Activities of MCPR

The MCPR has been constantly expanding its network and reach through Seminars, Dialogues and Problem-Solving Workshops involving activists and resource persons from ac

ross the world.

4 April–22 April 2009 – Three weeks International Workshop on “Media, Terrorism and Insurgency” led by Prof. Victoria Fontan, UN University for Peace, Costa Rica

2 April 2009 – A special lecturer on “African American and the Search for Gandhi’s Non-violence” by Prof. Sudarshan Kapur, Naropa University, Colorado, Prof. B.M. Shukla, Former Vice-Chancellor, Gorakhpur University and Prof. R.P. Mishra, Former Vice Chancellor, Allahabad University.

16 March-4 April 2009 – Three weeks International Workshop on “Environment, Peace and Sustainable Development” led by Prof. Jan Breitling, UN University for Peace, Costa Rica.

18 March 2009 – An International Workshop on “Climate Change and Global Environmental Politics” led by Prof. Jan Breitling, UN University for Peace, Costa Rica, Prof. D.P. Singh, Vice Chancellor, BHU and Prof. J.S. Singh, Emeritus Professor, BHU

13 January 2009 – A special lecture on “Response of Gandhi on Utilitarian Philosophy of J.S. Mill” by Deane Curtis, Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair of Gustavus Adolphus College, USA

19 December 2008 – A seminar on “Rashtriya Parivesh me Seva ke Vividh Aayam” was organized by Maitri Bhawan. MCPR actively participated as a major collaborator of the Seminar.

18 November 2008 - A special lecture on “A new model of inclusive politics in Uttar Pradesh” by Prof. A.K. Verma, Editor, Shodharthi. (A premier journal of political affair in the country).

11 November 2008 – A special lecture on “Auschwitz and Hiroshima” by Ben-Ami Shillony, Professor emeritus of East-Asian history, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

26^th September 2008 – A special lecturer on “Psycho-Therapy intervention in Psychosocial community work for survivors of torture and organized violence by Ms. Inger Agger, Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Victims of Torture (RCT), Copenhagen, Denmark

11 September 2008 – Director of American Centre, New Delhi, Ms. Diane Brandt along with three other members of U.S. embassy in Delhi visited MCPR and interacted with faculty members and students of the centre. They spoke about the minority group in America and how they have been given importance in the American electoral system.

11-14 July 2008 – Under the Fulbright-Hays Seminar Programme a group of 16 American Educators visited MCPR and interacted with the faculty and researchers of the MCPR to know how international issues can be resolved through peace and amicable ways.

8 April, 2008- One day national seminar on “Peacebuilding Trajectories in 21st Century” led by Prof. M. Gulrez, Director, Centre for West Asian Studies, Aligarh Muslim University and Prof. R.N. Swarup, former Head, Deptt. of Defence Studies, University of Madras.

10 March, 2008 – A Special Lecturer on “National Identity Myth and National Security: Indian Experience” by Prof. Srikant Paranjape, Director, Deptt. of Defence and Strategic Studies, University of Pune.

25 February, 2008 – A Special Lecture on “Western Representations of P.M. Nehru and Premier Zhou Enlai at the Bandung conference” by Ms. Sally Percival Wood, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

13-14 January, 2008 - International workshop on “Managing Environmental Conflict: Issues and Challenges” led by Prof. Armin Rosencranz, University of Maryland, USA. Prof. S.N. Upadhyaya, Director, IT, BHU and Dr. Mrityunjay Mishra, Department of Economics, BHU emphasised on the need for a comprehensive policy to meet the needs of economic aspects of environmental degradation in India.

13-14 December, 2007- Two days international workshop on “Peacebuilding through Theatre in the Age of Globalization” key speakers were Prof. Jane Schukoske, Executive Director, United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI), New Delhi, Prof. Brian Brophy, Visiting Fulbright Scholar, MCPR and Prof. S. Lele, Rector, B.H.U. It started with an interactive theatre workshop titled “Sona Maye: Structural Violence and the Politics of Gender in Rural India” led by Sanjay Ganguly & his Theatre Group, Jana Sanskriti from West Bengal

3 November, 2007 – International workshop on “Religions for Peace and Harmony” was organised in collaboration with Maitri Bhavan, Bhelupur. Key speakers were Janab Abdul Batin Nomani, Mufti-e-Banaras, Dr. M.D. Thomas, National Secretary, Commission for Inter Religious Dialogue, Dr. Tashi Tsering, HOD, Sampradaya Shastra, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, and Prof. S. Lele, Rector, BHU. Other participants were from the Department of Religious Studies, Karlstad University, Sweden.

