ABOUT
Malaviya Centre for Peace Research
The ancient city of Varanasi has traditionally been a site of intercultural and interreligious dialogue and discourses peace. Continuing this tradition, the Banaras Hindu Universityhas taken the lead in institutionalizing an interdisciplinary centre of peace research and conflict resolution. Deriving its name from the illustrious founder of the university, the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research (MCPR) was launched in 1998 under the VIII UGC Plan as the first centre of its kind in the Indian University system. In just over a decade, the MCPR has established itself globally as a hub of scholarly and practical activities concerning varied dimensions of conflict analysis and sustainable peace. The granting of UNESCO Chair for Peace has been worthy recognition of the continuing peace work at MCPR..
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OBJECTIVES
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The academic programs and practical training at MCPR aims to develop pedagogy and trajectories to understand the generic features of conflict and peace process within and across Indian borders in order to develop indigenous capacity to analyze and intervene in the peaceful management of violent conflicts.
Peace research at MCPR rests on three pillars-data, theory and values and offers an interface between research, teaching and recommendations. The aim is to wedge the gulf between theory and practice in policy-making through a synthesis of the academic findings and experiential inputs from practitioners and professionals.
Establish a wide peace constituency of resource persons and scholars stretching within and beyond South Asia through seminars, workshops and dialogues.
Apart from offering an interdisciplinary support to researchers, the MCPR offers a state of the art learning/training opportunity for students and practitioners from diverse fields concerned with conflict
ACADEMICS
Teaching Program
The teaching program was introduced at MCPR in 2005 under the UGC Scheme of Innovative program in Interdisciplinary & Emerging Areas. Beginning with a One Year PG Diploma, now the Centre offers a Masters Degree in Conflict Management and Development and a Ph.D. Program in Peace Research. Drawing candidates from diverse disciplines, these teaching/research programs offer an interdisciplinary site for students, scholars and practitioners concerned with social conflicts and community development and the imperative of conflict management at every level. Assisted by highly trained faculty from within and abroad, these innovative courses follow a step-by-step learning of how to analyze and handle a conflict situation, and provide knowledge and skills that are increasingly sought in today’s world. Through its trans-disciplinary researches, workshops and training programs, MCPR strives to enrich the indigenous trajectories of management and resolution of conflict. In doing so the MCPR works closely with various civil society organizations to elicit, and analyze data on various types of conflict both intra-state and inter-state and approaches of conflict resolutions drawing on various disciplines of social sciences.
COURSES OFFERED
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-M.A in conflict management and development(2 years)
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The MA course in “Conflict Management and Development” offers a state ofthe art opportunity for
students and practitioners from diverse fields concerned with peace, security and community
development. Assisted by highly trained faculty from within and outside the country, this unique
course is proposed to take the students step-by-step through the process of analyzing the links
between development, peace, faith and security in an increasingly globalized world- a world in need
of creative and pragmatic thinkers in developing pedagogy and understanding of how to handle a
conflict situation and transform conflicts towards positive social change. Students will develop
important conflict management knowledge and skills that are increasingly sought after in today's job
market. A primary goal of this course is to assist students who want to become agents of social
change to promote peace and reduce violence. The main objective of the course is to equip the
students with field work skills to analyze and handle today’s conflicts and to engage with peace
buildingand conflict prevention as both critical pedagogy and active vocation.
- P.G diploma in conflict management and development(one year)
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The one year PG Diploma coursein “Conflict Management and Development”offers state of the art
opportunity for students and practitioners from diverse fields concerned with peace, security and
community development. Assisted by highly trained faculty from within and outside the country, this
unique course is proposed to take the students step-by-step through the process of analyzing the
links between development, peace, faith and security in an increasingly globalized world- A world in
need of creative and pragmatic thinkers in developing pedagogy and understanding of how to handle
a conflict situation and transform conflicts towards positive social change. Students will develop
important conflict management knowledge and skills that are increasingly sought after in today's job
market. A primary goal of this course is to assist students who want to become agents of social
change to promote peace and reduce violence. The main objective of the course is to equip the
students with field work skills to analyze and handle today’s conflicts and to engage with peace
buildingand conflict prevention as both critical pedagogy and active vocation.
Phd
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It is programme offered by the centre for 3-5 years research.
FACULTY PROFILE
.Core faculty
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Priyankar Upadhaya
Manoj Mishra
Ajay Kumar yadav
Sunita Singh
Prashant Kumar
.Adjunct Faculty
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Dr.Anjoo sharan Upadhaya
Dr. Uttam Kumar Sinha
.Visiting Faculty
Swati Parashar
Victor H. Kanajian Jr.
Brian Brophy
Edward Brantmiere
Carolyn Marvin
Victoria Fontan
Jan Breitling
John Davies
Marc Katz
Kelvin Ayruch
ACTIVITIES
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MCPR organises seminars and events related to Peace,Justice,Equality,Children,Environment,International Affairs.
Various journals and Thesis are published for research works with the collaboration of various foreign universitie
Accomplishments of the UNESCO Chair (2014-2016)
Prof. Priyankar Upadhyaya
UNESCO Chair
Mr. David Atchoarena, Director, UNESCO (Paris) commended the ‘very good result’achieved by the Chair, while recommending the renewal of the UNESCO Chair Agreement for an additional period of four years until December 2019’. On the invitation of the UNESCO (Paris) Cultural Section, Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya made an invited presentation at the Academic Forum of the UNESCO Chair for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue in Baku on 18-19 May 2015. Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya was nominated by the UNESCO to serve as the member of the Executive Committee for the UNESCO Chair for Intercultural Dialogue. He joined the inaugural meeting of the Committee met in Paris on 17-18 December 2015. In December 2015, Mr Adama Dieng, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General visited the UNESCO Chair for Peace and Intercultural Understanding and delivered keynote address in International Summit on Peace and Harmony. Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya served as the expert panellist at the invitation of UNESCO Liaison Office at Geneva and Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (GCHRAGD), Geneva on 29 March 2016 in an event entitled “International Day of the remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade: an opportunity to fight racism and prejudice”. Further in 2016, Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya was nominated by the Assistant Director General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO to serve as a member of the Steering Committee in the Project entitled: “Progress and Challenges for the Peace Agenda of United Nations”.