the court. In case a few cases do reach the court, they are withdrawn and settled within the village.
  2. Since legal cases are a major ‘time, money and energy’ wasters of our society. Their response was very innocent and wise.
    A. Most of the conflicts in the villages start from very small differences.
    B. Villages need a few trustable, selfless people with the ability to listen.
    C. Most of the time ‘the person who is wrong, knows it in his heart’ about his wrong. He can’t hide that wrong within his own set of people. What he needs is a ‘listening’.
    D. Banwasi Sewa Ashram’s experience says that once the ‘Panch’ – respected group of villagers within or outside the village (different from elected representatives) listens to both sides, the conflict resolution becomes much simpler. Both parties can select their Panch who they believe will be fair like the arbitrator system.

To solve large cases in the legal system, shall we start a dialogue on building competency of conflict resolution at the source?

May 10, 2018

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Author
Arun Jain