29 October - 3 November, 2007 - Under the academic exchange programme, an academic delegation from the Department of Religious Studies, Karlstad University, Sweden visited the MCPR and interacted with the students and faculty. The delegation was led by Prof. Marc Katz and had other members like Prof. Gerhard Gustafsson, Dr. Per-Olof Fjallsby, Dr. Kirsti Kuusela and an International Training Workshop on “Field Work and Neighbourhood Studies” was organised for the students of MCPR. The participants of the workshop visited different parts of Varanasi to collect data and information in order to study the cultural practices by different sections of society.

18 October, 2007 – Workshop on “Voluntary Organizations and Behaviour Changes” by Prof. Dell Smith , Prof. Emeritus from Lewis and Clark College, Portland , Oregon, USA in collaboration with NIRMAN, a NGO based in Varanasi and SUNRISE (Research Forum of Sociology Scholars) from BHU.

3 August, 2007 - Workshop on “Peacebuilding and Reconciliation : Current Trends” presented by Prof. Seth Cohen, an eminent trainer and facilitator in the field of conflict resolution from the University of New Mexico, United States

3 April, 2007- One-day seminar on “Structural Violence and Dalit Women in India”. Key speakers were : Prof. Rajan Hershe, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Allahabad and Dr. Sushma Yadav, Ambedkar Chair, Indian Institute of Public administration (IIPA), New Delhi . 26 March, 2007.

26 March, 2007 - Workshop on “Democratic Peace and World Order” led by Frances H Oneal, Director, International Relations Program, University of Alabama, USA

16 March, 2007 - Workshop on “Nepal and the Recent Conflict: Perspectives from the US ” led by Tracy Jostens, Programme Director, Global Learning Across Borders.

16 March, 2007 - Workshop on “Media Representations of Women & War on Terror” led by Sunera Thobani British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

15 March, 2007- Workshop on “A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Violence in the United States and India” initiated by Dr. Elisabeth Maring, Visiting Fulbright Professor, USA.

1 February, 2007- International Workshop on “Religions for Peace: Conflict Transformation in Multicultural Societies, Victor H. Kazanjian Jr., Dean of Religious Life and Co-Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Wellesley, led the Workshop

12-16 January, 2007- Under the academic exchange programme, a twenty-member group of faculty and students from the Peace and Justice Program of Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA visited MCPR and had close academic interaction with the faculty and students of the MCPR. During this period, a one-day workshop on “Multicultural Societies- India and the United States in a Comparative Perspective” was jointly conducted by Prof. Victor H. Kazanjian Jr., the Visiting Fulbright Professor, MCPR and Dean of Religious Life and Co-Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Wellesley College and Prof. Priyankar Upadhyaya, Co-ordinator of the MCPR, BHU.

28 November, 2006- A two-day Regional Workshop on “Right to Information & Media” was organized by the MCPR and the Society for Media & Social Development, AMIC-India in collaboration with FES-India & UNESCO.

22 - 25 March 2006 - Four Day International Training Workshop on "Crafting Peace through Citizen Diplomacy". John Davies, Co-Director, Partners in Conflict Project, Centre for International Development And Conflict Management, University of Maryland, USA was the key instructor of the Workshop.

4 March 2006- Film Show/Discussion on "Holi Hey: A Festival of Color, Love and Life". Prof. Marc Katz, Karlstad University, Sweden and the maker of the celebrated film initiated the discussion.

3 January 2006 - A Discussion on E-Governance & Development: Issues & Challenges with Praveen Prakash, IAS, Collector, Visakhapatnam; a Pioneer of e-governance experiment in Andhra Pradesh.

10 December 2005 - An Interactive Discussion with MCPR's students and Mr. Michail H. Anderson, Councilor Minister, Public Affairs Section, Embassy of United States, New Delhi on Human Rights.

29 November - 2 December 2005 - Organized a South Asian Women's Theatre Festival in collaboration with Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA), New Delhi. The group from five South Asian countries Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India have performed on this occasion.   

3rd June 2005 - An Interactive Session with Maj . Shawn Walters, United Nations Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, USA on Geopolitical Realities and Conflict in Central Asia. 

24 March 2005 - Interactive Session with US Ambassador to India Mr. David Mulford on Current Trends in American Foreign Policy towards India.

