Nonviolence and Religious Peacebuilding In India

The January 2023 study abroad experience in photos and video

Each January the Center for Peacemaking and Theology Department offer a two-week, three-credit study abroad program in India. Students visit sites in Delhi and Guwahati as part of a unique opportunity to witness India’s cultural and religious diversity, as well as the ways different religious communities work nonviolently for peace.

Upon returning, one student shared: “I would recommend this program to others because it was challenging; it led to so much reflection on my own life that I wasn’t expecting at all. It gave me a better understanding of other cultures and the culture that I’m living in.”

The photo diary below captures many of the experiences of the program.

Day 1: Arrival and orientation in New Delhi, India

Students share a meal upon arrival in New Delhi, India.

Students at the New Delhi New Years celebration.

Day 2: National Gandhi Museum and Memorial

At entrance to the Gandhi Museum.

Visiting the Gandhi memorial where Gandhi’s ashes are buried.

Students reflect at the Triveni Terrace Café after visiting the Gandhi Museum and Memorial.

Day 3: Jama Masjid and travel to Guwahati

Students explore the Lal Masjid, or the “Red Mosque”.

Day 4: Mahananda Temple

Boat ride on the Brahmaputra River to see the Mahananda Temple.

Students explore the Mahananda Temple.

Day 5: North-East Social Research Center (NESRC) and Legal Cell for Human Rights (LCHR)

Students learn about social analysis as a tool for peacemaking at the North-East Social Research Center.

Students visit the Legal Cell for Human Rights to learn about law as a tool for peacemaking.

Students explore the Don Bosco University campus in Tepasia, Guwahati.

Day 6: Meetings with interfaith practitioners and activists

Students listen to presentations on interfaith dialogue and peacemaking by Dr. Nazrana Ahmed from Dibrugarh University.

Students visit Hajo, a Sufi shrine visited by people from all faiths.

communities.

Program leaders with a Jesuit colleague at the Hindu shrine.

Day 7: Christian Brothers’ Environmental Center

Students with the Jesuit hosts outside the Edmund Rice Centre.

Students share a meal while visiting the Christian Brothers’ Environmental Center.

Students received gifts and offer thanks to the host community on their last night at the Jesuit residence.

Day 8: Return to Delhi

At a sari market in New Delhi.

Students visit a sari market in New Delhi.

Day 9: Peacemaking and Interfaith Projects in New Delhi

Schoolchildren at the Mahila Chetna Kendra, a women’s skill-building center.

Lunch after visiting the Mahila Chetna Kendra.

Students enjoy a cup of tea while speaking with Dr. Mary Pat Fisher at the Gobind Sadan Institute.

Day 10: Nelson Mandela Centre and Lotus Temple

At the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Students visit the Lotus Temple.

Day 11: Taj Mahal

Students visit the Taj Mahal.

Day 12: Jesuit Refugee Services and India Habitat Centre

Visit to the Jesuit Refugee Services office.

Students spend time in the Lodhi Gardens at the India Habitat Centre.

We are grateful for the generosity of our hosts and partners, as well as the donors who subsidize the program costs for students. Your commitment to peace and justice inspires us all to more deeply explore the power of nonviolence.