Capacity building for conflict resolution Friction to fusion

7th report

Conflict is an unavoidable facet of human life. It is as much an internal process of the human mind when it evaluates the pros and cons of a decision, as it is a part of the individual's daily interaction with others in society. Some philosophers have attributed all progress to the continuous process of conflict and conflict resolution. The absence of conflict may be an impossible condition to reach and it may often mean brutal repression or callous indifference by one section vis-à-vis the rest. The maturity of a society is thus measured not so much by the absence of conflict in it as the ability of its institutions and procedures for resolving it. The more broad based and impartial this mechanism, the less is the likelihood of discontent and disaffection festering in it. The State with its organised judiciary is the final arbiter of all conflicts, but there always exist traditional means of settling matters at the level of the family and the community and most issues do get resolved at these levels.