2 March 2005 - Film Show/Discussion on Peace Building in Multicultural Society: Muharram in Banaras. Prof. Marc Katz, Karlstad University, Sweden and the maker of the celebrated film Banaras Muharram & the Coals of Karbala initiated the discussion.

13 December 2004 - Special Lecture on Chemical & Biological Weapons Disarmament by Prof. Marie I. Chevrier, Fulbright Visiting Professor.

2 October 2004 - MCPR Commemorated Gandhi Jayanti, with an eminent Social activist Dr. Bhanu Shankar Mehta who recalled Gandhi's vision and practical activities in his lecture entitled Remembering Gandhi: Manav se Mahamanav.

26^th August 2004 - Conference on Religion & Conflict Resolution. Key Speaker was Prof. Hillel Levine, Founder & President of the International Institute for Mediation & Historical Conciliation (IIMHC), Massachusetts.

27^th July 2004 - An interactive discussion on US and Global Security Challenges. Key speaker was Mr. Robert O. Blake, Charge’ d’Affaires & Acting Ambassador U.S. Embassy.

20 March 2004 - National Workshop on "Role of NGOs and Civil Society in Democratic Regimes". Key participants included Prof. B N Juyal of Gandhi Vidya Sansthan; Prof. M Muzzamil of Lucknow University; Dr. Pooja Juyal, IT College, Lucknow.

19 March 2004 - National Workshop on "Religion, Conflict and Development". Key participants were Dr. Pooja Juyal, IT College, Lucknow; Prof. Mohd. Muzzamil; Dr. Arvind Singh; Prof. R N Pandey of Lucknow University; Ms. Nuzhat Farman; Sister Justina; Prof. Surendra Singh, Vice Chancellor, M G Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi; Prof. S K Srivastava.

18 March 2004 – National Workshop on "Gender and Peace". Key participants included Ms. Meera Khanna, Founder Trustee, Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia, New Delhi; Prof. R. R. Pandey, Vice-Chancellor, Gorakhpur University; Prof. B. M. Shukla, Former Vice-Chancellor, Gorakhpur University; Shri Ajit Singh, Director, Guria; Dr. A P S Chauhan, of Jiwaji University, Gwalior.

29 Jan. 2004 – Special Lecture on "Islam: Stress on Tolerance – Positive Acceptance of Others". Key speaker was Dr. Omar Khalidi, Staff Member of Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, MIT Department of Architecture, USA.

16 January 2004 - an Interactive Discussion on Conscience, Justice & Non-Violence with Prof. M. J. Lunine, Professor of Humanities and Global Peace Studies, San Francisco State University, USA.

9th & 10th December 2003 - National Workshop on "Refugee & Forced Migration in South Asia" participated by 21 scholars of South Asian Countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indian & one from Australia.

15 November 2003 - MCPR commemorated "International Day for Tolerance", 16 Nov. by organizing a discussion on " Culture of Peace & Tolerance " with Prof. Ranabir Samaddar, Director, South Asian Forum for Human Rights, Kathmandu & Paula Banerjee, University of Kolkata.

7th & 8th October 2003 - National Seminar on India – China Relations: Contemporary Scenario and Future Prospects, in collaboration with Department of Foreign Languages, B.H.U. & Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata.

27th August to 29th August 2003 - National Workshop on Democracy, Development & Conflict Management in South Asia. Participants were Professor Surendra Singh, Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth; Prof. M.P. Lama, South Asian Studies Division, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Dr. K. Santhanam, Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi. more... This Workshop was a part of the project "Democracy & Human Development: South Asian Context

24 July 2003 - Seminar on Radical Islam in South-east Asia and Conflict Resolution in ASEAN, Prof. Baladas Ghoshal , Professor, International Relations and Management, University of Malaysia was the key speaker.

21 March 2003, Interactive Session on War on Iraq & Future World Map particpated by academics and peace activists.

3-10 January 2003 - International Workshop on Gandhi & Global Perspectives on Peace & Social Justice participants included Craig Murphy, Secretary General of Academic Council of the United Nations, Marissa Vansaanen, Oxford, Victor Kazanjian, Director, Peace Studies, Wellesley.

15 November 2002 - International Seminar on Terrorism & Culture of Peace. Prof. Charles F. Doran, Professor of International Relations, Director of the International Relations Program and Director of the Center of Canadian Studies (within the new Western Hemisphere Program), Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. was the Chief Speaker.

24 October 2002 - Panel Discussion on "1962 India-China War & Nehru's U-turn on Kashmir". Speakers were Mr. M. V. Rappai, Dr. Swaran Singh, Col. Gautam & Dr. Priyankar Upadhyaya.

