A Brief Note on the Institute of Peace Research & Action working in the area of peace for last 36 years:

The Institute of Peace Research and Action (IPRA) has come into existence as a result of the persistent reflection of a group of individuals on the need to link the present day events and behaviour patterns to concepts through which they can be understood, interpreted and changed towards a culture of peace.

Recent developments in the country have rendered such an effort urgent. The Group feels that a Peace Research/Action Programme has the potential to provide new knowledge and skills to deal with the tensions unleashed by the development choices made by the country as also with the instruments of terror and destruction let loose by the vested interests. The Group also feels that such a programme has the potential to evolve concepts and strategies towards nonviolent restructuring of the prevailing systems and relationships at the international, national and sub-national levels.

One of the major areas in which the Institute has been working is Youth and Violence. It has worked on Tribal-non-tribal violence in the North-East, Caste Violence in Bihar, Communal violence in Andhra Pradesh and Terrorist Violence in Jammu & Kashmir. Youth marginality, atomization and alienation have their roots in values and ideologies which make for particular social formations or withdrawal from them. The identity crisis of the Indian youth has remained attendant on the country’s developmental transition. With dramatic changes in the socio-economic and political relationships, the transition reflects a steep decline of traditional values and the erosion of primary bases of security and support compounded by the impact of modern technology and the communication revolution. Add to this the progressive involvement of the young in criminal activities, be it murder, rape, dacoity and other anti-social ventures. The resultant cultural upheaval and chaos has, over the years, rendered the Indian youth increasingly insecure. Working with the young was, therefore, given top priority.

In thinking of securing a future for the country in general and areas impacted by prolonged youth violence, be it Kashmir, North-east or the Naxal hit regions, in particular, the enormous resources of the young would have to be rehabilitated. This calls for a cultural revolution, a revolution that must begin in the educational institutions where daily interaction of the individual students reflects complexities and contradictions of their lives. It is here that the reorientation of their psyche through breaking the hold of the debilitating distortions of their consciousness, their alienation from the state as well as masses of people, becomes central. Hence the prime focus of our work on the transformation of youth power into positive directions.

This transformation has to be guided by the knowledge, values and skills bequeathed to us by our civilizational heritage. The civilizational constructs alone can promote, characters building, true nationalism, patriotism and humanism and equip our youth to build the future of our dreams. To achieve this objective our efforts in this direction need to be consolidated and strengthened. The environment is conducive now because of the sweeping changes that we are witnessing currently. We are determined to make the best of the new opportunities available to us. To facilitate the process we seek the support of all stake holders who realize the cruciality of the efforts we are making in this direction.

The projects undertaken by the Institute have been funded by various funding agencies on a project to project basis. Our major difficulty, in running our programmes has been that we lack financial stability for the lack of a Corpus for the Institute. As we move from project to project, we have to terminate the services of our staff after the completion of each project with the result that we lose the personnel who develop commitment to our objectives and get trained in research methods relevant to our areas of interest. Given the Indian job market, our research staff is always insecure and keep on looking for permanent jobs even while they are working with us. Sometimes when they do find such opportunities, they leave us in the midst of a project. We naturally have no moral right to stop them from leaving us. This causes delays in our work because finding a replacement and training the new incumbents is a time consuming affair.

The Institute has not received an annual or core grant from any source so far. It has received financial support for its projects from Departments of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ford Foundation, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Departments of Women and Child Development, and Deptt. Of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, UNESCO and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai. In the absence of a Corpus or a regular annual grant, the work of the Institute has suffered. We have not been able to realize our potential in pursuing the objectives set.

1. Bibliography on Peace Research
As a first step the institute compiled a Bibliography on Peace Research Materials relevant to its own work. This project was funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi and the report of the project has since been submitted.

2. Survey of Research in the Area of Violence
IPRA is working on an intensive survey of literature in the area of Violence. The survey will be completed in 12 volumes:

• The first volume titled Terrorism : An Annotated Bibliography was completed and published by concept Publishers, New Delhi
• Children and Violence
  The second survey which related to Children and Violence has also been completed and published by Northern Book Centre, New Delhi in two volumes under the title Child Abuse: An Annotated Bibliography, 1991.
• Ethnic Violence
  The third volume in the series on Ethnic Violence is ready to go to press. Final touches to the manuscript are being given and it is expected that the volume will be available in the market sometime next year.

3. The Status of Peace Awareness Programme in Higher Secondary Schools
This project was undertaken to examine the status of Peace Awareness among the students at the Higher Secondary level in the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh and three other States namely, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The idea was to generate data to help develop intervention models with special reference to national integration, value education and international understanding underlined by the New Education Policy of 1986. The report has been submitted to the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Indian Council of Social Science Research, who provided financial assistance for the project.

4. Impact of Ethnic Violence on Youth, 1999
This project was undertaken on two dimensions of ethnic violence, namely, tribal violence and communal violence. The first on tribal/nontribal violence was carried out in Kokrajhar town of the Kokrajhar district in the State of Assam. The study on communal violence was conducted in the old city of Hyderabad. This study also has been completed. The reports on both the studies have been submitted to Ford Foundation which funded them.

