A one-day International Workshop on Intercultural Resources and Peace Building was held today at the Government Hindi College Auditorium, Imphal. The event was jointly organised by the Government Hindi Teachers’ Training College (GHTTC), Imphal, the Council for Educational Administration & Management (CEAM), Manipur Chapter, and Yelhomee Phurup, Manipur.

The workshop brought together eminent scholars and activists working in the fields of culture, indigenous peoples’ rights, and conflict resolution. The discussions focused on reassessing overlapping cultural affinities as vital resources for inter-community trust and peace building.

R.K. Bijayalaxmi, secretary of Yelhomee Phurup, highlighted how the adoption of new religions had created divisions in pre-colonial and colonial Manipur, stressing the need to revive inter-community similarities and folk confluences as peace-building tools.

Speaking at the event, cultural activist Mutua Bahadur underscored the importance of preserving the common state language along with tangible and intangible cultural heritage. He called for urgent measures to protect stone inscriptions and pictographs, warning against cultural imitation, and suggested integrating cultural symbols into educational curricula.

Noted human rights activist Binalakshmi Nepram delivered a presentation on the rights of indigenous peoples affected by global violence and conflict. She emphasised the importance of intercultural exchanges in promoting peace and urged stakeholders to protect indigenous communities from violence.

Pena artist and activist Marjing Mayanglambam spoke on folk music as a medium of solidarity and social healing. In his concluding presentation on The Way Forward, Dr. Arambam Noni analysed the causes of conflicts, pointing to power asymmetry, subjectivity, and politicisation of ethnic identities as key factors.

The workshop concluded with remarks from Dr. Th. Asha Sinha, Principal of Government Hindi College, Imphal, after an engaging round of discussions among participants.