6 August 2002 (Hiroshima day) - A Poster & Essay Competition on the theme “Children for Peace” participated by seventeen school children of Varanasi and a presentation by Prof. P. Ramachandra Rao, Vice Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University on Anatomy of Nuclear Weapons & Imperatives of Peace.

25-26 February 2002 - Media and Conflict Resolution, an international workshop in collaboration with IEE Student's Chapter, Institute of Technology, BHU, Susan Koscis, Vice President of Arts & Culture, Search for Common Ground, USA was the key speaker. The workshop centred around two a ward winning Films "Just a Little Red Dot" & "Long Night's Journey into Day: South Africa's Search for Truth and Reconciliation"

22 January 2002 - Dispute Resolution in Ayodhya: Possible Ways in collaboration with Rastriya Yuva Sangathan, Verdha, Gujrat. The Speaker was Kumar Prasant, Representative, Rastriya Yuva Sangathan . 

21 January 2002 - India & Latin America: Throughout the Centuries key speaker was Dr. Om Gupta, Director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies of India. 

21 December 2001 - Interactive Discussion with Dr. Kamal Taori, Secretary to Government of India, Inter-state Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi on Peace & Sustainable Development. 

12 December 2001 - Workshop on "Strategies to Combat Trafficking of Women & Children: Civil Society Response" organised, in collaboration with Centre for Women's Studies & Development. Ms. Pamela Shifman, Associate Director, "Equality Now" (USA) was the Chief Speaker.

6 to 12 August 2001 - Workshop on "Children for Peace" to Commemorate the nuclear holocaust victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in collaboration with Nomura Trust for Lifelong Integrated Education, Japan.  Key Participants were Mrs. N. Simhadri, Executive Trustee, Nomura Trust for Lifelong Integrated Education; Prof. P. Krishna, Director, J. Krishanamurty Foundation, Rajghat, Varanasi (Chief Guest); Shri D.C Pandey "Nazar Kanpuri", Indian Police Service ( Guest of Honour); Prof. A.P. Singh, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences.

20 July 2001 - Panel Discussion on Peace Imperatives in South Asia: Agra Summit and Beyond. Key Participant was Jonathan Sinclair, First Secretary, United Kingdom High Commission in Delhi

1 May 2001 - Workshop on Environmental Conflicts: A Global Concern. An Interactive Session with Professor William Lockhart, University of Utah, USA.

16 April 2001 - Interactive workshop on Indo- US Relations : Common Concerns; Key Participants were James J. Callahan, Minister Counsellor for Public Affairs, American Embassy, New Delhi. Mr. Samuel Kidder, Commercial Counsellor, US Embassy, Mr. Robert Scheridf, Cultural Counsellor, US Embassy, Mr. Ashok Kapur, Chairman, Indo- American Chamber of Commerce.

21 March 2001 - Special Lecture on Talibans: Politics of Intransigence by Prof. Asghar Ali Engineer, Director, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism.

22 February 2001 - National Workshop on Women & Peace: Intercultural Dimensions in Collaboration with The British Council & Centre for Women Studies & Development, Banaras Hindu University. Prof. Roop Rekha Varma, Former Vice- Chancellor & Director, Centre for Women's Studies & Development, Lucknow University was the Keynote Speaker.

13-17 January 2001 - Workshop on Conflict & Harmony: Inter-Cultural & Inter-Religious Perspectives in South Asia  in collaboration with Wellesley College, USA. Key Participants were Arun Gandhi, Director,  Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi Institute of Non-Violence, USA (Keynote); Victor H. Kazanjian Jr., Dean of Religious Life and Co-Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Wellesley.

11-12 December 2000 - National Seminar on Human Rights and Peace Building in South Asia inaugurated by Mrs. Vijay Daksh, Member, National Commission for Women. Other participants were Ranabir Samaddar, Director, South Asia Forum for Human Rights, Kathmandu; Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Chairperson, School of International Studies, JNU; Prof. Paula Bannerjee, Calcutta University.

4 December 2000 - Special lecture on Nuclear Risk Reduction and Stabilisation: Lesson for South Asia by Michael Krepon, President Emeritus, Henry L. Stimson Centre, USA.

23 November 2000 - Ms. Sumbul Rizvi - Khan, Associate Protection Officer, Visitor, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, visited the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research and held an interactive session with researcher and faculty.

