March 2024
Namaskar to all of you who are readers of my blog. I hope you enjoy reading my experiences and learnings. Today Nara Bahadur (our trainer) started with a game. First of all, we divided us into two groups; one group in one line looking at the other group also in a line. So, we could see each other’s faces. Then Nar Bahadur wrote a number on a Meta card after putting it on the ground. He asked us what was written on the card. One group said 6 while the other said 9. Then there was a discussion for a while about which group was right.
Nara Bahadur asked us, how we felt after the game, and then he Bahadur said both groups were right, and that we today should discuss “Conflict Management”.
We discussed how conflicts starts and everyone shared their opinion. The points were as follows:
The habit of talking more and hearing less. Not appreciating other’s views and ideas, taking oneself as the superior one, bringing unwanted discussion and using it to express anger, chaos, disagreement, and lack of security when discrimination occurs in the group just because of the low cast.
While discussions were going on, I was thinking a lot about what was being said and recalling being a Dalit woman and how people are treating me. During the discussion, I learned how conflict starts. Later on, Nara Bahadur discussed that conflicts can be within oneself. Sometimes we are in a dilemma about what to do and what not to do. Most conflicts happen in our family and society due to differences in our thinking. Whenever we hear the word “conflict” then we think it is a negative term. IBT (Issue Based training) changes our thinking, which can be positive as well because if conflicts never take place then we will not change our thinking style. We will be the same as before and therefore to change our situations we also need to have conflicts. During IBT, I learnt that we should respect other’s feelings and ideas. We shouldn’t vent our anger unnecessarily to others. Moreover, unequal distribution of opportunities and resources can lead to conflicts. But the most important thing is that we can reduce conflicts by careful communication. Some people can also act as mediators for people or communities having conflicts.
If we are having any kind of dispute or misunderstandings with others, then we have to solve it by talking with them. After the IBT, I will always respect other’s ideas and feelings. If I have any kind of misunderstanding or dispute, then I will take care to be calm in the situation and listen to others also.