Communal tension are always covertly present in most of the intervention areas of CNI SBSS, viz. Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam are the few areas where religion based communal tensions tend to occur at any time. In spite of the constitutional safeguards and the plethora of laws in India, violence against religious minorities continues to increase at an alarming level. Community tensions or conflicts triggered by political or communal forces can jeopardize all developmental efforts. In this regard “Local Capacities for Peace” or “Do No Harm” approach framework is a comprehensive tool to take up situational analysis of the context of conflict and find out options for alternative interventions in the project area. This tool is used as supportive strategy of the program and activities to address issues related to peace and harmony. LCP is a step forward in building counter culture against violence and intolerance. It also strengthens the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation systems to address issues of rising conflicts during program management.
For propagation of the misconceptions and violence the youths are the easy tool used by different institutions. Therefore, LCP is now focusing on engaging with the youth in building peace and integration in India and in South Asia as a whole. In this situation mobilizing the youths as peace ambassadors and development agents will be appropriate to build a counter culture of cooperation and cohesive communities.
