Written contribution / Contribution écrite
by / par

Narayan DESAI
Non-violence activist, educator, writer, Laureate of the UNESCO prize for the promotion of Tolerance and non-violence / Militant de la non violence, écrivain, pédagogue, a reçu le Prix UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh pour la promotion de la tolérance et de la non-violence

The ideas and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO/Les idées et les opinions exprimées dans cet ouvrage sont celles de l'auteur et ne reflètent pas nécessairement les vues de l'UNESCO

REPLACING A CULTURE OF WAR & VIOLENCE BY THAT OF PEACE & NON-VIOLENCE

Narayan Desai, Institute for Total Revolution, Vedchhi, District Surat, Gujarat 394641 India Abstract: This paper deals with the nature of a culture of violence and with that a culture of peace. At the end it has some suggestions for replacing one with the other.

To consider a culture in its totality one must examine:

· Values
· Attitudes,
· Relationships,
· Institutions
· Structures.

VALUES:

The edifice of a culture of violence is built on competition. Competition makes each individual or group a potential enemy of the other. Here each class selfishly vies with the other even by putting it under its heals. The power seekers try to climb the ladder by ruthlessly pulling down others. Here art, music and literature are tested not by their creativity, but by their unscrupulous ability to keep the others behind. Here children are taught to be unmindful of others in their ascent to success. Here playing fields become a rehearsal for future war-fields.

There is a synonym for the word 'war' in the Vedas, - Mama Satyam, which means 'My truth alone prevails'. A value that is related to war culture considers one's own side to possess the whole truth. This idea of having the truth on one's side gives the air of righteousness to every combatant for perpetrating violence. Pride divides, tolerance unites.

Consumerism is yet another value that promotes war. Unlimited wants of a privileged few create conflict in a world with limited resources.

Greed and fear, when used as incentives to change, progress, or development, lead to war and violence. Culture of peace is raised on the values of love, fellowship and comradeship. The incentive of love replaces the incentives of greed and fear. Another cherished value in such a society is that of cooperation and mutual aid. There is also open and unprejudiced dialogue at all levels. Here the individual is dedicated to the welfare of the society and the society cares for the individual. Reverence for life and simplicity are values that sustain peaceful societies. Tolerance practiced by the majority and courage of the minority help in the smooth-running of these societies.

ATTITUDES

The attitudes of members of a society are the outcome of the values entertained by it. Some of the most glaring attitudes in a culture of violence are those of cut-throat competition, ambition of conquering nature, creating barriers against listening to the other side, and giving vent to sensuousness and lust. People try to grab as much as they can. They exploit the present undermining the future. They care little for nature and the environment
In a peaceful society there is a spirit of sharing in the community and caring for the powerless and underprivileged. A spirit of working for the common benefit is another attitude that is cultivated. Nobody feels neglected in a peaceful society. Joy of creativity and pride in one's work will be significant attitudes characteristic of a peaceful society.

RELATIONSHIPS:

In a violent society relationships manifest themselves in some of the following ways:
In the family - Man dominates over women and child.
In the community - There is domination or oppression of one group over the other.
The government becomes despotic, Hierarchical and dictatorial.
In a peaceful society relationships between groups are radically different from those of violent society. Decisions within the family are taken in consultation with all the members including the children and the aged. In towns and cities the voice of neighborhoods and boroughs is heard in the mayoral offices. The functioning of governments becomes more and more participatory. Each government in the peaceful world will voluntarily relinquish some of its rights in favor of the world community.

INSTITUTIONS

In a violent society the family becomes nuclear and self-centered. Municipal bodies cater to the needs of the few.
Institutions of learning tend to be conservative and bureaucratic. Scientific institutes serve only a favored class.
Governments become either totalitarian or are divided by parties and cliques. They are run by bureaucrats. Even so called 'democracies' and people's republics care little for peoples participation.
Institutions in a peaceful society have to be built from grassroots onwards. The family will be large and well-knit. The learning institutions will endeavor to foster the spirit of openness, inquiry and practical application. Justice will be provided quickly and at minimal cost. The media will be independent, uninfluenced by power or money, Negotiations, arbitration and adjudication will replace the war mechanism.

STRUCTURES:

The structures of violent societies tend to become centralized and pyramidal, where the few dominate over many. The average person's voice is hardly ever heard in such societies. Groups at the bottom are constantly manipulated from the top to remain poised against each other.
The structure of a peaceful society will be decentralized. Centralization as a system becomes ill with a non-violent society. Unlike the violent society a peaceful society is not dominated from the top. It is a society with most of the executive powers at the grass-roots. Going up the scale, the power enjoyed by leaders will increasingly be moral and advisory.

HOW TO BRING ABOUT THE TRANSITION:

We now come to the all important question of how to change the present violent culture into a peaceful one. I beg to submit that the endeavors could be applied concurrently.
Conscientisation: The ultimate power in society resides with the people. People are exploited only because they are not conscious of their own power. At the grass-roots level there have been to be movements for the empowerment of the masses. Only people who are aware can provide the dynamism for change. A movement to bring about a peaceful society cannot be peaceful.
Organization: The empowering process needs to go hand in hand with organizations. Most of the organization will be at the grass-roots, followed up by net-working at the higher levels. These organizations must be open and participatory in nature.
Building alternate structures: Preparing models of a community based on principles of peace and non-violence will be the beginning of building of new institutions and structures. A variety of experiments will have to be carried out for building these models. Differing according to the conditions of various areas, they will, however have a common non-violent character.
Struggles: One cannot imagine this transformation coming up without a struggle. There are likely to be struggles at all levels, where vested interests will try to obstruct the process of change. Hundreds of non-violent struggles have been tried in the twentieth century. Experience gained from them must be utilized and new innovative non-violent methods discovered.
But even before this four-pronged process begins, some steps must be taken to remove the immediate hurdles.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle is our own life-style. Our sympathies are for peace, but our life, in many ways, represents war culture. This dichotomy has to be resolved first. The endeavor for peace has to begin at home, with ourselves. Are we prepared to live a life that is non-exploitative and just? The essential conditions for that is the willingness to live a simple life, care for our immediate neighbors and sharing our resources and talents with all. Can't we decide not to waste enormous amounts of paper in our conferences? Can't we use public buses or bicycles going to and from our offices? Can we begin using participatory methods in decision-making in our own institutions? Can't we for example, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi spoken by half the population of the world be used besides those currently used which have a history of colonialism behind them? Can we resolve to:
· Request nations to abolish capital punishment within ten years?
· Do away with passports and visas within a limited period?
· Work for minimum-cost medical facilities at transnational levels?
· Work for a United Peoples Organization?
· Request UN to have a Unarmed Peace-keeping Force?
· Request all nations to work for total disarmament, beginning with nuclear disarmament?
Provisions are made today for relief and rehabilitation in disaster-situations. But it is not a fact that more lives are lost by hunger and malnutrition and famines than by earthquakes and floods? Can't the former be treated like disasters internationally in the third millennium? Only a fraction of the military budget of the world could provide for the costs entailed in this. In short, can't we make a beginning here and now to make this world a family and the universe a healthy and abode for it? I know, it sounds like a dream. But is it not true that all transformations begin with dreams?