5. Evaluation of Curricula and School Textbook from the point of view of Peace Promotion (1994).
This project relates to evaluation of curricula and textbooks in languages and social sciences being used at the higher secondary stage in eight violence-prone States, from the point of view of peace promotion.

This study was undertaken in three phases. In the first phase, the Institute undertook a pilot study to test the tools, techniques, methodology and criteria for evaluation of textbooks, developed for the purpose. Twenty four textbooks in languages (English, Hindi, Urdu and Assamese) being used at the +2 stage and prescribed by the NCERT, Madhya Pradesh Higher Secondary Board and Assam Council of Secondary Education, were evaluated. The report of the pilot study was submitted to the NCERT who funded the study.

In the second phase the study on the evaluation of curricula prescribed by the State Boards of Education in the eight selected states of the country from the point of view of peace promotion was undertaken. The study was completed and the report submitted to NCERT which provided financial assistance for the study.

In the third phase of the study evaluation of textbooks in languages and social sciences being used at the higher secondary stage from the point of view of peace promotion was carried out. Nine reports * were submitted to NCERT which funded the Project.

6. Violence Against Women
This research project funded by Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India aimed at surveying the forms of family violence against women, examining the incidence, modes, causes and consequences of various patterns of violence against women and suggesting appropriate strategies of intervention with respect of different forms of violence prevalent currently.

The study was conducted in the urban slums of the old city of Hyderabad. The study has been completed.

7. Terrorism: A Trend Report
On the basis of the survey of research on terrorism conducted by the Institute and published by the Concept Publishers, New Delhi.

Eight reports on each on the selected states and Macro Report.

Institute has prepared a Trend Report on Terrorism. The report surveys the trends that have emerged in the research undertaken by scholars on the various dimensions of terrorism and highlights the major gaps in research which need to be filled up towards developing the necessary strategies for fighting the menace of terrorism.

8. Impact of upper caste violence on the scheduled caste Youth (2006)
This project on caste violence was carried out in two violence-prone districts, namely Patna and Bhojpur in Bihar. This was the third study under the major research programme undertaken by Institute on the impact of ethnic violence on youth. The funds for the study were provided by Ministry of Welfare, Government of India. The Study has been completed and the report submitted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

9. Health-Peace Relationship, 1992
The Institute is planning an inter-disciplinary research programme on health peace relationship. The programme focusses on dimensions of modern life which have gone against birth as well as growth of healthy individuals and mutatis mutandis a healthy society. The thrust of the programme would be to develop a basis for promoting a holistic health paradigm as against the truncated cure-and-care concept of health.

As a first step, the Institute has brought out a publication entitled, Health for Peace published by the Northern Book Centre, New Delhi.

10. Decentralised Health Care: A Study of Health Care Financing of Municipal Corporations of India
In the wake of decentralised political governance, financing of health care by the decentralised-level governments calls for financial reforms that strengthen their self-financing capacities in their health sectors. Urgency of reforms is enhanced in view of quivering budgets of the central as well as state governments.

The study attempts an indepth examination of the patterns and determinants of municipal health care expenditures. This will enable exploration of the feasibility of the widely suggested strategy of reform viz. introduction of user charges. Basically speaking, the feasibility depends on willingness and ability to pay (w/p and a/p) of the health care users. Accordingly, two objectives are formulated. (a) to examine growth, patterns and determinants of health expenditures in selected municipal corporations; and (b) to examine the possibilities of introducing user charges as strategy for financial reforms that ensures efficiency and equity in public health care. Funds for the study have been provided by the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi.

11. Cultural Renewal of the Kashmiri Student Youth,2000
The Institute launched this project in March, 1999 in 30 high and higher secondary schools of Srinagar district, in close collaboration with the Department of School Education Government of Jammu and Kashmir. On public demand the project was extended to 30 high and higher secondary schools of Baramulla district in the year 2000. Subsequently it was extended to 30 schools each of Badgam Anantnag, Pulwama and Kupwara districts. As such the project in now running in 180 schools of all the six districts in the Kashmir Valley.

Kashmiri youth have been the victims of a complex and lethal political and cultural ecology fostered by the developments of the decade on the one hand and the fundamentalist forces within and across the borders on the other. This has led to acute youth marginality, atomization and alienation with disastrous consequences. The educational programme launched aims at a cultural revolution with the following specific objectives:

• To promote a deep reflection on the contingent specific history and literature of Kashmiris, their understanding of themselves, their traditions and values, their organic solidarities as also their fundamental belief in a common human nature.
• To help them to evaluate their present situation, raise questions, generate new descriptions and meanings, to emancipate themselves from the psyche of alienation, of distorted drives and visions, and to recover themselves as a moral force rooted in the spiritual, humanitarian and cultural values of traditional Kashmiriyat informed by modern values of democracy, human rights, social justice and secularism.
• To build the necessary linkages and competencies to enable them to participate in the reconstruction of the structures of the Kashmiri society.