9 November, 2000 - International Workshop on "Community Approaches to Conflict Resolution" Prof. R.R. Singh, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Dr. Clem McCartney, International Consultant on Conflict Resolution, Northern Ireland were the key speakers.

15 September, 2000 - a meeting of NGO's of Varanasi region, working in the field of Human Rights was held at MCPR, to discuss violation of Human Rights in the field of child rights.

6 August, 2000 - National Colloquium on Towards Peace in the New Millennium to commemorate Hiroshima Day. Prof. Ramji Singh (ex MP) delivered the keynote address.

21-27 January 2000 - Collaborating for Peace though Internet, A training workshop conducted at the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research was conducted by Ms Johanne, a web designer from CERAS (South Asia Research and Resource Centre) at Montreal.

14-19 January 2000 - A Collaborative Workshop with Peace and Justice Program of Wellesley College, Massachusetts, U.S.A. on Imperatives of Asia. Victor H. Kanzanjian Jr., Dean of Religious Life and Co-Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Wellesley and Sally Merry, Professor of Anthropology and Co-Director of the Peace and Justice Program at Wellesley accompanied a group of 11 graduate students to Varanasi (First Time) for an interactive dialogue with students and faculty at MCPR.

December 1999 - Interactive Dialogue on Anatomy of Communal Violence in South Asia: A View from North America. Key Participants were Firoz Mehdi, Director, CERAS (South Asian Research and Resource Centre), Montreal, Canada

23-24 December 1999 - International Seminar on Nuclearisation of South Asia and Human Security Concerns. Key Speakers were Prof. S.D. Muni (Former Indian Ambassador to Laos), Mr. Bishnu Hari Nepal (Former Nepali Ambassador to Japan).

22 December 1999 - Lecture Series on Gandhian Perspectives on Peace by Prof. M.J. Lunine, Professor of Humanities and Global Peace Studies, San Francisco State University. 

17-18 December, 1999 - National Symposium on JAY-JAGAT Peace Ideas of M.K.Gandhi, Jaiprakash Narain and Vinoba Bhave.  Key Participants were more than 25 peace activists including His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Nirmala Deshpande, Chairperson, Association of Peoples of Asia; Sunderlal Bahuguna, eminent environmentalist and social worker; Aacharya Ramamurty, Professor Ramji Singh, Dr. Priyankar Upadhyaya, Prof. A. S. Upadhyaya, Dean, faculty of Social Sciences, BHU, Shri Sarad Kr. Sadhak, Shri Krishanaraj Mehta, Prof. S. Rinpoche, Dr. Ranjan Kumar Sharma Dr. Ashutosh Misra, Executive Officer, United Nations University Leadership Academy, Jordan, Faculty members of Social Sciences, BHU; NGO and social workers from Varanasi and several prominent Gandhian activists.

14 October 1999 - Workshop on Rag - pickers in Varanasi: Child Rights Vs Identity Crisis in collaboration with Dr. Shambhunath Singh Research Foundation, Varanasi. Key Participants were Dr. (Mrs) Roli Singh & Shri Rajiv Singh from Dr. Shanbhunath Singh Research Foundation; Prof. Anjoo S. Upadhyaya, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences & Dr. Lenin from PVHCR.

October 1998 - Symposium on Peace Prospects in South Asia: Gandhian Perspectives. The Key Speaker was Prof. Venu Dhar Pradhan, eminent Gandhian.

March 1998 - International seminar on Ethnic Conflict: Lessons from Sri Lanka. The Key Speaker was Dr. Clem Mc Cartney, eminent Conflict Resolution expert from Northern Ireland.

4 March 1998 - Indo-British Seminar on Human Rights: A Concern for Prison Reforms.   Key Speaker was Dr. Vivien Stern, senior research fellow, International Centre for Prison Studies, King College, London

10 February 1998 - National Colloquium on Inter-Religious Harmony in India. The Key Speaker was Prof. Asghar Ali Engineer, Director, Centre for Study of Society and secularism.

January 1997 - International Seminar on Fifty Years of Asia: Conflict and Peace? Key Speakers were Dr. Peter Wallensteen, Dag Hammarskjold Professor at Department of Peace and Conflict Research (DPCR) at Uppsala University (Sweden).

January 1995, Panel discussion between Indian and Pakistani opinion makers on Conflict Resolution Models in South Asia. Key Participants were: Javed Jabbar, former Pakistani Minister of Information, Ambassador Niaz Naik, former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Harold Saunders, conflict resolution expert, Kettering Foundation.

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