12. A Socio-economic survey of Kashmiri Pandit Migrant Youth in Jammu, 2004
A Socio-economic survey of Kashmiri Pandit Migrant Youth in Jammu, 2004

The survey focussed on the teenagers in the age group 13-19 with the following objectives:

• To collect standardized information on the socio-economic status of the migrants residing in Jammu
• To collect data on the current educational and occupational status of the migrant youth
• To identify the educational/occupational preferences of the youth
• To collect data on the requirements of the migrant youth in terms of their educational background, aptitudes and aspirations towards organizing a technical/vocational training programme in order to render them employable within the state and outside as also capable of running small units as self-employed entrepreneurs.
• To identity infrastructural, institutional and other requirement corresponding to their preferences.
• To identity specific problems that the community is facing on account of their migration and its aftermath.
• To identity measures that can give the community economic security, self-confidence and hope for better tomorrow.

The project has been completed since and the report submitted to the Deptt. of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi, which provided funds for the study.

13. A project entitled Generating a Dialogue towards Social Transformation was carried out on an experimental basis for one year (2004-2005). The objective was to generate a multi-level dialogical process that could empower people to fight for authentic democratic processes rooted in a participatory mode of social action, and provide opportunities for release of their creative potential  to shape social goals and strategies.

The project received an enthusiastic response from the field. Unfortunately, it had to be discontinued due to lack of financial support.

14. Last year (May, 2009) a project entitled Promotion of A Scientific and Technological Culture Among The Kashmiri Student Youth,2010 was launched to promote analytical and scientific attitudes/creativity, through rational approach and behaviour, innovative ideas, critical thinking and a balanced overview generally and on conflictual and controversial issues in particular. The project is on the ground we hope to continue with this project for another year and carry out an impact evaluation next summer.  The project has received a grant from the Deptt. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

15. The Institute has undertaken a project on the ‘Promotion of Health Status & Awareness of Slum Women in and Around Mandavali (East Delhi). The project will pursue the following objectives:

• To examine the current health status of the respondents by trained and experienced doctors.
• To record the specific health problems of each of them and take follow up action both preventive and curative.
• To provide free medicines and where necessary to facilitate access to the relevant doctors and hospitals for regular treatment and follow up.
• To provide education/awareness to the participants on their specific health needs, women’s diseases in general and the requirements of their children.
• To motivate them to share the acquired information with their relatives friends and neighbours and assist them in availing the necessary preventive and curative health services and facilities.
• To enhance the status of womens/childrens health in qualitative and quantitative terms in general, through medical and educational support.

16. The Institute has taken up a project entitled ‘Politics of Ethnic Identity and Autonomy in J&K State’The project is extremely important in the context of the situation in Kashmir.

A. National Seminar Organised

• A 3-day seminar at Chandigarh on 'Ethnic Identities and Social Transformation' in collaboration with the Punjab University, Chandigarh.
• A 2-day seminar on 'Criminalization of Politics in India',1995 at the Parliament Annexe, New Delhi.
• A 3-day seminar on 'Peace Issues: A Third World Perspective' at India International Centre, New Delhi.
• A 2-day seminar on ‘Sufism-Its Relevance Today’ at Srinagar.
• A 2-day seminar on ‘Kashmiri Culture & The New Millennium’ at Srinagar
• A 2-day Seminar on ‘Religious Humanism of Bulbul Shah (The Sufi Saint)’ at Srinagar.
• A 2-day seminar on ‘Value-Education – A Way Forward’ at Srinagar.
• A 2-day National Seminar on ‘Innovative Federal Structure & Conflict Resolution in India’ at Delhi Public School, Srinagar.

B. Publications

• Terrorism: An Annotated Bibliography, Concept Publishers, New Delhi, 1989.
• Child Abuse: An Annotated Bibliography (in two volumes), Northern Book Centre, 1991.
• Health for Peace, Northern Book Centre, New Delhi, 1992.
• Peace dialogue, Issue Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• Criminalization of Politics in India, Shipra Publishers, Delhi 1995.
• Impact of Ethnic Violence on Youth, Shipra Publishers, Delhi 1998.

C. Peace Lectures Series
IPRA has instituted a Peace Lecture Series to generate a debate on contemporary peace issues.  The first lecture in the series was delivered by Professor Irfan Habib in New Delhi on Divisiveness and History.  The 

second lecture was delivered by Dr. Karan Singh on Peace Within and Peace Without.  The third lecture delivered by Tarkatirtha Laxman Shastri Joshi in Pune, focussed on the Concept of Peace in the Indian Tradition.  The fourth one was delivered in Delhi by Professor Yash Pal, the then Chairman    UGC    on    the   crucial   theme   Science,   Technology   and Peacelessness.  The fifth one delivered by Mr. Nikhil Chakravarty, the then Editor, Mainstream, covered the theme Communication for Peace.  The sixth lecture was delivered by Professor M.S. Agwani, the then Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University on Peace and Conflict in South Asia.  The seventh lecture in the series was delivered by Mr. I.K. Gujral on Peace Issues:  A South-South Perspective in Feb. 1997.